jigsaw puzzles

Creative Christmas Gift / Present Ideas Around Photography

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Support your local artist and invest in your loved ones creative flair.

As a local photographer I’ve been creating a huge photographic documentary of the local area in Leicestershire that spans from 2012 to now.

I offer 1:1 and Group Photography Workshops based from my studio in Burbage and venture out on to location depending on the genre of photography the client has booked for.

These are available as follows:

  • 1.5 Hour Technical Session on a 1:1 basis = £150

  • 4 Hour Mini Session on a 1:1 basis = £300

  • 7 Hour Full Days Session on a 1:1 basis = £500

  • 3 Full Day Sessions Intensive Course = £1,100

  • 5 Full Day Sessions Intensive Course = £1,500

Before booking one of these 1:1 sessions you will be invited for a consultation where I can establish where your current skill set is and then design a perfect 1:1 tailored training session to hit exactly where you need the support for your practice.

You can choose to learn in the following genres on any of the sessions:

  • Technical Camera Support - Understanding how to use your camera, how it works and shooting in manual mode

  • Landscape Photography

  • Woodlands and Nature Photography

  • Sunrise and Sunset Photography

  • Urban and Rural Landscape Photography

  • Street Photography

  • Street Portraiture

  • Astro Landscape Photography

  • Post production using Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop

  • Video production, filming and editing using Final Cut Pro X.

Browse a collection of unique jigsaw puzzles created from the landscape around Leicestershire.

In 2012 I started a long term project called Hinckley, Burbage & Bosworth Photographed that is still going on to this day and has given me a collection of over 11,000 photographs featuring the local landscape of which I have designed a series of artworks and products around.

Here’s just a few of what is available in my online shop…

Selling My Own Photography Products

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How my photography business has changed and how I’m adapting to changes…

I’m beginning to use my blog as a sounding board or more of a way to release my thoughts on my artwork and business. Today I’m going to talk about how I’ve had to be like water to flow with my business as it changed during the Coronavirus Pandemic.

The Wharf, Hinckley, Leicestershire

I started my business in 2012 at the same time that I enrolled on to a level three photography course at North Warwickshire and Hinckley College. I’d alway loved photography but never realised I could do it for a living. I wished I’d thought about this when I first left school because I’ve made billions of mistakes in what feels like hundreds of different jobs.

I’ve never been a very good employee! I always know better, hate rules, can’t apply myself to other people’s businesses as an employee and my nature is really quite rebellious! Believe me I’ve tried. I can’t say I’ve been a bad person within my past jobs because I’m a people person and love to be around others and get on with almost everyone and have stuck it out at some jobs. Three years was my longest reign in just two jobs.

Anyway, I was made redundant from Croner Consulting as telephone appointment maker for Health and Safety and Employment Law consultancy services. It was a tough job, speaking to over a hundred people each day to try and make an appointment for the business managers to go and close a sale.

St. Catherine’s Church, Burbage, Leicestershire

I think I’m digressing as usual!

I opened my photography business initially to be a wedding photographer until I learned more about the artwork side of things through college. Anyone can be a wedding photographer, all they need to do is buy a camera and watch a few YouTube videos. That’s all there is to it really, if you don’t factor in experience and knowledge! I know some amazing wedding photographers and by the same token, many who think they’re that! I also worked freelance for local and international businesses and charities, which was all great until the Coronavirus Pandemic popped over to the UK.

At that time, all businesses were ordered to close, taking all the people I could work for with them and leaving me with nobody to hire me. Of course I wasn’t the only person in the world for this to happen to but this is my journey…

Locked Down, Documentary Project

I had nothing to do, so I began to document the lockdown and ended up making a book and working with the community to tell their stories. My book publisher then began to also make and produce photographic jigsaw puzzles for their photographers and I jumped on the bandwagon to see how it would work.

Booom!!!

As if all I needed to help me get off the ground was a global pandemic!!!

I couldn’t believe it, upon making 6 of my favourite local photographs into JIgsaw Puzzles, right in the middle of a jigsaw puzzle boom was all it took! I guess we all need a break every now and then. Well this was my moment and I grabbed it with all of my hands!

That was my turning point.

Since early Summer in 2020, I’ve been making puzzles now and I’ve been fumbling my way through. I had zero experience of selling retail, especially my own products. It all went amazingly well until the summer of this year 2021. The lockdown was lifted and everyone went back to work. Plus the summer was here and people wanted to be in the garden instead of sat around the dinner table doing a jigsaw puzzle.

