Jerauld Adams spent a lot of time poring over puzzles during the early days of the pandemic.
Soon after, he decided to turn his newfound family pastime into his next business: Hope Puzzles LLC, a puzzle design and manufacturing company in Pawtucket that emphasizes quality and unique, Rhode Island-inspired designs.
The puzzles are “heirloom quality,” Adams said, meaning “it’s something you can do to pass down to your family and friends, and the quality of the product is so good, it will last 100 years.”
Using custom, hardwood veneered plywood, the puzzles take 30-60 minutes to make using a laser cutter.
Looking for inspiration for the first designs, Adams visited the Rhode Island School of Design Museum and picked out four of his favorite paintings. He then taught himself how to use the software and equipment needed to design and cut puzzles based on the paintings.
Hope Puzzles typically releases a new puzzle each month. Eventually, Adams hopes to scale production to support weekly releases.
“I want for us to be known for producing these really great puzzles and have people anticipating what the next puzzle is going to be,” he said.
