Let’s Start 2021 With Four

Brand New Jigsaw Puzzle Designs.

“My choices are to sit back and wait for things to happen or I can get my head in to gear and make a start now.”

We’re in the second week of January 2021 and I’d been worried about promoting my puzzles during this month because I know everyone has just gone through Christmas and if most people are anything like my family, they’ll not have a lot of money in this month. When I used to have a job, I always spent January living on toast, waiting for the end of the month to get just enough money to see me through to the next month end.

The above photograph (Hinckley, VE Day 2021), I created during the first lockdown in 2020. When the virus reached Britain, I was genuinely frightened and worried what kind of life my little girl would have being brought in to this world. Then in one swoop, all of my clients revoked the work they’d assigned to me for 2020. Overnight, my business disappeared and up on looking at the future landscape, I couldn’t see it changing anytime soon. So I started making jigsaw puzzles from the archives I’d created for my project Hinckley & Burbage Photographed.
So the first lockdown kicked in and I pulled my daughter out of Nursery, keeping her safe at home and we did lot’s of cycling trips. I always took my camera with me and documented what I was seeing around the town. One evening I had a brain wave, which hurt a little but it was destined to lead me on to a very bright pathway.

I began a window portrait documentary, recording stories of people that were in lockdown and how they were surviving. It was a brilliantly fun project to do that enabled me to do something for the community. Also during that first lockdown was the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Many people came to their front gardens to socialise with others from a distance, safely to keep their community spirits alive and I spent the day riding around Hinckley & Burbage with my little girl to see what photographs I could make.
I found this photograph above and it’s also featured in my colouring book and now a 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle.

I’ve been waiting since 2017 for some snow. The last decent photograph I made in the snow was ‘The Horsepool’, which has featured heavily in my 202 products as the december picture in my 2021 calendar, my most popular Christmas card and my most popular Jigsaw Puzzle.
Well, about two weeks ago, we had a little sprinkling, that had me racing around both Hinckley & Burbage and as much of the Leicestershire county that I could squeeze in before it melted.

I initially headed straight for the centre of Burbage to see what I could find. It’s difficult for me because I’ve spent so much time walking around the same places trying to see if I can make something better than the last time. I created loads of photographs around by St. Catherine’s Church, down by The Horsepool and all around the centre and eventually came back to Aston Lane. I’d already made a few photographs here and received great feedback telling me that they’d love to do a puzzle of this scene but I could never get a satisfactory composition or at least one that lit my own fire.

It has to meet my own approval before you even see it.

This one worked for me, I have faith. So it is now in production along with the other three puzzles I’ve started this years campaign with.

On October 13th 2020, I started a new project called ‘Leicestershire Photographed’ because my supplier mentioned to me that he needed someone to cover the entire county and not just Hinckley & Burbage. If I didn’t take it on, they’d give it to someone else that would. Could you imagine me having someone else on my doorstep covering Leicestershire for jigsaw puzzles and calendars and all the other stuff I’ve started making. There’d be a lot of trouble and problems with boundaries etc.

So it was just easier if I took it on myself.
I did just that!

Now I have a new a massive project that is gonna take up a lot of my time in the future but pay me huge dividends in terms of earning a wage to support my family, although weirdly enough, I never really think of earning money. My first thoughts are always on making the best photographs I can. What I earn from them afterwards is simply a bonus that allows me to keep doing this.
I produced my first two puzzles last year; The Old House, Cadeby and The Mews in Ashby De La Zouch, which have both been incredible. What a way to start the new project.

Now I’ve created two more jigsaw puzzles for the Leicestershire Photographed project, including the one above, Beautiful Blackfordby.

Blackfordby is a tiny village, hidden in the far North West corner of Leicestershire, near to Ashby De La Zouch.

The Mews, Ashby De La Zouch

The Old House, Cadeby

My fourth puzzle to be created in this jump start to 2021 is The Plough Inn and Smithards, Ashby. I sought collaboration in choosing this puzzle from the residents and members of a social media group called ‘Ashby De La Zouch Community’. This group has been amazing and instrumental in helping me get my message to the community of Ashby and beyond, for which I’m very grateful.
I feel like I have a nice strong audience in Ashby De La Zouch that have faith in me already and have been buying lots of my jigsaw puzzles. I’ve warmed to that community very easily and plan to do many special things for them over the coming year with some new product releases once I’ve built a big enough archive of pictures around their area.

I think I may have written enough now. I hope I’ve got my point across. I simply wanted to share my new jigsaw puzzles with you and also give you an insight in to my thoughts. I’m so very proud of these jigsaw puzzles and even more happy at how many people have bought them. It really does make me feel like my work is appreciated because for 8 years leading up to this point, my work was just digital photographs on Facebook. I had no real substance and no end goal. All I did was keep making work for enjoyment, not knowing if any of it would go anywhere or achieve anything. I’d even got to the point where I was close to packing it al in and go out to get a job. I’d tried knocking on all the doors I could find in the industry but all I could ever come up with was earning from commercial photography and filmmaking. Of course that’s all great but my heart was always with the artwork. So now you see me doing well with all of these art products, believe me when I say this, it was never this good. I’ve been through so much hardship on the way here. Even borrowing some money to do a weekly shop one time.
This has all been a long time coming and now I’m doing it, I’ve made myself a job from my artwork and boy does it feel great. I hope I can continue to keep making work that you love and are happy to buy because mine and my families lives depend on it.
Thank you and please sign up to join me and watch me grow as an artist.

Link to view my jigsaw puzzle designs and place any orders.