{"id":690102,"date":"2026-06-07T16:55:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T16:55:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/690102\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T16:55:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T16:55:19","slug":"pieceworks-jigsaw-puzzles-are-making-grandma-hobbies-cool-puzzle-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/690102\/","title":{"rendered":"Piecework\u2019s jigsaw puzzles are making \u2018grandma hobbies\u2019 cool | Puzzle games"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is gen Z boring<\/a>? We barely<\/a> leave<\/a> the house, hardly<\/a> drink alcohol and rarely<\/a> go on dates. Instead some of us are emulating the hobbies of our elders \u2013 crocheting<\/a>, starting book clubs and even birdwatching<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Guardian\u2019s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link.\u00a0Learn more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Among younger demographics, \u201cgrandma hobbies<\/a>\u201d are<\/a> cool<\/a>. Perhaps that\u2019s why I, a member of gen Z, recently felt called to pick up a jigsaw puzzle<\/a> for the first time in over a decade. It came from Piecework, a puzzle brand that has become a Zoomer favorite.<\/p>\n

With most ranging between 500 and 1,000 pieces, Piecework\u2019s jigsaw puzzles are, in a word, eclectic. It is best known for its maximalist displays of food: there\u2019s Tomato Tomahto<\/a>, a canvas filled with tomato dishes, and That\u2019s Amore<\/a>, a spread of Neapolitan pizzas, olives and a moka pot<\/a> atop a checkered tablecloth. In the non-edible category, there\u2019s the retro Palm Beach Idyll<\/a> and the whimsical Bloom Bloom<\/a>. Its children\u2019s puzzles are mercifully 100 pieces, and include Barnyard Boogie<\/a> and Dino Discotheque<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Piecework Tomato Tomahto 1,000-Piece Puzzle
\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Piecework <\/p>\n

Tomato Tomahto 1,000-Piece Puzzle<\/p>\n

from $40<\/p>\n

Piecework Dino Discotheque 100-Piece Puzzle
\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Piecework<\/p>\n

Dino Discotheque 100-Piece Puzzle<\/p>\n

from $24<\/p>\n

Rachel Hochhauser and Jena Wolfe, the company\u2019s founders, made design the center of Piecework\u2019s identity. They wanted to create puzzles that \u201clooked like coffee-table books that you\u2019d want to leave out on your coffee table\u201d, said Hochhauser. It worked: Piecework is now a multimillion-dollar company that has collaborated with magazines including Food & Wine<\/a> and popular brands such as Mejuri<\/a> and Jeni\u2019s Splendid Ice Creams<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Its origin might sound like a horror film: a group of friends spends a stormy weekend in a cabin with no cell service. But Hochhauser credits a weekend trip to Yosemite as the start of it all. During that weekend, she fell in love with the cabin\u2019s stash of jigsaw puzzles. \u201cIt felt like the perfect activity because it was social and you could talk, but you could also just sit there and work on it first thing in the morning with your cup of coffee,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Photograph: Courtesy of Piecework<\/p>\n

Piecework Puzzle of the Month Club<\/p>\n

$40 per month at Piecework <\/a><\/p>\n

With a background in design, she felt uninspired by many of the puzzle options on the market. \u201cThere weren\u2019t any that I wanted to give someone as a hostess present, or that you would gift in the same way you would give someone a candle,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

So she and Wolfe launched Piecework in 2019. The brand\u2019s colorful spirit pays homage to the grandmas who inspire its founders, including Diane Keaton<\/a> (who herself inspired the \u201ccoastal grandmother\u201d<\/a> aesthetic<\/a> popularized by TikTok a few years ago), and Hochhauser\u2019s own \u201cvery eccentric and stylish\u201d grandmother. Each puzzle even has its own curated playlist<\/a> you can listen to while solving it.<\/p>\n

Over this past winter, my roommate and I slowly but surely chipped away at the 1,000-piece Happy Camper<\/a>, migrating it to the windowsill or our couch when we weren\u2019t working on it. (We\u2019ve since invested in a puzzle mat<\/a> that allows you to roll it up for storage, which has been a total game-changer.)<\/p>\n

Happy Camper transported us to a summer day and helped us forget about New York City\u2019s brutal, chilly weather. Whenever I worked on it, I lost track of time. The puzzle\u2019s corresponding folksy playlist made me feel like I was somewhere in the woods, listening to the sound of a crackling fire instead of the sirens outside of my Manhattan apartment. I started to understand why so-called \u201cgrandma hobbies\u201d were en vogue.<\/p>\n

Piecework Happy Camper 1,000-Piece Puzzle
\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Piecework<\/p>\n

Happy Camper 1,000-Piece Puzzle<\/p>\n

from $40<\/p>\n

CallKroon Puzzle Roll-Up Mat Set
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CallKroon <\/p>\n

Puzzle Roll-Up Mat Set<\/p>\n

from $12.99<\/p>\n

\"CALLKROON Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon$12.99 at Amazon<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

CallKroon <\/p>\n

Puzzle Roll-Up Mat Set<\/p>\n

from $12.99<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all craving activities that, beyond being \u2018offline<\/a>\u2019, are a bit wholesome,\u201d said Hochhauser. \u201c[Puzzling is] an alternative to endlessly scrolling that leaves you feeling more connected and fulfilled. There\u2019s a reason these sorts of activities are classics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since its launch in 2019, Piecework has expanded into the full (cool) grandma aesthetic, selling home decor such as cocktail napkins<\/a>, matchsticks<\/a> and quirky candles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last month, it acquired<\/a> the home goods company Areaware, which, according to Hochhauser, will help Piecework \u201cexpand into new product categories and markets\u201d. While she didn\u2019t specify which categories or markets, she teased an upcoming product line debuting in August \u201cthat will take us off the coffee table and on to the couch\u201d.<\/p>\n

As for me, you probably won\u2019t find me at a puzzling competition<\/a>, but I\u2019m already plotting my next jigsaw for the summer: the tennis-themed Court Classics<\/a>, ready for the next cabin getaway.<\/p>\n

Piecework Court Classics 1,000-Piece Puzzle
\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Piecework<\/p>\n

Court Classics 1,000-Piece Puzzle<\/p>\n

$40<\/p>\n

\"side Photograph: Courtesy of Piecework$40 at Piecework <\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Piecework<\/p>\n

Court Classics 1,000-Piece Puzzle<\/p>\n

$40<\/p>\n

Other pieces you might enjoy from the Filter<\/a>, the Guardian\u2019s guide to buying fewer, better things:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Is gen Z boring? We barely leave the house, hardly drink alcohol and rarely go on dates. Instead…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":690103,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[74],"class_list":["post-690102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=690102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/690103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=690102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=690102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=690102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}