This hurt my business massively because I’d been led down the path of abundance throughout 2020 and this was very different. Less people were buying my jigsaw puzzles and I’d been caught out through ordering lots of stock and a reduction in sales. For this I have literally just had to bide my time until things picked up for me. I knew Christmas would be good for me.

Jigsaw Puzzle Leicestershire

The Horsepool, Burbage, Leicestershire

I’m finally getting around to telling you the actual point of this blog. I’ve had to be like water and flow with my business, which controls me more than I control it. I’ve become a slave to my business and I love it!

To move with the times and help my customers have a better experience, I’ve flattened my puzzle pricing out to £20 for any puzzle. I was selling them at £22 because I needed that extra bit of income to help pay for things like my office and insurance etc. When selling my artwork on the local markets, it was sometimes a bit awkward dealing with the additional coins. I’m hoping that by flattening my pricing, it might lead to more sales on the market. So far it seems to be working, let’s see how it pans out on the run up to Christmas.

If you’d like to learn more about my interactive artwork and local Leicestershire Jigsaw Puzzles, please visit my shop.

My Favourite Jigsaw Puzzle Creation Yet!

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Sutton Wharf 1,000 Piece Fine Art Photographic Jigsaw Puzzle, Leicestershire Photographed.

This is the backstory behind the creation of what I believe to be one of my favourite and best designed jigsaw puzzle to date.

Sutton Wharf is a locally renowned beauty spot in the Leicestershire countryside and often marks the beginning, middle or end for any walks around Bosworth Battlefield. I don’t know why I hadn’t considered making a puzzle here before now but at least I’ve done it and now have almost 30 puzzles in my posession.

I first visited in the summer of 2020 to see if I could make a puzzle there, we’d just opened up after the first massive lockdown and people were out and about but I just couldn’t make the photograph work as a puzzle. I tried but couldn’t find the right composition (below).

Sutton Wharf, Leicestershire August 2020 - Failed attempt.

I needed the photograph to work, so I created a postcard design from this picture and it’s been very popular already. People haven’t really seen the one I’ve chosen to become a jigsaw puzzle yet, until now!

I wasn’t happy that I hadn’t found a jigsaw puzzle but all wasn’t lost because I’d bought a new camera, the Panasonic Lumix TZ200 and planned to return.

Now this camera is something I’d been searching for, for a long time and I didn’t realise it existed until I’d finally took the plunge to do some deep searching. I needed a camera with a good quality lens, big sensor, a wide range of focal lengths and be small enough to fit in my pocket because I was fed up with carrying my huge dslr and massive lens around with me. The sheer size of it drew a lot of attention to myself, which was not really good nor safe for me to do my latest project Leicestershire Photographed.

Now I can move around relatively unseen and still produce better photographs with enough pixel power to be useful as my art products.

I have the Lumix now and I’m getting very comfortable with it. This is the first jigsaw puzzle I’ve created with my new camera and I have to say that it’s so good to use. I was able to get the right focal length I needed and enough clarity and sharpness to convert in to a puzzle.

Here it is….

Sutton Wharf 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle

All the ingredients were in place for me, not immediately but I stood balanced on top of the bridge railings for about 10-15 minutes watching and waiting for everything to come together. The light needed to change and the right people had to walk in and out of the frame so the puzzle was ready. I also had to work out the composition while balanced on top of the bridge and that was a bit nerve wracking, I just didn’t look down.

Isn’t it amazing what a difference a slight move and angle change makes?

Sutton Wharf 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle is now available and in stock. So you can either order online or come and see me on the market stall in Hinckley every Saturday or Market Harborough every Tuesday.

Ps/ You might also catch me at one of the local car boot sales this weekend.

Click below to order online.

Kicking Off In 2021 With Brand New Jigsaw Puzzle Designs

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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.

Hinckley, VE Day 2021, 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle

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.

Aston Lane, Burbage, 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.

Beautiful Blackfordby 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle

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.

The Plough Inn and Smithards, Ashby.

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.

Hinckley & Burbage Photographed Is Going To Market

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Developing An Art Project

I’m expanding the Hinckley & Burbage Photographed project to have a physical shop front on Hinckley’s traditional market.

