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.

New 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle Design

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The Mews, Ashby De La Zouch

1,000 Piece Real Photographic Jigsaw Puzzle

This article discusses a new 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle design that I’ve recently created, making the twelfth puzzle design in my series and only the second one from the project Leicestershire Photographed.

The Mews, Ashby De La Zouch - 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle

Leicestershire Photographed.

You might be aware already that I’ve started a massive project ‘Leicestershire Photographed’, where I plan to document the landscape across the entire county of Leicestershire. Along the way I’ll be on the lookout for pictures that might be worthy of going in to an adults colouring book, Christmas Cards, Framed Prints or my new calendar in the making for Leicestershire. Also (and of course), I’m searching for photographs that I can create jigsaw puzzles from and I think I’ve found another one for this project.

“So far…….
I’ve driven to quite a few places and covered 262.6 miles, collecting 178 Photographs and have created 2 x 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzles.”
— Paul Hands

The Mews in Ashby De La Zouch.
Since starting the project, I’ve been to Aston Flamville, Bruntingthorpe, Cadeby, Cosby, Desford, Heather, Kirby Muxloe, Lutterworth, Marefield, Market Bosworth, Peatling Magna, Potters Marston, Shenton, South Croxton, Stoney Stanton, Twyford, Watery Gate and Willoughby Watersley. I only started the project on October 13th, which in hindsight, I should have perhaps gone for a different date, so I’m not celebrating any birthdays on Friday 13th, but I will be!

The Old House, Cadeby

The very first jigsaw puzzle I’ve created for the Leicestershire Photographed project, is The Old house in Cadeby. I now have two jigsaw puzzle designs from this project and twelve in total, when including the designs from ‘Hinckley & Burbage Photographed’.

Here’s an example (above) of the box designs and the shapes of the puzzle pieces. The puzzle design shown here is of St. Catherine’s Church, Burbage, which has been one of my most popular jigsaw puzzles.
I only began making jigsaw puzzles in March of this year and all because of the lockdown. I lost all of my commissioned work that was set up for the year and didn’t really know how to get around the situation. I had nothing but photographs sitting on my hard drive that had come from my Hinckley & Burbage Photographed project, which I started in 2012. As you might imagine, I’d collected loads, over ten thousand.

I had to innovate, so I began by turning 6 photographs into jigsaw puzzles and began advertising them online in my website shop and shared them on social media. Oh my days, it was incredible. It was one of the single most important decisions I’d ever made in my life because my business boomed from that moment onwards.
I didn’t realise I had a proper product business like this and it surprised me, coming from nowhere.
Now I’m on a mission to replicate Hinckley & Burbage Photographed but for the entire county of Leicestershire.
It’s started off quite well, with two real photographic jigsaw puzzle designs within the first month.

Leicestershire Photographed Logo.jpg

The Mews, Ashby De La Zouch is my latest release and I’ve managed to get it in before the Christmas delivery cut off date. So they’ll be here in the first week of December. I’ve only ordered 20 x jigsaw puzzles, so these are a limited edition. Also for the first 7 days only, these are reduced from £22 to £20 on pre-order.
They’re available to order in my online shop, which is accessible by this product link below.

Locked Down Again!

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What Do I Do With Myself?

Since the British Government have decided to lock us down again, I’ve found myself becoming at another loose end.

In March 2020, as you know, the British Government announced our first ever lockdown, to hide from the Coronavirus and it went on for months. I lost all of my commissioned work but managed to innovate and learned some pretty cool things about myself. I didn’t sit back and watch what was going on, I took a good long hard look at myself and worked out what I had, what I can do and figured out a way around this mess.

The first thing I did was react visually with my camera because I didn’t really know what to do if the truth be told. So I went out and made some photographs and then put them all together in to a film with some cool voice overs and music to suit.

This film attracted a lot of attention but it wasn’t the ending for me. I’d got an idea in the back of my mind to document this harrowing time as a once in a lifetime opportunity. I wasn’t going to waste a minute more of my creative life.

I asked the question to my audience on Hinckley & Burbage Photographed, ‘Would anybody be interested in taking part in a project where I make photographs of you through your front windows (maintaining social distancing) and then interview you with a view to creating a book?’
Immediately I had a few responses from people who were genuinely interested. I didn’t realise the gravity of the task or the situation as I asked, but I went through with it and I was almost led by the project and not by me, like I was just the vehicle for other peoples stories.
Before I could say Global Coronavirus Pandemic, I’d built a big and growing body of work, which you can view it all here.

Here’s 9 photographs that feature in the book ‘Locked Down’.

The book has been amazing for me and everyone involved. I’m still selling copies of the book, which you can find in my shop or via this link…

Sales of my book began to drop off as people began to emerge from isolation and went back to work. During the whole time I had also turned some of the photographs from my archives in to Jigsaw Puzzles, which have been amazingly popular. I’ve even brought out a colouring book, featuring 20 photographs from my collection. As my online sales stopped going so crazy, I realised that I needed to continue to do something so I can earn a living because I’ve got a little girl at home that needs a good life, she deserves it, so I had to get a grip and earn a wage. With no commissioned work, I only had my catalogue of photographs to use but luckily, I’d grown that catalogue to over ten thousand pictures of local places and events.

So I designed everything I would need to run a market stall on the local market in Hinckley and even managed to gain a sponsor who supported me through starting up. Jamie from Brookfield Signs & Graphics.

