These interactive puzzles are made for fun; whether it’s a night with friends, family get-togethers or just giving your brain a break after a long week.
In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, siblings Ericka Chambers and William Jones were reflecting on their younger years when they inadvertently stumbled upon a nostalgic memory that would eventually evolve into their co-founded business: Puzzles of Color.
Starting in elementary school, the duo grew up doing puzzles together, enjoying the challenge it presented and the long hours of bonding they spent solving the game as a unit. That history, plus a conversation with a friend inspired Chambers to use a puzzle theme to design the nursery for her now two-year-old daughter.
“I was excited by the idea of sharing our love of puzzles with my daughter, but when I was looking for puzzles to design the room around I couldn’t find any images that we could connect with and that’s when my wheels started turning about how we could solve this challenge,” she explains.
Chambers decided to take matters into her own hands with the help of her brother. As a team, they sought out to create a family-friendly puzzle brand that offered representation for people of color across the diaspora, and images exclusively made by BIPOC artists. They also wanted to provide framing options for finished puzzles.
“We knew we didn’t just want to make puzzles with generic images on them, so our artist partners are so important to the work we’ve set out to do to increase representation and elevate puzzle imagery as a whole,” said Jones.
Through each puzzle, the founders hop to introduce you to artistic work that captures the mind and delights the soul. Artists include award-winning alcohol ink painter Bryant Small, a digital-based artist from Nairobi Kenya Emmanuel Ignatius, self-taught painter/entrepreneur Ija Charles, and freelance illustrator Kaitlin Edwards are just some of the handful of creatives onboard.
Shop puzzles from the brand's inaugural collection below which are perfect as a gift, family activity, conversational piece, or as a solo challenge to disconnect and focus on each piece of inspiration.
Puzzles of Color "That's the Start Of Our Day" Book + Puzzle Bundle $25, puzzlesofcolor.com
Puzzles of Color "Do What Makes You Happy" by Emmanuel $27, puzzlesofcolor.com
Puzzles of Color "Comfort & Joy" by Paul" $27, puzzlesofcolor.com
