Do you want to be more patient? Do puzzles

The first steps you take when you enter Puzzlemania is to step on a puzzle displayed on the floor representing a selection of the world's most popular monuments. A puzzle with 42,000 pieces! It was made by the cousin of Caroline Bellés, the owner, and it took her a year and a half to complete it. Entering this shop on Diputació street next to Enric Granados is like entering a museum, you see a selection of the world's best art, landscapes from all over, fantastic scenes and animals, many animals. All in puzzle format, you can choose from about six thousand possibilities, a truly spectacular selection. And all the puzzles are displayed, as if they were paintings, which is greatly appreciated, since in most department stores and toy shops, they are on their side and you have to take them off the shelf to see if you like them or not. It is the advantage of the large space of the premises and a specialization that has lasted for three decades.

Caroline tells us which puzzles sell the most. The most popular ones are from Barcelona, landscapes, emblematic places, modernism, Gaudí, etc. Then, works of art. People are excited to have a puzzle at home that is their favorite painting. Options abound. From Hokusai's famous wave, to The Starry Night by Van Gogh – or several others by the Dutch genius – with 1,500 pieces, Dalí's melting clock (1,000 pieces) or The Garden of Earthly Delights by El Bosco (1,500). Soon they will have an impactful novelty: the possibility of assembling Picasso's "Guernica" with 13,200 pieces.

But, let's see, what is most common when one has just finished such a long puzzle? To dismantle it or to keep it. Caroline is clear. In 80% of cases, keep it assembled. For this, they sell a special glue that allows you to do it without excessive complication. Then it is easy to store or hang on the wall. They also offer a framing service and sell a green adhesive cloth that allows the puzzle to be rolled up halfway as many times as desired. And thus, the eternal problem of space is solved.

And another question that sparks curiosity. What is the most common profile of a puzzle enthusiast? "In general, people do them to relax, to build patience. They tend to be nervous or stressed people looking for a space for relaxation." They have all kinds of clients, from all age groups. It is interesting to know that many young people do puzzles because they are fed up with screens and need this space, physical but above all mental, free from computers and mobile phones.

At Puzzlemania, they also offer personalized puzzles, especially for special gifts: a photo of a relative, their motorbike, their family, their pet, etc. And speaking of pets, the fashion for animal puzzles is amusing. Better said, for humanized animals. A lion blowing out birthday candles, a donkey with glasses, a whole zoo posing for a photo, a group of friendly dogs sunbathing on the beach, three cats having breakfast... "Manufacturers look for trending themes, and the humanization of animals is very trendy today, social media is full of it," recounts Caroline.

It also shows us the small section of puzzles for children, which is not their business's specialty. For a very simple reason, because these can be found everywhere and, on the other hand, not for adults. An interesting fact. During the confinement, the sale of puzzles exploded exponentially. People had a lot of free time to fill. Many new manufacturers emerged and the supply more than doubled. The year 2020 is, by far, the best sales year for Puzzlemania in its more than thirty years of history. It is a very unique business. They believe there is no other like it, 100% specialized, in the entire country.

What happened in 1995 to decide to open the shop? Caroline's father came from the toy world and had his own shop. Whenever they dedicated a monograph to puzzles, it worked very well, and they had the good clinical eye to detect this market niche to open a business with such expertise. They organized the first puzzle competition that took place in the country, and even today, they organize competitions and collaborate with initiatives and entities: neighborhood parties, schools, civic centers... They also accept donations of old puzzles to which they give new life by donating them to libraries, associations, penitentiary centers... “You would be amazed at the amount of people who go to the library to disconnect, and the best way to achieve it is by doing a puzzle”.