Liberty Puzzles in Boulder, Colorado

I had a great tour of Liberty Puzzles here in Boulder the other week.  They make wooden jigsaw puzzles that are cut by lasers on 1/4-inch maple boards.  Liberty Puzzles has a wide variety of puzzles available - square, round, rectangular, and fancy irregular cut-outs.  They make puzzles for children, puzzles for adults, and will even make a custom-photograph puzzle for you.  One of the most spectacular things about Liberty Puzzles is their use of whimsy pieces - in a puzzle titled "Cats and Doves," a lot of the pieces are made up of cats and birds; in an ocean oriented photo, there are pieces that include a man on a surfboard, many kinds of fish and sharks, a sea turtle, starfish, lobster, and different kinds of boats.  These pieces are fascinating - and they cause the puzzle to lock together.
  Besides your custom-made puzzle, they have over 300 puzzles available - paintings by the Old Masters, Americana, Currier & Ives, old advertising, Impressionists, maps, illustrations - you name it, and they seem to have it. Prices vary from $39 (plus shipping and handling) to $145.  They also sell a double-glassed frame, so that you can view the front work of art or photo, and the back, which is the intriguing laser-cut pattern. They look easy, but are difficult to put together - I spent over an hour playing with the pieces of two partially completed puzzles at the front of their store-office.  They have a great website that may be viewed at:  http://www.libertypuzzles.com/

   Here are a few samples of the puzzles, the whimsy pieces, and a partial view of the back of one of the puzzles:

Irises by Vincent Van Gogh

This is less than a quarter of the back of "White Shadows in the South Seas"

Whimsy pieces used in "Water"

The Falcon and the Cherry Tree

Currier & Ives - The American Express Train

Whimsy pieces from "The Denver & Rio Grande Rail Road"

"Storm in the Rockies" with a cut-out western border