So much has been going on since my last blog post.

The team and I have been busy shipping our Fall products to stores. New puzzles are starting to show up on shelves now. But most will not be in stores until August or so. Keep your eyes open. They are coming. In the mean time, keep visiting Toys R Us for our Crayola Floor Puzzles. We have been getting some really nice positive reviews for the product. It was a 2009 Toy of the Year winner. If you have kids, this is the puzzle for you.

We have also been visiting with retailers about adding new puzzles to their Spring 2011 puzzle departments. I do not think that folks realize how far in advance the stores plan their merchandise. So I have been out visiting retailers since mid May. Other than the travel, I really like meeting with the retail buyers face to face. I learn tons. And that in turn helps us make better puzzles (and other products!).

We are also attending a few trade shows. These are shows where we find and buy the art to put on puzzles. I was in NYC at the Surtex show and then a few weeks later in Las Vegas at the Licensing Show. Both were great and I could have used more time at both. There is so much great art out there.

Las Vegas was fun because it was 106 degrees! As soon as I got to my hotel, I put on shorts and walking shoes and took a stroll. It was like walking with someone blowing a hair dryer at your face. It was hot, but the hot wind made it just feel hot. Not humid/sticky like when it is hot in Indiana. Anyway, now I can say I have been in 106 degree heat.

All the major TV and movie studios have booths at the Las Vegas licensing show. I like getting my picture taken with the different characters. This year I took some with darth vadar and his friends. A women came up and asked if she could take the picture for me (the person I was with was not doing it right in this persons opinion). Before I knew it she had me acting out being arrested by darth and the gang. I went along with and before I knew it a crowd had gathered to watch me make a fool of myself. But I must admit, I do like the pictures. And my boys thought they were great! So I guess, this mystery person knew what she was doing. Here I share my embarassing pictures. And remind you that I was the perfect age when the original movie came out. I believe I saw it 12 times in the movie theater! What a nerd. :-)

JP

Thank you to everyone who has helped our launch of the Crayola Chalkboard Floor puzzle at Toys R Us. It is a top seller early in its time on shelf. Keep spreading the word about his unique new twist to floor puzzles.

I received a neat note recently from one of the owners of a horse we feature in our Heavenly Horses line of puzzles. I am not sure how she found us, but she was so happy to see her prized horse featured in the line. The horse in question is the one title Forest Enchantment. The horses name is Cavu Paragon. He is a beautiful horse and the picture by Bob Langrish is stunning and one of the favorites in the office. I am so happy the owners are pleased with the puzzle.

If you are interested in buying this particular image (or others from the line) visit our web site - www.lpfpuzzle.com. On the right side of the home page are links to our on-line partners. If you are a retailers with a web site that features our puzzles, let me know and I will link to your site as well.

Lots more going on behind the scenes. We are in production for our fall line and will have more about our listings later in the summer. Also, we are getting ready for our annual trip to licensing show. This is a big show and I am looking forward to seeing the new art and entertainment licenses available.

The weather is getting nicer, but I know true puzzlers still keep a puzzle out on the table to refresh their mind and soul. We are working hard to keep new images coming. Keep spreading the word about the Lafayette Puzzle Factory.

JP

More Lafayette Puzzle Products are available on-line.

Our award winnng Crayola Chalkboard Floor Puzzle has been available in stores since the beginning of the year. But now Toys R Us has added it to its web site (and its stores). Free shipping and the same price as in stores. A great value and very convenient.


http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3997359

There are 2 other titles available too, but I do not see them on their web site yet. The other two titles are a USA Map and our original Playground image.

If you are not familiar with this puzzle, let me tell you about it. We have created a special surface coating that lets the puzzle act like a chalkboard. On the Space image at the link above, you can write or draw with chalk (which we include for free!) on all the black outer space areas. The magic is watching kids draw their own aliens and spaceships on the image. The puzzle is new and fresh every time kids put it together. The pieces are big and sturdy. The puzzle is 2ft by 3ft when assembled. And the box is really nice with a handle and zip strip opening. It makes a great gift.

Follow the link and check it out.

JP

Just about 1 year ago we sold and shipped our first puzzles . It was an exciting day that I will never forget. But today might be the 2nd most exciting.

Almost from the beginning, folks have sent me letters, e-mails and phone calls asking how they can buy other puzzles they see on our web site. As a new company, our distribution is always growing, but never fast enough. If I had my way, every puzzle would be available in every store across the nation. And while I spend just about every waking hour trying to make that happen, it may take me a few years to accomplish.

