DETAILS

A pursuit in:
* Product Development,
* Go-to-market strategies,
* Fundraising,
* Founder-led Sales,
* Negotiation. 

Stage: Product-User Fit

Flagship Collection: Play and Display, A combination of art and experience in people’s everyday spaces

Imagine art that doesn’t just arrive pre-made on your wall but instead invites you to assemble it, to connect with it, and then proudly display it. 'Play and Display' is about creating that personal bond with art, making it engaging and meaningful. By the end, you don’t just own art, you’ve helped to create it, piece by piece.

While 'Play and Display' takes the form of a puzzle, it’s not a product, it's an experience based on the combined principles of board games and puzzle-making.

Go to Market Strategy

1. Product Differentiation: 
2. De-risking investment through pre-orders: Launching 'Play and Display' took resourcefulness. I ran a Kickstarter campaign, raising 40% beyond my original goal without a single dollar spent on advertising. This organic approach helped me connect with an audience across Canada, the US, Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, Singapore, and India. It also confirmed a deep, genuine interest in the product—a rare and valuable validation. 
3. Audience Fit: While 'Play and Display' is technically a puzzle, it’s more than that. It’s designed for people who value art and collectibles, not just the act of puzzling itself. This shift from “puzzle” to “art print” changed everything, from messaging to where I looked for potential customers.
4. Pricing Strategy: Unlike mass-produced puzzles, 'Play and Display' is intended as a piece of art that happens to be a puzzle. The pricing reflects that middle ground: between the cost of a standard puzzle and a fine art print.
5. Sales channels:  E-commerce store and select retail: Shop Makers which gives small artists a platform to share their craft and build a presence.

Key Strategic Pillars

Resource Allocation: Working solo forced me to be strategic with every dollar. I reinvested Kickstarter funds into inventory rather than treating the excess as profit, extending my runway for growth.

Founder-Led Sales: Selling directly to customers has been invaluable. Customers want to know the story, and hearing it straight from the founder can make a big difference. For me, packing each order myself and managing all the details is as important as the sale itself.

Retail Strategy: My goal is to make 'Play and Display' available in select artist-focused stores and high-end furniture stores. The first test is with Shopmakers.ca, a chain of Canadian stores featuring independent artists’ work. For furniture stores, I’m focusing on locations that excel at curating aspirational interior spaces, where my product feels right at home. 

My Biggest Challenge: Manufacturing of course!

Manufacturing has been a steep learning curve. Unlike the software world, where you can iterate quickly, launching a physical product requires patience. There’s less control, and lead times are longer. I prepared as much as I could for unexpected issues, but nothing teaches like experience. It’s a reminder of how different the physical product space is, even for a designer with a background in iterative processes.

... and unforeseen circumstances: shipping strikes and cost hike

As of October 28, 2024, my first inventory of 156 units has arrived, and I’m fulfilling pre-orders as I build my direct-to-consumer channels. I’m not paying myself a salary yet; every sale goes back into expanding the brand and reaching more people who see value in connecting with art in this hands-on way. 

The 'Play and Display' is just the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey, and this experience has deepened my love for creating new beautiful things!