Meet Puzzler – Karen Puzzles
What is your name?
I go by Karen Puzzles online.
Where do you live?
Los Angeles, California.
How did you start your puzzle journey?
I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t puzzling! My family all love puzzles, so we always had them around my entire life.
Do you have a favourite piece count?
It really depends on what I’m in the mood for and how much time I have to devote to the puzzle.
What is your preferred piece cut? Random or ribbon & why?
I don’t think I have a preference! It more depends on the picture than the piece cut for me.
What is / are your favourite puzzle brands?
I think The Play Group make really interesting and innovative puzzles. For vintage puzzles, Springbok is the golden standard. Eeboo is my comfort puzzle brand. And Ravensburger is always a solid choice too, especially the 3000 piece puzzle that I designed.
What is your favourite TW puzzle?
I really enjoyed Le macaron. It was a challenge getting started, but the colors are so beautiful.
If you could meet anyone in the puzzle community who would that be and why?
Probably Alejandro, who won the World Championships last year. I have so many questions about how he puzzles so fast. Hopefully I will get to meet him and compete against him at World’s this year!
What else do you enjoy other than puzzling?
I discovered last year that I really loved diamond painting, but I had to stop because it was cutting in on my puzzling time! My other favorite hobby is secondhand clothing shopping. It’s like a treasure hunt trying to find unique and high quality pieces.
What is your puzzling strategy… for example do you do border first, are you a sorter?
It really depends on the puzzle and how quickly I’m trying to do it. But I always start with flipping over all of the pieces so I can at least see what I’m working with.
Do you have any tips for challenging puzzles?
Sort by color/texture and then by shape, and organize the pieces in a grid. Make sure you have good lighting. And if it’s just too frustrating, take it apart and start on a puzzle that would be more fun for you.
Do you have a favourite puzzle theme?
I love modern graphic illustrations with flat blocks of color. That’s why I was so excited for the Individual Puzzle at the National Jigsaw Puzzle Championships that I won second place in.
What’s your favourite type of puzzle, eg wooden, rectangular, circular?
I like to mix it up and try as many different types of puzzles as I can.
How many puzzles in your collection?
Honestly my list is pretty outdated at this point and badly needs an update. But at least several hundred.
How many puzzles in your to do pile?
I have a few dozen in my to do pile for fun, and then another few dozen in my to do pile for videos. And yet I still keep getting new puzzles all the time!
Karen along with the best of the best competed in the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championships 2023 in Valladolid, Spain. The world jigsaw puzzle championships are the Olympics of puzzling the fastest speed puzzlers from all over the world. Thank you Karen, what a delight to learn more about you! Please go check Karen out on YouTube, she is mesmerising to watch. I am particularly fascinated with her vintage collection. You can also find her on Instagram @karenpuzzle
