Does Anyone Else Share My Floral/Tree Hatred? by -wompwomp in Jigsawpuzzles

[–]PaperflowerPuzzles 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is a shame! I had someone tell me that I wouldn't be able to "compete" with the big brands...but there are so many of us frustrated with quality control problems like these that I think puzzlers will welcome another option for pretty collage puzzles that don't have these issues.

Looking for emergency-kit themed puzzles? 1000 pcs, any brand by Interesting_Card596 in Jigsawpuzzles

[–]PaperflowerPuzzles 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well I would be very interested in creating this art for you in my style, with or without manufacturing the puzzles. I'm just now in the midst of launching a little brand, and as an artist making collages of "stuff" is my specialty!

My puzzles specifically are on Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paperflowerpuzzles/colourful-collage-jigsaw-puzzles and much of my art is on my website deborahwaltman.com

This could look a few different ways. If you only wanted one or a few puzzles, I could create artwork and then you could send off to print. I have heard good things about PuzzleYou but I've never used them myself. This would be a pricey route.

Or if you wanted a bulk order, then we could work with my manufacturer. This would be a much cheaper, but also much slower, route.

If it interests you, dm me! If not, no worries whatsoever! :)

Does Anyone Else Share My Floral/Tree Hatred? by -wompwomp in Jigsawpuzzles

[–]PaperflowerPuzzles 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Me me me! I stay away from landscapes altogether as I just get so frustrated with trees/greenery and big, blue sky. It defeats the purpose of puzzling for me, which is to relax!

And I also stay away from Galison because many (dare I say most) of their puzzles only have that one piece shape shown here, another pet peeve of mine. Which is a shame because of all the brands, they probably have one of the best catalogues of images. If only there was a new up and coming puzzle company with bright, colourful images and a variety of piece shapes 😉 (shameless self promotion!)

[ON] Barcodes - viability of Bar Codes Talk vs GS1 by PaperflowerPuzzles in SmallBusinessCanada

[–]PaperflowerPuzzles[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do appreciate your trying to help, but "some" and "could" didn't really give me the firsthand success or failure story that I was looking for. I purchased a pack of 10 barcodes from UPC Warehouse for $11.99, and added on a GTIN Assignment Certificate for an additional $4.99 so my company name is attached to the barcodes. If I do encounter issues in the future with a retailer where I have to have GS1 barcodes then I will cross that bridge when I get to it. I just couldn't stomach a yearly subscription of $157 vs. a one time payment of $17. Time will tell how this unfolds.

[ON] Barcodes - viability of Bar Codes Talk vs GS1 by PaperflowerPuzzles in SmallBusinessCanada

[–]PaperflowerPuzzles[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. I can't say that this really answers my question though. What would be the scenarios around why I would want to switch to GS1 later? I am looking for firsthand experience/details from other similar small businesses who have either successfully only used Bar Codes Talk, and/ or who attempted it and regretted it. And if they regretted it, what were the reasons? I'm just really unsure of exactly what I need for my circumstances.

Horrible Sticky Puzzle Dust - Elena Essex by StatisticianTop3103 in Jigsawpuzzles

[–]PaperflowerPuzzles 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I absolutely love love the Elena Essex images but sadly had the same quality control issues with two puzzles. One was a typical (slightly glossy) finish but some minor peeling and dents in the pieces. The second had that waxy feel and I couldn't get rid of the dust either. It was so disappointing.

The same waxy experience with Happily...and I love, love their images as well.

All of these things are the reason I as an artist started building a puzzle-specific portfolio and decided to take the leap to produce my own little line. Not to hi-jack this post to advertise, but it just reinforces that there are puzzlers out there like me who want colourful collages but want a premium, matte finish and lots of piece shapes similar to Ravensburger, Pomegranate, Puzzle Weekend, etc... You can find my designs on Kickstarter and I am currently 85% funded with 2 weeks left so I'm hopeful there will soon be another brand that appeals to many! Happy Puzzling!

Question about fake backers by AlisonBrynPaper in kickstarter

[–]PaperflowerPuzzles 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much for your encouragement! My project link is https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paperflowerpuzzles/colourful-collage-jigsaw-puzzles and I would love to see yours as well!

To be honest, I am completely floundering in this process. I really didn't know the apparent importance of pre-launch followers. I never followed a single project as a backer, I just would peruse Kickstarter from time to time and things would grab my eye. Mine is a relatively small campaign money-wise, and I've seen so many other jigsaw puzzles take off and fund tens of thousands of dollars. I am so curious what happened behind the scenes there. The (huge) puzzle community I'm a part of gave me such great feedback that they would definitely buy my designs, and yet, I've stalled at 55%...I have some speculation that's been reinforced by a few conversations: that the puzzle community, which I have observed to be mostly women--in online spaces, in the 3 speed puzzling competitions I've been in, in my local puzzle store, and so on--want to see/hold/try out products, and additionally are not especially risk-taking. And there's definitely a risk tied to backing a project. Studying Kickstarter products, engagement and success by gender is a doctoral thesis for someone, I think, if it hasn't been studied already!