For quite a few years now, my project Hinckley & Burbage Photographed has been going through some major transformations. I’ve gone from making photography for fun and to practice the art since the project began in 2012 to selling art products with my photographs in 2020.
The journey has been wholly experimental, pushing myself to always do better next time.
Last year in 2019 I produced the very first calendar for Hinckley in Leicestershire, the first the town had ever seen. It all started when I discovered a supplier that operated a special scheme for photographers to produce calendars, where they only allow one per area and create incredibly good quality products.

I never intended this project to make money and it was always about the community, documenting life and the environment surrounding us and enjoying the connection between our environment, photography and humanity.

Life has changed already for many of us experiencing this new Covid world. Much the same for myself in losing all of my commissioned work for the year and haven’t earned anything, also falling through the cracks of self employment grants. I began to innovate and developed a new product range from the one thing I did have; an archive of photographs.
When I produced my first calendar for 2020, I never thought for a minute that they’d be the least written on calendars of all time!

As time has progressed, my suppliers have introduced 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzles to their product line, which I went straight ahead and created my first series.

I now have 9 puzzle designs available, which can be found in my online shop…

The puzzles have really taken off and has had an influence on my style of photography. To make good puzzles, I”ve had to learn what makes a good puzzle and then translate that in to the physical landscape. It’s a tough challenge to find good ideas and I’m really enjoying the journey.
I have two collections and 9 different designs. Some of the designs work better than others and all have a puzzle rating of between 5 and 10. I think I have one puzzle that reaches 10 on the puzzle scale, which is Hollycroft Park. It’s supposed to be very difficult because of the tones, colours and shapes in the puzzle. It was one of my first ones and since then I’ve created and developed new designs that really have caught the attention of a new local audience.

This next puzzle in particular is has already started selling on a pre ordering system.

The Horsepool in Burbage.

This particular puzzle is a beautiful romantic wintery scene with snow and Christmas lights decorating the scene.

The Horsepool, Burbage, Leicestershire.

Market Stall

I’ve been building stock levels, investing in the idea of selling my new products on a market stall in Hinckley every Saturday and possibly in the week on a Friday or a Monday on occassions.

I’ll also be selling my latest calendar for 2021 on the stall.

Jamie Hunt, owner of Brookfield Signs & Graphics has agreed a deal to sponsor Hinckley & Burbage Photographed and donated this banner to use on the front of the stall.

Myself and Jamie Hunt from Brookfield Signs & Graphics, who has become a sponsor of Hinckley & Burbage Photographed. Jamie has donated this banner to help with the aesthetics of my new market stall venture.

Myself and Jamie Hunt from Brookfield Signs & Graphics, who has become a sponsor of Hinckley & Burbage Photographed. Jamie has donated this banner to help with the aesthetics of my new market stall venture.

The Cover to my new 2021 calendar.

Visit my online shop to purchase a calendar.

I’ve also created a book called Locked Down, which is a collection of portraits showing 36 different families through their windows, juxtaposing them against the reflections the world their locked away from, during the Global Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020. Accompanied with personal text about how they’re all surviving lockdown and what their thoughts were surrounding the major events as the virus broke out in the UK.

Locked Down Book

I hope to see you on the market soon.

Rebranding Hinckley Photographed

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Hinckley Photographed - Rebranded

A big old project of mine, Hinckley Photographed has been rebranded to allow for better creativity and more inclusivity.

Hinckley & Burbage Photographed

Since 2012, I’ve been creating work for a personal documentary of people and place in and around Hinckley in Leicestershire. Initially this was set up so I could simply share my work online. I needed a place to exhibit the work I was producing, while I was studying photography and video at NWHC and De Montfort University.
I began by making photographs of the geographical location, looking at the urban environment and the way in which the local community used the spaces and buildings. I also focused on the people that live here in a wider idea to create a permanent place for the community to relate to people they may know and also for a record of the truth of life.

The Concordia Theatre, Light It Red, July 2020

Hinckley Photographed was where it all started and as time went on I changed the name to Hinckley & Bosworth Photographed because I wanted to include the wider area and felt that I was too restricted with Hinckley. However, I soon felt that with Bosworth it was too much alike the Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council and often was miscredited.
I needed to distance myself from the council, so I reverted back to Hinckley Photographed, which now felt wrong when I posted something from outside of those Hinckley parameters. I now actually live in Burbage and often produce nice work from around the village but it felt wrong sharing it on Hinckley Photographed.
So I changed the name to Hinckley & Burbage Photographed for very good reasons.

