By Jacqui Somen
While working through a particularly challenging period related to her job overseeing large-scale grants for women’s health programs in developing countries, Lindsey Simmonds found solace at her puzzle table. During this time, Ms. Simmonds would walk in the door from work and head straight for her puzzle. Soon she began to crave puzzles as a form of self-care during monthly trips to Africa, in hotel rooms, and after long days at work. Then, she ran out of her favorite puzzles.
A burning personal desire for an inspiring, calming activity is what fueled the creation of Wander Puzzle, a line of stunning puzzles featuring illustrations by international female artists personally selected by Ms. Simmonds to share a feeling and connectiveness to a bigger purpose — building a better world — peace by piece. After her initial idea, Ms. Simmonds set out to find manufacturers, but kept second-guessing herself. One day in July of 2019, Ms. Simmonds was on a long bike ride and was struck by inspiration. She decided wholeheartedly that she would give puzzle manufacturing a try.
After securing a manufacturer and connecting with two well-known female artists, Rafaela Mascaro and Roeqiya Fris, to design the first puzzles, Wander Puzzle was on its way. A few months later, in December 2019 Ms. Simmonds began to panic because she would not be able to release the beautiful puzzles in time for the holidays. Little did she know that just three months later the COVID-19 pandemic would bring with it a resurgence of interest in tactile activities. In March 2020, Wander Puzzle was selling 100 puzzles a day and ran out of stock by mid-April. By the time she was able to refill the stock, there were hundreds of back-orders. Ms. Simmonds managed the growth while continuing to work at her development job. She spent her days on the phone with governments coordinating PPE for African countries and her nights sorting out shipping and distribution complications.
This summer Ms. Simmonds signed on 35 new retailers and is in conversation with several large retailers to stock their shelves for the 2020 holiday season. Ms. Simmonds is happy to take on the fast growth and the challenges that come with it. She knows that through Wander Puzzle she is making the world better, creating peace by piece, and supporting women throughout the world.
