Handmade Shop of the Week: Puzzled1

Jeannette Aragon, of Puzzled, loves wooden toys. Her shop has been overflowing with them since August 2006. All of her award winning pieces are handcrafted, using non-toxic, water based paints so they are safe for your little one and will last for years.

Why did you decide to open your handmade shop? 
I had made so many puzzles I thought to myself "Hey I can sell these!"


Has your inventory changed much since you first opened?   
I am a self taught puzzle maker so as I am inspired my puzzles are born.  I started with just "Paint a puzzle kits" but all I heard was "You don't want that baby puzzle" so then I came up with my wood burned Jigsaw Puzzles and from there the inspiration just keptr coming.  I added my 3D puzzles and then my children's 3D puzzles.  I added my puzzle play sets , photo puzzles, and name puzzles. Finally I added my tray puzzles.  Even my tray puzzles have changed dramatically since I first started making them.  All the while I challenged myself with each new custom puzzle.  




Who are the majority of your customers? How did they find you?

 
According to Facebook the majority of my customers are women aged 25-45.  I have severalmarketing strategies so my customers come from many different venues.  Search engines, Link Partners, Etsy, EBay, Giveaways, Facebook, Twitter, The magic Onion .blogspot.com where I have an advertisement, Squidoo, and thats just to name a few.

What inspires you to create?

  
Everything! Nature, My keyword statistics, the internet, custom orders, But a lot of ideas come from Free coloring book pages that I adapt and turn into a puzzle.


What is your favorite item in your shop currently? Your most popular item? 
I think my favorite item has to be my 3D Ladybug puzzle.  I sat and mulled over how I could make one that had moving wings and yet was a puzzle.  Finally it came to me one day.  It was just suddenly clear.  Turn the wings into tray puzzles that sits on a solid body.  The wings pivot on wooden pegs and then the whole thing sits on wooden peg legs.  Finally I changed it into a counting puzzle by adding numbers to the spots on the ladybugs wings.  I think it turned out great just like I pictured in my head. It's so unusual.  There is nothing like it out there that I could find. In fact I liked it so much that I have decided to make a green bug just like it.  You know like the bugs that look like leaf bugs.

I think my most poplular items are a tie between my Butterfly 3D Puzzle, my Alphabet Apple 3D Puzzle and my Alphabet Tree 3D Puzzle

What has been your greatest resource to make your shop successful?

 
I have to say that my greatest resource is The Google Gods for they have given me very favorable rankings through a ton of hard work on my part.  But I have to say that 60% of my business has come through Google.


Any changes coming to your shop in the future?

 
Oh Im posative there will be.  Like I said as I grow as a puzzle maker so do the puzzles that I make.  Lately I have been making about a new puzzle every week or two.


How else can we find you online? Any team affiliations? 
You can find me on Etsy or Etsy Kids as Puzzledone, Bonanzle as puzzled1, Ebay as sweeetjenn71, Squidoo I have three lenses, The Magic Onion, twitter as puzzledone, Flicker as puzzled1.com, Linkedin as Jeannette Aragon, and so much more

Interested in being featured on my blog? Email me for more information.