The Story Behind Puzzle Weekend

by Kelly Jo Richards

Hello, friends! We hope you are enjoying your time shopping our selection of curated gift boxes, jigsaw puzzles, and puzzle accessories. We look forward to getting to know you.

We’re Jenn and Kelly, sisters-in-law with a mutual love of puzzles. Over the years, we have sat down together on many occasions to work on a puzzle, and while doing so we have gotten to know each other at a level many siblings-in-law never experience. The beauty of the puzzle is often the quiet. There is no one there but us, and the time spent together is significant. While working on puzzles, we have opened up to each other on so many levels and developed a love and appreciation for one another that goes far beyond our family ties.

One of the topics that came up very regularly during our early puzzle conversations was our desire to start a business. Jenn is a very talented web developer who, after successfully helping many clients launch their online shops, was dreaming of opening a shop of her own. I had previously owned a business but made the difficult decision to close it when an intriguing career opportunity presented itself. As exciting as it was to climb the career ladder, I often found myself wondering where I would be now if I had continued on the path of my own dream. It was very obvious to both of us that if we combined our talents, we could be a powerhouse.

Over the course of a couple years, nearly every time we puzzled together we discussed aspects of business that are important to us - sustainability, supporting and empowering women and people of color, and corporate social responsibility. Knowing what is important to us was the easy part. The hard part was figuring out what the business would actually be. And then one day, after months of coming up with ideas that just weren’t quite right, we realized the answer had literally been in front of our faces the whole time.

You see, during this time of brain storming, our love of puzzles had grown into a small community. Our “Jenn and Kelly puzzle nights” had evolved into coordinated puzzle weekends with friends. Our little puzzle-loving group was now booking cute Airbnbs throughout our corner of the Pacific Northwest, gathering for mini puzzle-inspired girls’ weekends whenever our schedules aligned. As with many things in life, we were reaching for something that was already well within our grasp. Our puzzle weekends were so deeply meaningful to us, as an opportunity to pause everything going on in our lives, and make time to catch up and recharge together. It finally dawned on us that we want to share this experience with people everywhere. With this realization, Puzzle Weekend was born.

As you visit our shop, you will see touches of what our group does to make our puzzle weekends so special. Jenn is the getaway guru! She never fails to find the beautiful spots for us to call home for a weekend, always with a hot tub and a huge puzzle table. Sarah is our brunch queen and DJ. An exceptional cook who radiates sunshine, she always makes sure we have the perfect menu and an amazing mimosa bar, and consistently keeps a perfectly selected playlist coming through the speakers. Renee has the sweetest spirit of anyone I know, and when joining her first puzzle weekend brought us each a special gift to commemorate the experience. As for me, I handle the details. Pre-weekend grocery shopping, planning transportation, you know- all the boring but necessary stuff. But more importantly than anything else, we ALL bring the puzzles.

These touches from our own puzzle weekends are what inspired us to build our curated puzzle boxes. Our gift boxes are lovingly crafted to ensure you have everything you need to turn a puzzle into an experience. Each box creates an opportunity to make time puzzling extra special, as a gift to yourself or a friend. But it is important to us that you can easily elevate that experience to a full group, which is why we offer add-ons for many of the items in our boxes. Add a Houseplants Rocks Glass for everyone to your Fancy Plants box and enjoy sipping a botanical-inspired cocktail while you puzz together. Carve out some refreshing spa time by surprising your whole group with resurfacing clay masks and aloe infused spa socks in your Piece Retreat box. And definitely take some time to celebrate the amazing artists featured in our a la carte puzzles.

We are so excited to continue adding new boxes, puzzles, and accessories to this shop. We hope you feel inspired to see the joy and beauty puzzles can bring to your life and friendships. We are honored to be part of your experience.

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colorful puzzle pieces