ABOUT JIGSAW PUZZLES AND ME

My puzzles are finally available!

That I’m a fan of jigsaw puzzles is easy to understand but just to make it clear: I LOVE puzzles. If you don’t love them you don’t event think to start creating them or making a business out of this idea!

I love colourful images and when in the past I was searching puzzles to buy I’ve always chosen the most colourful, difficult (for me, of course), with the most divers themes: nature, art, abstract, architecture, cartoons, maps, famous artists work, etc. My minimum is 1000 pieces. I start big. :)

I like to open the box and feel that amazing smell of fresh printed paper, see and feel those little colourful cardboard pieces.

I have a ritual when I start putting together a new one: I’m thinking at it and try to clear some time to start. When I finally decide to start I’m for sure in my pijamas and before everything I prepare a coffee or a tea and only Then I start!

I’m always starting by turning all the pieces with the image up and I already start to separate the pieces based on colours while trying to find every piece composing the frame. The frame is the first thing I do.

I love to feel a little lost in the beginning when everything is literally in a thousand little pieces of cardboard but somehow I get SO into those little pieces that my mind stops thinking at something else and peace is installing. I love that tranquility and that feeling of calmness. I like to dedicate all my attention to those pieces.

And sometimes I get a little frustrated too but it’s nothing negative in this puzzle related feeling… I am a perseverant individual so that frustration is like fuel for me. Maybe I sound a little crazy ☺️ Told you all I liked my puzzles.

I’m dedicated to the puzzle, to that feeling, to that peace and when I think of puzzles all this comes in my mind. It’s a form of meditation as the whole world shuts down while you hold those little pieces.

To make it short: I love the silence inside my head when I’m focusing. I love that kind of silence, that sort of peace. And the feeling of playing, entertaining my inner child, is priceless.

Jigsaw puzzles have a long history. It all started in the beginnings of 18th century when jigsaw puzzles were images painted by someone on a piece of flat wood and then cut into small pieces. Even if they are called “jigsaw” puzzles they were never cut with a jigsaw.

The first person known to create and sell jigsaw puzzles around 1760 was John Spilsbury, an engraver and cartographer from London. From around that time on puzzles are made primarily on cardboard.

Since then puzzles came a long way. For example, the jigsaw puzzle piece symbol is part of one of the most known logos around the world: Wikipedia’s logo: a globe made out of jigsaw pieces but incomplete, the missing pieces symbolizing that there’s always room to know more, to discover more, there is always room to add new knowledge.

Jigsaw puzzles are even listed in the Guinness World Records for the "Largest Jigsaw Puzzle – most pieces". The jigsaw with the greatest number of pieces had 551,232 pieces and measured 14.85 × 23.20 m (48 ft 8.64 in × 76 ft 1.38 in) and it was assembled in 2011 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

The largest commercially available jigsaw puzzles have 54.000 pieces and the smallest ones have 2 pieces.

You should probably know one last thing: there are millions of jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts all over the world. Some of them even glue their puzzles when finished and use them as wall decorations.

If you made it reading until here you now know a little more about puzzles. And about me.

This is just the start of my adventure in the world of puzzle making. I’m preparing more puzzles with many original photos/images to choose from so everyone can find something they like.

I hope you enjoy my jigsaw puzzles! You can buy HERE.

Subscribe and stay tuned for more!

Thank you

Erica

---

www.ericamanole.com is live now! Hurraaayyy!

I did it! 😊

I passed the finished line and launched the website and online shop this evening at 19:12.

I am tired but happy happy happy!

Cheers to new beginnings!

With love

Erica Manole

Almost there...

I've prepared something and I want to share it with you all!

For a year I worked on a beautiful side project which I hope it can turn into a full time business someday.

It took me this much because I wanted the result to be more than just good... I wanted to be perfect! that's why I cured every detail of every product, of the website, of the packaging, every detail of everything!

In this past year I've learned a lot about everything! I've learned new things, new processes, new skills, I've entered into wonderful worlds completely new to me, I made mistakes and I learned from them, I met new people who introduced me to other amazing people but THE most important thing I learned this last year is that one should keep going, doing, moving forward despite mistakes, delays, obstacles, difficulties and problems.

This last year I cried, I laughed, I was happy as a child when I felt the silk with my photos printed on and when I saw my foulards with those amazingly vivid colours I felt proud. Sometimes I felt exhausted and so far away from the starting point that I wanted to quit. But I didn't. I continued. Now all I feel is Excitement for what is to come, Curious about the new things and situations but mostly I feel proud and greatful: proud of myself and grateful because I didn't stop.

I've made a lot of samples of everything and there are involved the best manufacturers, the best silk, the best people I could find and I am finally ready to launch the first items from a long series of motifs I prepared.

I really hope you'll enjoy the results of my work.

I can't wait to hear your opinions about my new website (which will go live in the next 24 hours!) and about my products in comments and direct messages

I really count on your support

Thank you!

Erica Manole

*Text wrote on @swissmonamour ‘s instastories a day prior to the launch of this website

( www.ericamanole.com )

TAA DAAA