A Papamoa graphic designer has found a new outlet for his talent - jigsaw puzzles.
Eddie Booth's cartoon illustrations of characters caught up in quirky situations have been turned into a series of five 1000-piece puzzles and are in the stores selling now.
He has illustrated a card game and a handful
of children's books before but puzzles are taking him in an exciting new direction.
"I definitely see a future in it. Twice the number we expected are being sold to stores and I'm working on another five designs. Eventually I'd love to see them in the Australian or US markets and sell them to schools."
Eddie and his wife Cathy have run their graphic design business, Designbooth, from their Papamoa home for several years. While commercial work has been Eddie's "bread and butter", he has always maintained an interest in illustrating, sketching out ideas on his computer and building up a series of characters in his head.
It was only last November, after kiwifruit company Satara discussed turning a poster he designed into a jigsaw puzzle, that the chance to develop his concepts become a reality. He successfully pitched his ideas to Auckland-based distribution company Jasco which happened to be turning its attention to jigsaws at the time.
Eddie wanted to create a puzzle that was harder than a standard puzzle but easier than a Wasgij - puzzles with pictures on the front of the box that provide a clue as to what the puzzle will be.
Eddie's puzzles are similar in that people must look through a keyhole on the front of the box to work out what events have unfolded in a particular scene. He and his wife trademarked their "Eye Saw" idea, initially creating a series of five designs, featuring quirky characters appearing in a restaurant, fish and chip shop, supermarket, camping scene and museum.
"I've got ideas for a whole lot more and designs in different illustration styles as well. We'll see how the classic series sells first but the opportunities for more are endless."
While not a jigsaw fan before his puzzles were produced, Eddie has discovered the jigsaw bug and learnt that many of his neighbours are puzzle enthusiasts too.
The puzzles sell for about $25 at Whitcoulls, Paper Plus and Take Note stores.
