I spent the last week in New York City for the annual Toy Fair. This is a big fair and it has been going on every year since the early 1900's (I should probably look up when it started, but suffice it to say, its been going on for a long time). Its held at the Javitz Center.

It is always a fun show to attend. Toy companies of all sizes there. The big guys like Hasbro. And the small guys you have never heard of. Most of the booths are open and you can walk around in them looking at the new toys for this Fall. I even get a chance to walk around other puzzle companies booths. Everyone does this, but I will admit it. I am usually the guy you see trying to be invisible, yet talking to himself. Either I am cursing myself that I did not select an image they have. Or I am wondering to myself how they could pick such bad puzzle images. Thankfully it is usually the latter.

The Lafayette Puzzle Factory did not have a booth at the show. Booths are really expensive and so far we have not thought it was worth the money. We still had sales meetings at the show. We just did them at restaurants, or Starbucks or hotels. Folks are pretty flexible and understanding. It seemed like lots of other companies do the same thing.

I will give one shout out to one booth in particular. They have a new artist. He paints these amazing paintings in under 5 minutes. He was at their booth doing demonstrations. It was very interesting to watch. I am not sure the paintings themselves are very good puzzles, but the way he paints is neat and it made for an exciting booth. Not easy for a puzzle company booth.

As the latest blizzard moves east, I guess I was not the only person putting together puzzles in the snow (not in the snow, but while it was snowing outside).

Today I heard from fans in Maryland and New Jersey. They have been cooped up for days putting together puzzles. They called to thank us for making so many affordable puzzles. I was shocked. Calling a company to give a compliment? And to get two in one day? People must be going stir crazy. But, what a thrill! I loved both calls.

Keep your eyes open for new titles in your favorite stores soon. We have been filling reorders for retailers since the first of the year. The Lafayette Puzzle Factory makes great puzzles that are affordable. So stock up. And send me pictures of your puzzles and the snow. We are thinking of adding a wall of fame to our web site for folks to post pictures of their favorite puzzles. Curious if anyone would actually send us a picture.

One more note about the blizzard. Next week is the New York City Toy Fair. This is an annual event. It seems like every couple of years New York City has a blizzard during the week. I think 2004 it was 24" of snow. 2006 18" of snow (I may have the years wrong, but I am close). I was in NY for both. It was crazy. In 2004, I walked down the middle of Park Av in front of the Trump buildint at 8pm, because I could. There was not a car in sight. I guess because the blizzard came this week, next week will be sunny and warm. I can only hope.

Stay safe. Stay inside. And work a puzzle.

JP

Lots of snow here in Lafayette the last few days. They keep canceling school. The way things are going the kids will be in school until July 4th.

But as a puzzler, snow and cold are great. We have a 750pc panoramic puzzle on the dining room table right now. My wife and the kids stop by for a few minutes and put in a piece or two. Outside the window are big snow flakes and the ground is pure white. I like the way the snow looks before it gets all dirty.

The snow is heading east. I hope our fans on the east coast have already been to the store for milk and bread. And while you were there, I hope you picked up a puzzle.

Enjoy the snow. Spring will be here soon.

JP

Received a neat letter recently from a young girl who lives in Mississippi. She had bought and assembled several of our 100pc jigsaw puzzles. She had enjoyed them and wrote us a nice letter about the experience. We get letters from kids more often than I would expect. But here is what set her letter apart. This is fun. She included a list of image suggestions for future puzzles. The list had 42 things that she would like to see on puzzles. And you know what? Her list was really good. We have a lot of her suggestions in our line already, but she had a lot more that would probably make for good puzzles. Especially in the 100pc format. And the fact that they come from a childs perspective gives the list added credibility in my eyes.

I have taken her list and taped it up on my office wall. The next time we are searching for images, I will be sure to refer to the her list.

JP

Crazy winter weather kept me from making several sales calls this week. Most of these appointments I have rescheduled for next week.

Air travel in the winter can be tricky. Bad weather in one part of the country can impact air travel in other parts. It also makes packing tricky.

When I started out this week, the weather in Lafayette was tolerable. 40's almost touching 50 during the day. Chilly at night, but not bad. I hate having a big heavy coat withe me when I am flying. They take up too much room and are too heavy. So, I left town with a light jacket. And a knit cap stuck in the pocket. By the time I got back the temperature was 8 degrees and windy. I froze running to my car. Boy was I glad to have my knit Purdue hat in my pocket. I may have looked dorky, but it saved my ears. Ahh, the glamour of business travel.

But I am not complaining. Neat things happen. Again, earlier this week, I was driving to see a retailer on the east coast. I was in late afternoon traffic driving along a river. Nothing special to see or do as the traffic crept along. As we came around a bend, I realzed I had seen the scenery outside the window before. As we continued the entire scene came into view and I realized I was looking at the real life scene of an image we have in our 2010 puzzle line. I was driving right where the photographer must have been standing (off the road, I hope) when he took the picture. I can not give away too much, but when we bought the image, I really liked it and could not believe it was taken where it said it was. I had been to this city before, but never seen this sight. It was an unexpected treat in the middle of a cold and slow commute.

When we update our web site in a few weeks, maybe we will have a contest to see who can guess which image I saw out my car window.

JP

I hate when blogs start talking about how they were too busy to write a new post. I was busy, but I also have been wanting to update the blog. Unfortunately, I was unable to. I have been in Hong Kong at the 2010 Hong Kong Toy Fair since January 4. You might remember I attended this show last year too and had problems signing in to my blog account.

I had the same problems this year. Very frustrating.

But now I am home and am able to update.

I have really enjoyed hearing from folks about their own family jigsaw puzzle racing traditions. One person wrote to tell me about at their family gathering. As you arrived at their mothers house, she broke folks up into 2 teams. She sends each team to a separate room where there is a 500pc puzzle. They compete to see which team can finish the puzzle first. I sounded like things get very cut throat.

During the HK show this last month, there were times in between appointments where my team was looking for ways to keep busy. They started racing each other using 50pc puzzles. I can not tell you how many races we had during the show. Again, the competition became very cut throat with serious bragging rights going to the winners.

I will post some pictures of our showroom later this week. I will be traveling this week, but will find time in the evenings to post more updates.

Thanks for checking in. If this is your first time visiting, go back in the archives and take a look at how far the Lafayette Puzzle Factory has come in the last year. I was rereading some of the older posts whilie in HK trying to sign in. We really have come a long way.

JP

Better Homes and Garden Magazine gets it.

They have declared January - National Puzzle Month.

From the magazine directly: "Looking to shake that sluggish feeling this month? Give yourself an intellectual workout and dust off a favorite jigsaw puzzle (JP's note: or go buy a new LPF puzzle like Puzzle Collector or Colorluxe). Piecing together a puzzle works both the analytical (left) and intuitive (right) sides of your brain. Puzzles also enhance the capacity for learning and memory."

Lets see if this link works: http://www.bhg-digital.com/bhg/201001?pg=18#pg18

I could not have said it better myself (except I would have mentioned LPF directly). The craftiest retailers know that January is a great month to sell puzzles. The nights are long and the days are cold (the nights are cold too). Great puzzle weather.

I am encouraging everyone to celebrate National Jigsaw Puzzle Month with as much gusto as you can mustard.

Drop me a note and tell me how your are celebrating.

JP