A Vancouver Island woman is seeing her puzzle business thrive, with designs all created by Canadian women.
Kelly Striemer has always loved puzzles. The Comox mother of three did a lot of them when her boys were young, but she didn’t always love the puzzle art, which spawned an idea.
“Wouldn’t it be fun if we use local artists and use art that I love and turn this into a puzzle?” she says.
Watch the story in the video below:
What happened next was destiny.
“So I had this idea and a week later I got laid off from my corporate job, and I thought, ‘Well, if this isn’t a sign that it’s time to start a business, now it is.’”
And so three years ago Villager Puzzles was born, starting with thousands of puzzles in the family garage.
“I thought to myself, I’m going to do a test. I ordered 3,200 puzzles and I had them shipped in and they arrived at my home in my garage,” says Kelly.
With a background in marketing, Kelly took to social media. In a matter of weeks she went from one order a day to 100.
“It’s a very good challenge, but one of the things we’ve struggled with is keeping puzzles in stock,” she says.
This year, 200,000 Villager Puzzles have been sold, and you can find them in 900 stores across Canada, including at Oscar and Libby’s in downtown Victoria.
“When her art came across when we saw her email, it was just like, wow, this is really different,” says Teri Houston, owner of Oscar and Libby’s. “As soon as we got it in, it flew right out of the store.”
Villager Puzzles is notable for its high-quality low-glare printing, tight interlocking pieces, and of course, the art created exclusively by Canadian women.
“I think people really like the story behind Villager, they really love that it features the art of Canadian women,” says Kelly.
Kelly works with about 30 artists every year and they get royalties for every puzzle that’s sold.
“I’ve issued royalty cheques for over $10,000 in some quarters and it’s absolutely amazing for these artists to do something they love every day and then also get to grow their business,” she says.
She even pitched Villager Puzzles on reality show Dragon’s Den.
She got two offers but has decided to go it on her own, for now, because Villager is doing just fine.
“We love to tell people this is designed here on the Island, this woman lives on the Island, she’s supporting Canadian women artists and that really resonates with people,” says Teri.
The popularity is about the product, but also the puzzles.
“I think we’re just seeing people wanting to spend more time away from technology and just doing things that help them decompress. We like to call it the peace in the pieces,” says Kelly.
Villager Puzzles are shown at Victoria store Oscar and Libby’s. (CHEK News)
Some of the locations depicted in the many puzzles printed include Vancouver Island, Bowen Island, the Rocky Mountains and more. Kelly says she’s not supposed to have favourites, but she does enjoy the “butt puzzle.”
“My favourite puzzle is called Salt Spring Island. The cutest part is the little skinny dippers on there,” she says.
And as for the move from corporate work to puzzle-making?
“I love, love, love what I’m doing. I don’t want a job again, this is the best job I could ever imagine,” she says.