St. Catherine’s Church, Burbage, Leicestershire.

Until last year Hinckley Photographed was just a way for me to share my photographs from the project. I joined a scheme that is specifically for photographers that is restricted to one photographer per area and I produced the very first calendar that Hinckley has ever seen. I put together some great photographs from my collection and began to sell them to the community. It was strange for me because I never intended to make money from this project. Since creating the calendars and realising that I have an audience that wants to buy my work, it gave me the boost I needed to dive right in and create more products.
Now I’m producing 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzles from the best photographs and they’ve been incredibly popular, especially during lockdown.

I’ve just received my latest batch of new jigsaw puzzles, which include The Marina, Ripples of Nature and Billa Barra Hill.

The Marina Jigsaw Puzzle, Hinckley, Leicestershire.

Ripples of Nature, Hinckley, Leicestershire.

Billa Barra Hill, Leicestershire

There’s no prescription for the way I work with this project and each day is a new day for me.

If you’d like to view the work for Hinckley & Burbage Photographed, there’s a place on my website with selected mini projects here or on the Facebook page.

All in all, I’m just a photographer that enjoys making artwork.
I’m just an artist with a family at home and I hope you continue to enjoy my work.
As you should know already, that I’m easily accessible via the Facebook page or by email to paul@paulhands.co.uk

Please subscribe to my email blogs.

Jigsaw Puzzles Are Back In Fashion

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The Global Coronavirus Pandemic Has Boosted Jigsaw Puzzle Sales Across Britain.

Since Covid 19 landed on the shores of Great Britain, the Government initiated the first lockdown in recent history and the British people have been reverting back to playing indoor games like the great Jigsaw Puzzle.

Ripples of Nature, Trinity Marinas, Hinckley, Leicestershire - 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle.

British Adults are turning to Jigsaw Puzzles to both unwind and challenge themselves during a relaxing time at home and I’ve found myself asking what the big fascination is.

So I took it upon myself to find out.

Completing a Jigsaw Puzzle improves your memory.

Solving puzzles usually helps to reinforce existing connections between our brain cells. It also increases the generation of new relationships between cells. This, in turn, improves mental speed and thought processes.

Jigsaw puzzles are very good for improving your short-term memory, which helps us to remember shapes, colors and visualize the photograph to figure out which pieces will fit together.

Doing Jigsaw Puzzles improves your problem solving skills.

If you can creatively solve problems and think critically it’s usually valued in your job as well.

Puzzles help us to develop those important skills.

Puzzles always require us to take different approaches to try and solve a problem since there’s a lot of trial and error involved. We also learn the value of formulating theories, testing hypotheses, and changing our perspectives when something doesn’t quite go as you wanted it to.

Billa Barra Hill, Leicestershire - 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle.

Improved Visual-Spatial Reasoning.

When we have a go at solving a jigsaw puzzle, we look at different pieces and figure out where they fit within the bigger picture. Doing this regularly helps improve our visual-spatial reasoning.

Better visual-spatial skills help with a number of everyday tasks, including:

Driving a car (parking, switching lanes, etc.)

Packing and figuring out how many items can fit in boxes, suitcases, or the trunks of our cars and using a map.

More Education Opportunities.

Even crossword puzzles and other word games provide great educational opportunities. They help us to improve our vocabulary, as well as our language, research, and spelling skills.

Increased IQ.

Puzzles provide improvements to our vocabulary, memory, and overall reasoning. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that one of the other benefits of puzzles is that they help raise our IQ (intelligence quotient).

A researcher from the University of Michigan found that adults could raise their IQ by four points after spending 25 minutes a day playing puzzle games.

St. Catherine's Church, Burbage, Leicestershire - 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle.

Delay Dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Puzzles can help delay the symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Studies show that by keeping the mind active through doing puzzles can reduce the amount of brain cell damage that occurs in Alzheimer’s patients and supports the growth of new nerve cells, strengthening the connections between them.

Researchers have also found a correlation between the number of years someone has been solving puzzles and the likelihood that they will develop Alzheimer’s. So, the sooner you start making puzzles a regular part of your life, the better. It’s never too early to start exercising and protecting your brain.

Improved Mood.

One of the amazing benefits of puzzles is that they increase our brains’ production of dopamine.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that regulates mood and feelings of optimism. It also affects memory, concentration, and motivation.