Leicestershire photographed

However, the Government announced a new lockdown for the whole of November, so I was back on the sofa, thinking of what to do. I didn’t want to repeat myself and do the same project again because that wouldn’t be creative in my eyes.
I decided to embark on a massive journey to document the entire county of Leicestershire in the same way I’ve done with Hinckley & Burbage Photographed. Leicestershire Photographed has been born.
I plan to do with this what I’ve learned after 9 years of the other project. Except this time I’m starting with the idea of making tangible products along the way and have already created my first 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle, The Old House, Cadeby.

The Old House, Cadeby - 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle

I’m quite excited about my artwork now because all along, I’d been doing commissioned photography and filmmaking to earn a living, which was fantastic but I really only wanted to make my artwork and now the dream is becoming a reality for me on a full time basis. So developing my skills to cover the whole county of Leicestershire is a massive task but one I’m enjoying so much. It would be great if you could follow the project on social media. Use this link to the Facebook page and hit follow.

I’ve now got loads of products available for sale using my artwork now and if you haven’t seen them yet, please go and have a look at my online shop.
I’ve got 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzles, Adults Colouring Books, , 2021 Calendars, Christmas Cards and Framed Prints.
I’m hoping that Boris Johnson will be kind and actually open up the country again on December the 2nd, then I can get back to work and rnu my market stall. I’ve even got a van lined up to buy ready to help me move my stock around because it’s been a right royal pain in the arse folding down the car seats and loading everything I can squeeze in to the car. I feel like I’ve got a valid business for once and it’s all from my biggest passion, photography.

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.

Locked Down Book - Global Coronavirus Pandemic 2020

The Locked Down Book Is Now Available On Pre-order.

Since March 2020, when Boris Johnson locked down the entire nation of Great Britain in a desperate bid to hide 65 million people from Covid 19.

This is what happened:

All non essential businesses were forcibly closed and everyone went home. Some panicked and bought all the toilet rolls, some laid back and enjoyed their gardens because the sun came out and stayed out for almost the entire duration of lockdown. The streets were empty and only graced with the odd person exercising, going to the supermarket or were an essential worker.

I lost all of my booked commissioned work overnight so I spent my time at the beginning watching the television to learn all about this new disease. After some research I gathered that the British Government were aiming for herd immunity, so I researched that some more and became alarmed at how they control the spread of the virus through the schools and nurseries. With that knowledge, I pulled my daughter out of nursery immediately, two weeks before lockdown was announced.
Then it came…

…Lockdown

I could only react in the way I did, by making photographs of what I was witnessing. While my wife and older daughter were out working as key workers, my youngest daughter and I cycled around the town and stopping only to make photographs of some of the most bizarre scenes. I would share this work on Hinckley & Burbage Photographed and very soon I’d come up with the idea of making photographs of people that were locked in to their own homes.
I wondered where the humanity had gone, the community was hidden from view, yet building bigger online and more closely with their neighbours.

Mums, Dads, Brothers and Sisters, Uncles Aunties and Grandparents etc. we’re all separated by a deadly virus that they couldn’t see!

I made this film as a way of keeping the collection of photographs together and also showing my intentions and feelings through the use of curation and music.


Then I asked the community if they’d be happy to take part in a project where I make photographs of them through their windows at a social distance. Very quickly I realised that these photographs were difficult to make because of the reflections were hiding the people. I actually went out and bought a circular polarising filter in a bid to reduce the reflections but it didn’t work. So I studied the first few photographs in the project and felt that the reflections actually helped the pictures. I’d been blinded with a desire for perfection that I almost lost the perfection in the search. So from this point onwards, I made the reflections on purpose and looked at juxtaposing them with the people and families.

Darcy-Rose & Beatrice-May

Julie, Connor and Lee Price

Paul Sheridan

At the beginning of this project, I just made the work for the love of photography and for the need to create.
I had a distant idea of creating a book from the work but had no idea how much content I’d have or what it might look like. Towards the end of the project I’d really cemented my ideas and the book was going to happen.

Now I’ve proofed and approved the prototype and it’s in full production to the point I’m now taking pre-orders at a discounted price before they hit the shelves. You can get your copy of the book in my online shop here.

Here’s that radio interview…

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.


Locked Down - Global Coronavirus Pandemic

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Locked Down Coronavirus Window Portrait Project

The sub-project that has had me cycling all around Hinckley, Burbage and Earl Shilton is coming towards a closing point and the production of a Lockdown book begins now.

There are 36 stories accompanied with a portrait of the people on the other side of the glass and each story tells us how the families involved have survived and what they thought about the lockdown. The production of a book is about to commence in order to organise and contain these time capsules to secure them for our future generations to look back and discover more precisely about this monumental moment in history.


My intentions for the book are to show a sweeping snapshot of our experiences with urban landscapes of how the virus impacted our social cohesion along with the portraits and stories of the local residents that have taken part in this project.
I have no idea how long the production of this book will take, I’m organising the content now and then we move in to the prototype stage for editing.

I’ve been asked by some of the participants to produce some products with your photographs, like jigsaw puzzles, mugs, keyrings and prints etc.
So I’ve sourced a good local supplier and can now offer a small range of memorabilia and organised a point of sale on my website.

Whilst there was never any intention to earn any money from this project, I did lose all of my work that was booked in and I fell through the cracks of financial support from the Government, meaning, I’m not earning a single penny during lockdown and have no idea when I can start earning again. So I hope you don’t mind me offering these ideas?

Using your portrait photograph, you can now order the following memorabilia products:

If you have any questions about these products, then please get in touch with me asap