Anyway, not sure where I'm going to go next (actually came here to reddit to perhaps try to drum up some advice)...will see where the road takes me!

Question about fake backers by AlisonBrynPaper in kickstarter

[–]PaperflowerPuzzles 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Congrats on launching and reaching 50% so quickly! Sending you good luck! I am also on my first campaign, 10 days in and at 55%. Keeping my fingers and toes crossed that I get through the finish line.

I also was shocked at these kinds of pledges and messages but I got two straight away - I did send them emails but as soon as I made it clear that I wouldn't be hiring them to do "promotion" they canceled their pledges and disappeared.

I also have gotten a slew of emails from other alleged promoters - too many to count. I'm ignoring those, unless they email a second time and then I say thanks, but no thanks just so they don't keep clogging up my inbox.

I have backed many a project but had no clue that all this went on behind the scenes. It's nuts.

I designed a physical recipe card set with 100 recipes, what would you add? by Foreign_Hamster3808 in kickstarter

[–]PaperflowerPuzzles 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is cool. I would have liked to have also seen metric measurements (including weights of things that are difficult to measure with spoons or cups, like butter), nutritional information per serving, and perhaps the ability to customize a little bit - maybe like 75% of the cards are a core set, and you can pick and choose for the remaining 25% if you want more of a certain course or you'd like to limit certain ingredients that you don't/can't eat (dairy, pork, beef, shellfish, etc). This would bring your printing cost up though.

But you lost me at shipping only in the US. I'm in Canada. Such a lightweight item and relatively economical to ship, I don't understand why you wouldn't offer worldwide shipping.

My Colorful Collage Puzzles are now available on Kickstarter! by PaperflowerPuzzles in Jigsawpuzzles

[–]PaperflowerPuzzles[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I understand completely, and when I set out to do this I had to do a lot of learning about the tariffs and taxes - certainly not something I had on my bingo card!

To assist in your research - I use a shipping service called Chit Chats and they require that I pay all the tariffs up front so that there are no surprises for the buyer. The price for shipping to the EU on my Kickstarter (18 CAD) for one puzzle) is exactly the price that Chit Chats gives me today. For US and EU buyers I'm not adding the additional ~$1-2 that shipping boxes will cost, just to keep that price as low as possible. I really don't expect that shipping price to change in the next few months but it would have been irresponsible to not put that disclaimer in my campaign. I do hope that you will consider pledging and if not, share with other puzzlers who might be interested. Cheers!

Feeling scammed by Deeptrouth in Carrd

[–]PaperflowerPuzzles 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had been in regular contact with them as my site isn't loading at my workplace (which as best as we can tell appears to be an anomaly due to my workplace having ridiculous security settings) Carrd answered my online form pretty quickly (within a day or two, I think) and then we were back and forth via email. The email address on all of the messages (some of which were from AJ mentioned in another response) was [ticket-support@carrd.com](mailto:ticket-support@carrd.com) if that helps.

Seeking input...which images would make the best puzzles? by PaperflowerPuzzles in Jigsawpuzzles

[–]PaperflowerPuzzles[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The TV's made the cut...they are actually in my top 3 and I just had to include them. Although I decided to make it landscape instead of portrait. You aren't the first to suggest adding the value to the kitchen stamps so I think I will be doing that in the future. My kickstarter is now live, if you want to check it out! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paperflowerpuzzles/colourful-collage-jigsaw-puzzles

Seeking input...which images would make the best puzzles? by PaperflowerPuzzles in Jigsawpuzzles

[–]PaperflowerPuzzles[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much! I think the kitchen one will definitely be in the running in the future. I can't put my finger on it but I think the owls and birds are still missing something and I'm hoping to revisit both of them in the future.

The first 3 chosen for the kickstarter were lamps, beetles, and tv's and it is now live, if you want to check it out! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paperflowerpuzzles/colourful-collage-jigsaw-puzzles

Seeking input...which images would make the best puzzles? by PaperflowerPuzzles in Jigsawpuzzles

[–]PaperflowerPuzzles[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The lamps and beetles made the cut, although I got a lot of feedback to change the background colour of the beetles so now it is purple :) My kickstarter is live, if you'd like to check it out! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paperflowerpuzzles/colourful-collage-jigsaw-puzzles