Dopamine is released every time we successfully solve a puzzle — or even just get one piece in the right place. This encourages us to continue working on solving them and challenging ourselves.

Lower Stress Levels.

Puzzle’s also help us to relax.

Our brains go from a “Beta,” or wakeful, state to an “Alpha” state when we’re solving puzzles, which is similar to the state we’re in when we’re dreaming.

This shift in consciousness comes with many benefits, including:

Ability to make deeper connections

Improve our mindset

Relieve stress

Improve mood

Increase our self-confidence

Rugby Road Park, Burbage, Leicestershire - 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle.

Increased Attention to Detail.

When you’re solving a puzzle, especially a jigsaw puzzle with tiny pieces that all look alike, attention to detail is crucial. You need to train your eyes to pick out slight differences in color or shape that will help you put everything together.

An ability to pick up on small details helps in every aspect of our lives, especially at work. When we’re more detailed oriented and precise, the quality of our work improves.

Increased Productivity.

When we’re happier and less stressed out, it’s easier for us to concentrate. When our concentration improves, our productivity naturally skyrockets.

Many offices are actually starting to include jigsaws and other puzzle games in their breakrooms. These puzzles let employees take their minds off work for a few minutes and come back refreshed and ready to go!

Better Collaboration.

If you’re looking for another reason to incorporate puzzles into your workplace, tell your boss that they’ve been proven to build collaboration between coworkers.

Researchers at Yale University found that giving people the opportunity to work together on solving puzzles allowed them to improve relationships and their abilities to cooperate to finish a task.

Wow, with all of this new information about completing a jigsaw puzzle in mind, what are you waiting for?
Buy a jigsaw Puzzle now and improve your whole life.

The Wharf, Hinckley, Leicestershire - 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle.

Since lockdown began, I’ve invested heavily in my artwork and introduced a new product line of Jigsaw Puzzles in to my online shop, where you can browse the latest jigsaw puzzle designs available to buy.
Link to my online shop.

I currently have 7 designs at the time of writing this blog and also have many more new puzzle ideas brewing, with several photographs in waiting for production. Up To now, I only offer 1,000 piece Jigsaw Puzzles, with a view to introducing 500 piece puzzles at a later date.

Fine Art Photographic 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzles

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Making Photographic Jigsaw Puzzles.

I now have a new art product on the shelves that is incredibly popular, 1,000 piece Photo Jigsaw Puzzles.

Since lockdown began, I’d lost all of the work I had booked in. A 4 x commercial film deal collapsed in the first week, I lost several commercial photoshoots, one at a laser tag event and all of the weddings for my wedding photography and filmmaking business, rescheduled, leaving me penniless, jobless and with just a creative mind left wandering.

I got creative with a personal lockdown project but also did a bit of housekeeping…

…So I spent some of my free time looking back and tidying up my archives, when my calendar supplier introduced jigsaw puzzles as a new product line. I tested the waters with a few of my archived photographs and they literally flew off the shelves and I’ve been left with almost zero stock from the first order.
This was so exciting, so I went back out with my camera, thinking differently this time and I searched for scenes that could be used as a jigsaw puzzle. I even changed the way I frame a photograph, so that particular elements were placed in specific places in the frame and there was just the right amount of sky to not make the puzzle too difficult.

This was a revelation!

There are 7 puzzles in my collection now, these are the photographs, you can use the link below to learn more and to buy jigsaw puzzles.

Making a photograph for a jigsaw puzzle isn’t straight forwards and you can’t just turn any photograph into a puzzle. There has to be the right elements, not too much sky, not too much detail and the exposure needs to be perfect. Hi res images are what’s really needed and you’d certainly struggle to produce good enough quality with a mobile phone. Not that you’d want to offer an art product made as a snapshot on your phone.

So I’ve taken great care over these photographs and have designed them to offer just the right amount of interest and challenge in different parts of the puzzle. They’re all made with a very high resolution camera so you don’t lose any detail when trying to piece together the puzzle.

Since 2012, I’ve been making photographs around my local area with all the techniques I’ve learned through my photographic education (still happening) and taken great care to produce the best quality photographic jigsaw puzzles, which is completely unique for Leicestershire.

You can click on the link below to get more information about the puzzles and to buy.

Link to the jigsaw Puzzle's / online shop.

Contact me.