Kate Hentschel (@puzzlingpediatrician on IG) and I became really fast friends about a month ago, our friendship born out of a unique love for puzzles and puzzling that I don’t share with anyone else. The conversations we had about puzzles led to us talking about our passions, and I learned that Kate is an avid photographer and has a collection of dazzling works! I told her, “These should be puzzles,” and she modestly replied, “Maybe, but would anyone want to puzzle my photos?” So, when PuzzlesPrint (@puzzlesprint on IG) called me asking if I would be willing to review their work as a custom, personalized puzzle company, I instantly knew that working with one of Kate’s pictures was exactly what I wanted to do. I told Kate to give me a photo, and this is what she chose. I cannot express how grateful I am to have put Kate’s work together. Her picture coupled with PuzzlesPrint’s superior puzzle construction made for an amazing time of puzzling.
Delivery
The puzzle was delivered priority mail and came in a reasonable timeframe, with no issues with tracking or reaching my home. The puzzle came in a DHL bag and a brown box. The puzzle box itself was not damaged.
Packaging
The puzzle pieces came in a plastic breathable bag. The puzzle’s picture was on the top of the puzzle box.
Pieces
Construction
These pieces are thick, heavy weight, and multilayered, with blue backing, rivaling Ravensburger and Art Puzzle’s construction.
Puzzle Dust
The dust was minimal. I ran the pieces through the colander for about 2 minutes. I did not have any problems with excess dust and did not see any on the table during and after the puzzle’s assembly.
Appearance
These pieces were made with a gloss finish, though the pieces can also be made with a matte finish instead. There was a lot of glare to deal with, and because the succulents were arranged where same colors were in different locations in the image, the glare made it difficult to discern where some pieces were supposed to go due to not being able to distinguish subtle shades of the same color without moving the lamp, myself, or turning lights off.
Image Quality
The image render was good. At close range, the image was blurry, making it slightly difficult to determine which succulent pieces went where. From far away, though, the image rendering dazzled, especially with the gloss on top.
Assembly
I started putting the puzzle together with the frame first, and then followed color schemes to assemble the succulents one at a time until I got to the blues. At that point, I switched gears and took on the red section that I intended to leave for last. Once the red section was complete, I allowed my eyes to assemble the rest of the puzzle bit by bit. The pieces follow a simple grid pattern, but the pieces are cut uniquely enough to be able to find partner pieces when stuck in a jam. The pieces locked very well, allowing large chunks of the puzzle to be moved with little issue with pieces falling apart. The puzzle also passed the “pick it up” test, needing no glue to hold it together.
Replay Value
I enjoyed the time I spent on this puzzle. Because of the gloss, I would consider this a one-and-done, since this puzzle would make an amazing piece of wall art that shimmers in the light.
Satisfaction
Overall, this puzzle gets an 8.5/10 from me. The puzzle holds together well, and the pieces are uniquely cut so that assembly does not become troublesome when dealing with similar colors. The image quality made assembling the puzzle slightly difficult at times when distinguishing between succulents. The gloss creates a glare that is difficult to work through but makes the image pop when finished puzzling, and is an option that should be considered (gloss or matte) to determine if you want to repeat the custom puzzle you're getting from PuzzlesPrint. I am satisfied with how this puzzle turned out and am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with PuzzlesPrint on this collaboration with my friend Kate.
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