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Working: The Artist Behind Liberty Puzzles’ Whimsical Wooden Designs

Slate Daily Feed

Slate

News, Society & Culture, Business

3.91.1K Ratings

🗓️ 21 August 2022

⏱️ 47 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, host Karen Han talks to Lynon Aksamit, a puzzle designer for the Colorado-based company Liberty Puzzles. In the interview, Lynon explains how he and his colleagues select artwork to turn into puzzles. Then he breaks down his process for designing puzzle pieces (including “whimsy pieces”) and describes how he plays with the themes of the original artwork to create engaging puzzles for customers.  After the interview, Karen and co-host June Thomas discuss their own experiences with puzzles.  In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Lynon explains how he’s able to make time for side projects.  Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com or give us a call at (304) 933-9675. Podcast production by Cameron Drews.  If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Big Mood, Little Mood—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on Working. Sign up now at slate.com/workingplus. __ Thanks to Atlassian Work Check Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:42.0

Not only am I making puzzles for a puzzler for a customer who has these set out in front of them trying to figure it out, but it's also a puzzle for me as well trying to figure out how to make it so that it works.

1:12.0

Welcome back to Working. I'm your host, June Thomas. And I'm your other host, Karen Han. Karen is so nice to see you again and to be talking about one of your interviews how you doing.

1:23.0

I'm doing pretty good. How are you? I'm good. It's kind of cooling down in Brooklyn, which I'm very grateful for. And this is my last weekend time, so let's go. I can't believe it.

1:36.0

I know. I know. I'm trying to have one last meal, all of my favorite restaurants and stuff like that. Yeah, for sure.

1:43.0

And whose voice did we hear at the top of the show?

1:46.0

That was Lynn and Eximate, the puzzle designer for Liberty Puzzles.

1:50.0

Puzzles like in jigsaw puzzles? Yes indeed.

1:54.0

Well, I'm guessing that if you wanted to speak to him, there's something special about these puzzles. Tell me more about Lynn's work.

2:02.0

Yeah, so I'm obsessed with Liberty Puzzles. And there's a few things that make their work really special in my opinion.

2:08.0

The first thing is that they're woodcut puzzles. So all the pieces are like pretty thick and have a really nice heft.

2:14.0

And the second thing is that the puzzle piece shapes are really, really unique. They're not like the typical square with little round bits either off of them or on them that we're used to.

2:25.0

Instead, the pieces can take the forms of like trees, animals, snowflakes, squiggly lines, just anything.

2:31.0

And there really are in it of themselves besides the art that's on the actual puzzle.

2:36.0

And I did have a quick look on their website. And I saw that they also kind of, the pieces also sometimes have their own thing going on almost.

2:47.0

Yeah, it's really, really remarkable. Like some of the puzzles have almost like what I think you would call Easter eggs.

2:53.0

Like one of the puzzles that I own from Liberty Puzzles, you can take the pieces in that puzzle and then turn them into a little 3D dinosaur. Like you can make a different like mini puzzle.

3:05.0

Get a 10, that's crazy.

...

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