The Giant's Causeway Finn McCool Jigsaw and Mugs

Years ago I set my sights on creating souvenirs for the local tourist industry. I grew up hearing about the mythologies of the land and the famous landmarks associated with it.

Since then my postcards are in local shops, but what i'm most happy about is that finally i've been able to see my artwork on a jigsaw puzzle (ok so the first jigsaw I produced from this design was created about 4 years ago for my young nephews but i'm now able to offer it on my site). Back then I had created a jigsaw through a POD site (print on demand). At that time the production cost per jigsaw was just too high to be able to resell,

I decided to research into the possability of smaller independent printers being able to print jigsaw puzzles, so ordered up a few from the UK.

The first puzzle/printer was not up to standard unfortunatly. A few other printers were tried until we settled on one that although is a little more expensive than we had intended, the quality of the print along with the cardboard stock and the press quality is outstanding. We've tested this printer a few times now, all with excellent results.

So last night I spent the best part of 6 hours putting it together. I'm sure a person who is good at jigsaw puzzles would do it in less than half the time, but I haven't done a puzzle in years. I didn't intend to spend the evening engrossed in a jigsaw puzzle but I try to

"become" the customer in everything we offer because if I notice anything that annoys me, rest assured the customer will be annoyed with it too. I was careful to keep an eye on any peeling of the image from the cardboard (like the earlier puzzle/printer we'd tried).

In over 300 pieces there was not a problem and since then i've rebuilt the puzzle a few more times for good measure. I can truthfully say I am pleased with the results, and I admit, it still took me about 6 hours lol. I guess the key is to build the frame first and work on it from there. It was nice to be able to revisit many of the old illustrations I had created. Some of them are over ten years old but still have a great atmosphere about them.

In an ideal world I'd have them for sale in the tourist shops where they would get the most exposure but unless you're able to have the products produced in China at a minimum of 500 - 1000 pieces per order, then shipped here (along with the huge import tax waiting for us) you have to go the print on demand route. Thankfully i've found a great contact in the UK for the puzzles, and very competent and professional printers in Canada and the UK for the mugs.

I am pleased with our progress. In regards to the tourism stuff, it has been a slow progress since most of the time has been taken up by freelance projects, but since the mythology images are already created over the years, I welcome these new products to the store.

I'm also able to finally offer Irish souvenir mugs. I've currently secured a reasonable POD printer in the UK for cups, and have sourced a printer in Canada which can deliver to the U.S / Canada, so we'll see what happens.,One of the hardest aspects of producing souvenirs, card decks etc is not the illustration, but finding a printer / manufacturer that can take your artwork, print it, and having the product affordable while allowing both manufacturer and artist/creator a profit.