So the next best thing is to partner with retailers that have a good, safe and efficient web sites. I am happy to say we have found our first partner. Calendars.com

http://www.calendars.com/LPF-Limited/cat330064/

Calendars.com is a neat company that carries just about every puzzle line we have. Maybe not every image, but at least a few from every catagory. I think you will find their web site easy to use and their selection of LPF puzzles to be outstanding. And the good news is, they are adding more of our puzzles to the site all the time.

Click on the link above and let me know what you think. I am eager to hear how folks find the buying experience on the web site.

And while you are there, check out some of the various calendars they carry. Here is a company I found that I like particularly: http://www.calendars.com/Some-Publishing/cat330002/

I can not wait to hear your thoughts on the web site. And I hope to announce more on-line partners soon.

JP

I have been waiting for awhile for this post. I love when we get our first order from a new retailer. It is so exciting. So much work goes into meeting and working with a retailer that when that order finally comes in and we ship out our puzzles, we really celebrate. It does not matter how big or small the order we get is. It just feels good to add to our constantly expanding distribution.

This week Toys R Us is our newest retail partner. They are carrying our Crayola Chalkboard Floor puzzle line. We have 3 titles in the series and Toys R Us is carrying all 3 (Playground Fun, Space Race, and USA Map).

The puzzles are great. Each comes with Crayola Sidewalk chalk. The chalk can be used on the puzzle and wipes off mess free like a real chalkboard. The Space Race and Playground Fun images are great for kids to use their imagination and join the fun in the picture. Kids can draw on the USA Map anything they desire. It is the perfect free form puzzle. And since kids can draw on the puzzle, the puzzle never gets boring.

Anyway, we are all really excited to have our Crayola puzzle at Toys R Us. I do not see it on their web site yet and it is not at my store here in Lafayette (due next week the manager tells me). But I have gotten reports of the puzzle on shelf in California and Illinois.

So keep your eyes open and let me know if you see it in your local store.

JP

Everything always seems to take longer than I expect. I was hoping by now to be bragging about our new website and our new on-line puzzle stores. But, we have been slammed with new orders. Getting these orders organized and into production has taken up tons of time. Most of the orders are for our new items. We have been working on these lines for months, but the first order means that we have to make final decisions on packaging and artwork. And with over 60 new pieces of art in one of the orders, there are a lot of final decisions.

I do not think most people realize how much work goes into making a puzzle. Actually, making a puzzle is not difficult. They will tell you technically it is simple. Take a picture, put it on some cardboard and cut it into a predetermined number of pieces. But making a nice quality puzzle and then repeating that over and over it not easy. The difference between a really good image and a just ok image is subtle. We look at 10,000 or more images every year just to find the few hundred we make into puzzles. We reject some really great pictures that just are not great puzzles. And then we have to do all over again the next year.

The images on the puzzles we are putting into production right now were found a year ago. Last April I bought a lot of the images. They will not be in stores for another 6 - 8 weeks. Over 1 year from the first time we saw the image until it is in a store. And since then, I have looked at thousands of additional images.

I think one of the qualifications for picking images is that the person needs experience putting together puzzles. Only by putting together a puzzle do you realize the small things within a puzzle that are important. The importance of colors and shapes. The importance of the feel of the puzzle pieces. The importance of the label on the box that you use to help put together the pieces. These are all important. Not to mention having the right picture.

At the Lafayette Puzzle Factory we have that experience. We have put together puzzles. We have bought bad images in the past. We have used cheap materials and seen the results (not pretty). These experiences are what make our puzzles different from other companies. It is why after only being in business for a little over a year we have growing reputation as a company that knows puzzlers. And whose puzzles sell to a consumer who knows puzzles.

Anyway, all this has kept us busy and for that we are thankful. Keep an eye out. New puzzles will be in stores in the next few weeks and months. I can not wait to hear how we did.

JP

Spring is finally starting to show itself. Yesterday was a day that we have needed for quite some time. The sun was out in full force. It was a day to drive around with the windows down in the car (and the heat on inside the car just a bit). The kids had their first practices outside. Baseball for my sons and soccer for my daughter. Everyone was in a good mood as the day came to an end.

Spring also means the Lafayette Puzzle Factory is making its first shipments of our new items. Seems like I have been getting a lot of feedback that folks are looking for puzzles. A lot of retailers cut back on their puzzle sections in the Spring and Summer. The industry collectively believes that puzzles are a winter activity. There is no doubt that sales are the highest in the fall and winter. But retailers that keep a fresh selection of puzzles year round tell me they see good sales even in the "off" months.

If you are a person who loves puzzles year round, do not be afraid to tell the manager in your local store that you shop for puzzles year round and find their selection less than you would like. Also, if you like our LPF puzzles, let the store know (politely, of course). Or send an e-mail to their headquarters on their website. They do listen to feedback. And feel free to tell them how much you like LPF puzzles.

Happy St. Patricks Day!

JP