Artifact Puzzles - Haeckel Hummingbirds Wooden Jigsaw Puzzle

I own 63 Artifact puzzles at a cost of $3,113 dollars. I hope that makes me entitled to make a few general observations about their products.I'll offer that the one thing all great entertainment has in common is some degree of audience participation. Be it a quality movie, play, concert or in this case a jigsaw puzzle at some level we are invited in, not to observe but to participate on some level.Most jigsaw puzzles are mindless activity, much like shelling peas, or a conversation with ex wife. It is a rote activity for the body requiring little or no frontal lobe participation. What make Artifact puzzles so addictive is the creativity and problem solving required from customers.I have 3 Artifact puzzles with pieces that stick in vertically like cake decorations. Finished Artifact puzzles rarely look exactly like the photo on the box. All the expectations about what edge pieces should look like, forget them.Artifact puzzles offer an intimate invitation for problem solving, they have a mischievous sense of humor, they defy conventions. They are frightfully and delightfully engaging.Most jigsaw puzzles are grid based squares with lobe connectors. The piece pattern is in no way related to the art work. They take a generic piece pattern die and stomp out puzzles and if the finished puzzle is the Parthenon or Dogs playing Poker the cut die is the same.In contrast every Artifact puzzle design is unique. A whole lot of thinking and planning goes in to making a cut pattern unique to the particular work of art. I am sure that is one of Artifact's biggest cost center. Artifact puzzles ooze of thoughtful design and artistic fanaticism.Expect challenges, sunrises, tricks with Artifact puzzles. It is like being invited to a small music recital at someone's home where everybody is expected to play a music instrument sometime during the evening. One is expected to actively participate.So I get annoyed when I read negative reviews about Artifact puzzles: "I took off two stars because the finished puzzle did not exactly look like the photo on the box." There is always someone who sleeps through lectures all semester then has problems with the final. If you enjoy a hour or so of creative problem solving, and let some one play with your head in a very benign fashion, all Artifact puzzles are 5 out of 5 stars and worth every penny.

We love Artifact puzzles! We try to order one every Christmas as a family gift and look forward to putting them together again and again. These are high quality great heirloom puzzles. I can't wait to pass these on to our kids when they have their own families. Very sturdy, made of nice wood, the laser cut pieces fit impeccably together and the print designs are high quality. I love how they offer different prints from the same artists. And we love the ones without the straight edges. All the puzzles have a few pieces specifically cut for that prints and it's always a fun surprise to find those pieces when sorting and then wait and see where they fit in. The puzzles come in nice packing boxes and we keep ours on the bookshelf for all to see. Everyone who sees them, loves them. They are a bit pricy but well worth the price point if you ask me for the quality that you receive. We look forward each year to new prints. It's always so hard to choose as we would own many more if we could.

This was a special gift for my mom. She lives in another state. I had it sent directly to her. I was nervous because I have never seen a puzzle from this company. She loves it! She said it was packaged perfectly. She loves the way the pieces feel and said even the box it comes in is pretty. She usually works 1,000 piece puzzles but because of the unique puzzle shapes she finds this one challenging. Definitely recommend! She said this is one she will keep and give my niece or nephew when they are older.

This beautiful hummingbird puzzle is very high quality and will last many generations to come. The 262 pieces make a finished product that is 9.5 inches by 13.75 inches so you don't need a lot of space. The wooden box it comes in is slightly smaller and nice for preserving the puzzle and not losing pieces. The wooden top doesn't slide very well but with sanding or wax could slide better. The picture could be a bit bigger as well. We thought the puzzle would be very challenging given that the puzzle pieces are unusually shaped (we found a butterfly, frog, gecko, and maple leaf shape) and small in size (in between the size of a dime and a nickel). It took 2 of us about a week to do the puzzle working on it maybe 1 hour each day. This is a gorgeous puzzle that I'd recommend.

It is the first wooden jigsaw puzzle she has had in years. We just started putting it together, and the pieces fit well, are brilliantly colored (really nicely!), and come in a little wooden box. She loves it!One thing, on the box: If you get some paraffin or an old candle, cut the label and slide open the lid, and then rub the wax on the edges. It makes it open and close a lot more smoothly. (No wax needed on the puzzle, of course!)A really nice gift.As an addendum, I saw the completed puzzle, and it was beautiful. I took a picture out in the sunlight, but I only see a link for video reviews so I won't be able to add it. My mom really loved the puzzle, though, and my dad (who tried to help) did as well.

This is a very beautifully crafted wooden puzzle. It's such an enjoyable thing to assemble them. Best for family to do together, but alwo fun just to piece them together leisurly alone. Only thing I wish is if they could providethe names of each bird to be really educational. I would definitely purchase more wooden puzzles from Artifacts Puzzles. Just wish they make more birds puzzles for bird lovers.I also have the same Haeckel Hummingbirds with 485 pieces 12.75"X18.5" made by "Liberty Puzzles", I'd love to recommend this one also, only because it's pieces are so aritistcally cut and more chanllege.

My parents are 87 and 93. They love puzzles, but find that regular jigsaw puzzles pieces are difficult for them to handle. These pieces are nice and thick and they loved spending time with family working on this puzzle. They loved the shape of the pieces and enjoyed finding the specialty pieces. The puzzle is beautiful!