These are my current projects I’m working on.
I have been testing some of my embroidery pieces as puzzles. The puzzles keep the embroidered stitch detail which helps with finding the right pieces. I’ve tested in two sizes, 1000pc & 500pc. I like both quanitys though I do have to say the 500 pc was much quicker to assemble!
Really want to make these embroidered puzzles happen. I was talking to a vendor in China about doing puzzles wholesale & have been working on files for three designs: 1000pc puzzle, poster and box for each. I had wanted to do a small run of three designs & test which art sells best before ordering more but of course it’s not that simple. The price with all the customization is the same whether I get 1 or 199. Great deal if I needed bulk. So I need to do some more circling around on this as I can’t have a basement full of 600 puzzles now can I? It’s the product development I love over the marketing & sales, so I’m not sure strategically I’m ready to jump in yet. It’s definitely a good learning experience.
The puzzle project is back on for 2025. I am teaming up with my sister to see if we can make this happen this year. Samples are ordered and branding is being flushed out.
I found a custom puzzle company who can do smaller minimums & they can do up to four different designs within that minimum! Not as cheap as China but much cheaper than what I was seeing. Plus I really do want to test out designs without high inventory, especially as we’re just testing out how to market them. I also love that they print on recycled cardboard with water-based inks so we can promote a green footprint. I can’t do custom boxes for smaller runs but their stock box design template seems pretty neutral compared to other companies I’ve looked at. I feel comfortable with the new box design we came up with, feels like “me” & doesn’t look like a template. I have placed an order for a puzzle sample so cross your fingers that the quality stands up!
In tandem to the puzzles, I have been sourcing shipping boxes & found a company that does custom sizing with eco-friendly packaging. They are also sending me samples. Cool new logo stickers also ordered to either throw in or on the boxes.
My next step, while I wait on samples, is designing the branding materials (TY notes/stickers/fliers) to add to the shipments. Stay tuned for more updates!!
Sample came out beautiful. I was a little nervous some of the pieces looked blurry but once fully assembled the image came into view clearly (zoomed in stitches). The colors are fantastic and redoing one of the previous puzzles, huge difference. It’s really wild to see the art piece large, 20 x 28″ vs the small canvas. We bought a poster frame to put the completed puzzle in. Pain to get on but looks sharp and makes the finished puzzle light and portable.
We also tested out the shipping boxes. The initial style I ordered make me nervous that the inside puzzle box could be damage when cutting open down the center. We’d either need to add a protective layer or try one of the other box styles. Next batch of samples hit the mark. We’re doing a style that tucks in securely on the side, so it’ll use less tape and it fits snug so we don’t need a bunch of packing filler. I’ll have to wait until I have more puzzles to test the double boxes.
I was trying to narrow down which of my growing collection of embroidery pieces to proceed to puzzles with when my sister suggests we do two orders instead of one. She feels we’d have a better offering that way. I’m nervous about the financial gamble but the urge to see more of my designs on puzzles wins out. I had to quick do a couple new pieces to flush out the sets. So we’re launching with 8 designs. We’re keeping the three themes of the initial puzzles with 2-3 designs initially. As they test out in sales we’ll add more designs to the series.
Murphy’s law, as we’re gathering funds the threat of tariffs on Canada goes back and forth. We’re crossing fingers we won’t be hit. Order is officially in and the puzzles are in production. Once they arrive I’ll assemble one of each design to use as a demo and I can get more photos. We’re going to wait to order the shipping boxes as initially we’re going to offer first purchases to friends and family (assuming we’ll deliver in person). Plus they’d ship domestically so won’t take as long to receive our order.
So while we’re waiting for the puzzles we’re working on the business end of things and hammering out marketing strategies. This is the part I’m a novice on compared to product development so I’m assuming there will be a learning curve. I’m working on setting up sales from my website and looking into where else to sell online in addition to Etsy. This summer we are going to be researching art markets and festivals to see where we should get a booth and what kind of display investment we need to make (canopy, signage, card readers, etc).
First batch of puzzles have arrived!! Should get the remainder by the end of the week. Knock on wood no additional tariffs (yet) tacked on.
Next steps are to finalize shipping boxes so I can place the order. Trying to chose between two styles for the double boxes, stacked or side-by-side. SBS allows you to to “meet” your puzzle designs simultaneously & the box could be reused as a papers storage container. Stacked feels like it’d be more protective during shipping. Could still be reused as storage but more compact items. I need to weigh these & see if shipping rates differ to sizes. If substantial that might be the determiner, otherwise maybe I’ll do a small order of each & test them out.
I also need to assemble one of each of these designs to test the product quality before I’ll feel comfortable releasing them to the public. Eight puzzles, I’ll be busy!!
I recently bought a swiveling puzzle tray one with the built in sorting trays & so far AMAZING game changer. I can elevate off the floor, swivel it to change angle, & it fits on a tv tray vs taking up table space. I now have more surface space for clean photography & puzzle sorting. I wish there were even more drawers for color separating but four is a good start. Definitely beats the rollup felt mat I was using! I’m just starting the first puzzle but I will get pics of the tray as I progress more.
Now working on developing addon products. Playing with sticker and cards designs as I learn how to use the Cricut machine! Once I have this down, watch out!! I’m also researching packaging for these products as well.
Stay tuned for more updates!