This week we're back with our 4th post in our brands breakdown series. Each post helps provide you with more information about the brands we carry, so that you can find the perfect puzzles for you!
One of the things that I love at Completing the Puzzle is getting to try new puzzle brands to test if they meet our quality standards. We are always trying new brands to include in our membership, and we specifically seek out small, independent puzzle makers, as well as women and minority owned companies. If you have a recommendation for a new brand to try, let us know! Spoiler alert - we'll be adding new puzzles from a new brand that was recommended by members next week, so stay tuned....
Just one of the great things about a Completing the Puzzle membership, and having an endless supply of rentable puzzles, is that it allows you to try new puzzle brands you may be unfamiliar with.
Today's post has a theme amongst the 3 brands - all are focused on artists! One is a well-known puzzle brand you may already be familiar with - Galison. We will also be talking about two brands that are newer to Completing the Puzzle and may be new to you - Flame Tree Publishing and FRED!
Galison puzzles is part of Galison Publishing LLC, which was founded in 1979 and is based in New York City. For some of you avid puzzlers who may be familiar with Mudpuppy puzzles, they are also now part of Galison.
We LOVE the bright, fun images that Galison chooses for its puzzles. It just makes puzzling fun! As part of those images, they will sometimes include different textures, like foil, which adds a little something "extra" to the puzzle. Many (not all) of their images are collages, so if you are a big fan of collage style puzzles, this is a great brand for you!
Galison is very committed to both established and up and coming artists, which we LOVE. They have puzzles featuring images by greats like Van Gogh alongside artists you may never have heard of, giving them great exposure.
We LOVE how well Galison pieces fit together! They are ribbon cut, and all two-in, two-out, but sized differently enough that it is not too difficult to find the right fit. And, they fit so tight that Galison puzzles provide for great puzzle lifts!
Flame Tree Publishing is an independent publisher based in the United Kingdom. In addition to making beautiful jigsaw puzzles, they also publish books, calendars, journals, and greeting cards.
If you love fine arts, then you will LOVE Flame Tree Publishing's puzzles. While some are by current artists, many are masterpiece reproductions. They are puzzles with great detail, and may not be as big and bold as the images typically seen in a brand like Galison.
If you LOVE ribbon cut puzzles, this may be a good brand for you. The shapes are different enough that you will be able to use the shape and not just the image to determine where a piece goes.
We also LOVE that Flame Tree Publishing's standards align with ours. They produce sustainable puzzles using locally sourced, renewable board. And, they also have an ethical policy and code that establishes their commitment to working with suppliers who provide safe, healthy, and fair working conditions.
FRED is the newest puzzle brand we have added to our collection, and we are pretty obsessed with their puzzles! FRED is based in Rhode Island, and in addition to creating fun, beautiful puzzles, also creates other "well-designed stuff that solves a problem".
FRED works with artists and designers from around the world, which we LOVE. The thoughtfulness that goes into selecting the artists to work with results in puzzles that are bright, bold, and fun to work.
We also LOVE the cut of the FRED puzzles. They are ribbon cut, but the pieces are cut in shapes that are different enough that you can easily recognize the shape. Overall, the fit is good, but not quite as tight as Galison.
If you're not a fan of ribbon cut puzzles, check out our previous Brands Breakdown posts to find some of our favorite random cut brands. Are you going to add any of these new brands to your wishlist?