How a Rhode Island Family Started a Puzzle Company From Scratch
GoLocalProv News Editor Kate Nagle
How a Rhode Island Family Started a Puzzle Company From Scratch
That’s exactly what Barrington residents Jerauld and Sara Adams did, however, when they started their company “Hope Puzzles” during the pandemic.
The Adams, who had sold their historic Central Falls mill complex in February 2020, were trying to figure out what their next chapter should be — and like most families, found themselves spending most of their time at home during the pandemic along with their four children.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“We were doing a lot of puzzles,” Jerauld Adams told GoLocal in an interview. “And then it just sort of clicked.”
Adams said the idea was to make “high-end” puzzles of durable, lasting quality — and with a Rhode Island focus.
Except for one thing.
The Adams had no experience actually making puzzles.
“It’s not like you could call up a competing puzzle company and ask them how to do it,” said Adams, laughing. “So I kind of had to reverse engineer it.”
Adams said he knew what he wanted though — puzzles with unique “whimsy” pieces that showed off both the Ocean State and its rich arts culture, and were durable enough to be passed down generations.
“It’s been a lot of effort, and trial and error,” said Adams. “It’s been very rewarding — and also overwhelming.”
The Making of Puzzle Company
Adams knew he had the perfect space to set up shop — his former mill complex that was transformed into offices, artist studios, and maker-spaces.
The materials and production, however, became a labor of love, and money.
Adams researched laser-cutters and found they cost anywhere between $8,000 — and $20,000.
“I did go for the one with all the bells and whistles,” said Adams.
“Reading other puzzle websites, I knew it would be plywood,” said Adams, of deciding next on what the puzzles would be made of. “What I found out, however, is that the plywood out there at the big box stores is bonded with little flecks of metal. So the puzzle could look great on the surface, but the laser-cutter would hit the flecks and bounce back.”
“I started calling around to plywood manufacturers. I knew I wanted a veneer that’s maple or birch,” said Adams. “I got in touch with a manufacturer out on the west coast who could meet our specifications. They told me I had to order 240 sheets for the special order.”
“That was $18,000 for sheets of eight-foot high of plywood,” said Adams.
Then it was on to design.
“We really wanted our puzzles to be about Rhode Island,” said Adams.
Adams tapped illustrator and graphic designer Matt Castigliego to work on Hope Puzzles' first design — an anchor depicting beach scenes from around the state.
“He’s just the nicest guy in the world,” said Adams of working with Castigliego. “I started with an anchor shape and said help me come up with a design to put it all together.
“I had some thoughts, of course — Narragansett here, and images of what’s happening on a typical Rhode Island day,” said Adams. “And we’ve got the State House, and a Rhode Island license plate, of course.”
Adams began distributing the puzzle to friends and family, seeking feedback.
“One comment we heard was that there were too many pieces for children,” said Adams — who said he hadn’t set out to make children’s puzzles.
He listened, of course — and reconfigured the puzzle shapes into bigger pieces so he could offer another product for families as well.
Adams also knew he wanted to tap into one of the state’s greatest art resources — the Rhode Island School of Design.
There, he said he learned that many of their pieces are in the public domain, which allowed the Adams to scour thousands of paintings that they would be allowed to use the imagery for on their puzzles.
“I went through tens of thousands of paintings and I picked out the top twenty that I liked,” said Adam. “I let my wife whittle those down to the final selections.”
Now, Adams says the bigger hurdle is getting the word out about “Hope Puzzles.” They have a website, are currently in Barrington Books, and can be found at the Barrington Public Library.
“People have asked about Amazon, but I don’t want it to take off too fast that I couldn't keep up,” said Adams. “I need to grow this at my comfort level.”
Right now, Adams said he’s in the mill working 10-12 hours a day, and that his four children come and help when they can.
“I’m trying to instill a work ethic in my kids,” said Adams. “These puzzles are heirloom quality — they’re meant to last generations.”