How wonderful that you have found your way here, to the today opened Palapelitaivas blog! You are most welcome to take part in our thoughts as well as share your own in the comment sections. But now a bit more about us and how it all began!
First There Was A Dream
Elsewhere on the website we have already shared that we found modern puzzle manufacturers like Cloudberries in 2018. Since then we have made them regularly.
We have entrepreneurship in the blood, even though Eva toom the formal route of a degree from a school of economics, whereas I, Nina, have owned a firm of my own since 2011. At some point the dream of owning a puzzle shop awoke in me, in which nothing but puzzles and paraphernalia would be sold.
We talked about it together and the idea remained at dream stage, “Possibly, but not never”.
Then There Was A Domain
So the dream didn’t go anywhere, but calmly and steadily stuck around at the back. I really can’t recall whether this domain has been ours for two or three years already, but it is irrelevant.
The domain was purchased and social-media profiles registered, since no harm would be done apart from a few, unnecessarily paid domain fees in case of lack of time or interest.
End of November 2023 arrived and with it the need to decide what to do with the domain. Would I pay for it myself once again, or would our family business take it on as an expense? Eva surprised me by asking whether we could have a website ready to go in autumn 2024. Certainly, I replied.
Finally There Was A Huge Effort
In the end of November we took one thing at a time to discuss and move forward with, mainly by me. A clear vision and mission took shape, to use business vocabulary, and we had long discussions about the product range.
Surprisingly quickly we found a cohesive visual style behind which both of us stand now. We considered logo, brand colours and fonts, warehouse and rental contract, business partners for various needs, and my email kept singing every working day.
I am a bit surprised myself how things escalated so fast and one piece after the other fell into place. This would not be possible without years of prior experience, but despite that we are happy, proud and also grateful to all those people, who contributed with professionalism at different stages of our process.
Now you are watching the wrap-up of fewer than three months’ worth of intense work, and we sincerely hope that you will enjoy the result!
Our Wishes
We aim to feature jigsaw puzzles by small manufacturers in particular. They have talented in-house artists, or they collaborate with licencing independent artists.
Who do we call artist, by the way, since there are so many types? At the moment, we can offer, or have plans to do so soon, works by photographers, illustrators, and letterers.
The pandemic is impossible to call a pleasant phase of our lives, but its effects on manufacturing volumes of jigsaw puzzles are clear. Many small brands were started during that time, and to our luck they have managed to keep operations up still.
Mental health unfortunately carries stigma still, but not on the Palapelitaivas website. If help can be received for intestinal problems, broken limbs, or eyesight issues, we think the same should apply without any fuss to matters of the mind, too, without extra cost. In addition, we also view puzzling as a form of preventive medicine, so you will see such content by us from time to time.
Since there are different types of puzzlers, we aim to take into account different wishes with regard to puzzles. It is a good idea to take the product filters in the webshop for a test spin! (A blog post on them will appear on 26 February 2024.)
Why Palapelitaivas?
It is nice in Puzzle Heaven. There is feel-good window shopping and there is actual shopping. There are old friends and new acquaintances. There is authenticity and community. And above all, there is piece (pun intended) of mind and the joy of making.
You will find us puttering about here on the website as well as in two social media, Instagram and Pinterest, the links for which are in the blog sidebar and website footer. Join us!
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