In 2018, a budding young entrepreneur’s father made two purchases: a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle for the cottage, and a print of one of Linda Sorensen’s artwork. When his 17-year-old son (at that time), Matt Kelley, noticed the pair of purchases, he immediately had the bright idea to combine the two. Matt did a soft launch in May 2018 and saw outstanding success with his first round of puzzles; three 1000-piecers featuring one submission from each partnering artist. He loaded up his puzzles into the back of his 2008 Hyundai Tiburon and drove them across Ontario to begin selling.
Matt used the rest of his high school career to build the Algonquin Puzzle Company. He ordered thousands of puzzles, and shipped them across the world to sell online, at trade shows, and to local gift stores so that others could gain his same sense of appreciation.
Matt did a soft launch in May 2018 and saw outstanding success with his first round of puzzles; three 1000-piecers featuring one submission from each partnering artist. He loaded up his puzzles into the back of his 2008 Hyundai Tiburon and drove them across Ontario to begin selling.
Three years later, Matt and his family now ship the puzzles all over the world while Matt pursues his Bachelor’s Degree in Finance at the University of Ottawa. Matt is confident that the Algonquin Puzzle Company has the best customers in the world.
Algonquin Puzzles will take you back to the cottage, one piece at a time.