Darin
Puzzle Enthusiast
208
Puzzles Shared
309,563
Total Pieces
44
Unique Brands
About the Curator
I am an avid puzzler who has been solving jigsaw puzzles for over 20 years. I specialize in fine art puzzles and the art is what primarily drives my passion for this hobby. Despite the difficulty and piece counts often being high, I just love seeing fine art images come together piece by piece. I mainly collect vintage puzzles, mostly from European brands that are difficult to find today.
My first jigsaw memory was working on an old Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey puzzle in the late 70s. Fast forward to late 2001/early 2002 and that is when my real passion for puzzles was ignited.
During that time frame, I was in Ankara, Turkey on a business trip and found myself in a mall that had many stores selling puzzles, mostly Educa at the time. Intrigued, I picked up the 1,500 Educa Patio de Caballos de la Plaza de Toros de Madrid and the 6,000 Clementoni Allegory of Sight and Smell and brought them home. It took three weeks to complete the former and six months for the latter, and from that time I was hooked. Over the next couple of years, I did a few more old Educas, including the 5,000 The Wedding Feast of Cupid and Psyche, and framed them all before returning to the U.S.
Over the next 5-6 years, I did not puzzle actively, but did manage to finish the 18,000 Educa St. Columbia Altarpiece and the 24,000 Educa Life puzzle. In the early 2010s, I began to puzzle more often, while still focusing on larger piece counts, but by 2013 I began to work on smaller puzzles as well. Since 2014, I have stepped up my puzzle purchases and my collection has grown considerably.
I regularly posted my puzzles on Flickr from 2014 to around 2017 and have posted them on Facebook and Instagram since then. While I enjoy engaging on these platforms (especially the FB group The Den of Discerning Dissectologists), I have long wanted a website to catalogue and document my entire collection. Thanks to my son, this site is now a reality.
While I plan to continue working puzzles now that I am retired, the goal is to one day display them in a puzzle gallery/museum. For this reason, I never disassemble puzzles. While it is not an easy proposition, I will somehow will it into existence, so people can enjoy these classic puzzles for eternity.
My first jigsaw memory was working on an old Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey puzzle in the late 70s. Fast forward to late 2001/early 2002 and that is when my real passion for puzzles was ignited.
During that time frame, I was in Ankara, Turkey on a business trip and found myself in a mall that had many stores selling puzzles, mostly Educa at the time. Intrigued, I picked up the 1,500 Educa Patio de Caballos de la Plaza de Toros de Madrid and the 6,000 Clementoni Allegory of Sight and Smell and brought them home. It took three weeks to complete the former and six months for the latter, and from that time I was hooked. Over the next couple of years, I did a few more old Educas, including the 5,000 The Wedding Feast of Cupid and Psyche, and framed them all before returning to the U.S.
Over the next 5-6 years, I did not puzzle actively, but did manage to finish the 18,000 Educa St. Columbia Altarpiece and the 24,000 Educa Life puzzle. In the early 2010s, I began to puzzle more often, while still focusing on larger piece counts, but by 2013 I began to work on smaller puzzles as well. Since 2014, I have stepped up my puzzle purchases and my collection has grown considerably.
I regularly posted my puzzles on Flickr from 2014 to around 2017 and have posted them on Facebook and Instagram since then. While I enjoy engaging on these platforms (especially the FB group The Den of Discerning Dissectologists), I have long wanted a website to catalogue and document my entire collection. Thanks to my son, this site is now a reality.
While I plan to continue working puzzles now that I am retired, the goal is to one day display them in a puzzle gallery/museum. For this reason, I never disassemble puzzles. While it is not an easy proposition, I will somehow will it into existence, so people can enjoy these classic puzzles for eternity.
