Small Business Spotlight: Puzzle Portraits Putting the Pieces Together

If you’ve been to the Mountain Mall recently, you may have noticed a relative newcomer to the space beside Tennessee Cider Co. in Gatlinburg. That business is Puzzle Portraits. It’s a prime location, tucked inside to the left from the mall entrance door next to TCC. Their name is prominently displayed on the window and in letters on the brick exterior.

For owners, Holly Wade and her husband, it wasn’t necessarily their vision to be entrepreneurs, but sometimes the pieces just fall into place (pun intended). As I know all too well, you have to follow through with a dream when the path starts clearing. This was especially true for the couple who calls the fine state of Kentucky their home.

Holly and her partner earned a living by working in the chemical and farming industry for better than a decade. With starting their own puzzles-on-demand business creeping into their minds, a New Year’s holiday visit gave them a picture of hope, despite the Hell Week crowds (what we locals call this time of the year).

When this open space in the Mountain Mall presented itself, the fortunes were there for the taking, and it became a golden opportunity for them to fixate on opening up their shop here. As is the case with anything, it wasn’t easy, but the perseverance paid off as they opened on Memorial Day weekend this year.

Puzzle Portraits occupies a small space, but they offer a large range of gifts. They offer a nice selection of puzzles ranging from 300-1000 pieces. I especially like the classic album covers that caught my eye, in addition to the Back to the Future one—a Top 5 all-time movie for me personally. For Harry Potter fans, they offer 3D puzzles, featuring the famous kid wizard.

Also available in their store are socks, keychains, wristlet wallets, soda, water, Dippin Dots, socks, and stuffed animals among others. The True Genius Brainteasers are good for those that love a nice challenge to satisfy their gaming cravings. They also sell penny booklets for those that utilize the penny machine that sits outside their store. Now I know where to send guests when they ask about them where I work.

But those aren’t the main theme of the shop. The star of the show lies behind the register. Their top-of-the-line UV printer is responsible for making personal photos into a 500-piece puzzle guests can take home and enjoy the process of putting it back together. The process begins when you select any photo from your phone album and email it to Holly’s listed address on the counter. Then she processes the photo from the computer and the magic starts to happen. It takes about 10 minutes from start to finish, granted they aren’t already working on someone else’s puzzle. Not bad at all. If you do have to wait, you have plenty of other unique mall shops to browse, in the meantime.

After sliding the 20 X 16 puzzle out of the printer, the pieces get broken up by hand and placed inside a cloth packet inside a Keepsake Box, along with a printed picture for reference when doing the puzzle itself. My wife and I were really impressed with the way the box looked. This year’s inaugural version looks like a book you can put on a shelf in your book room, or a coffee table in your living room. They are coming out with a new design for next year’s box, so keep an eye on that. Personally, I hope it at least resembles the one we received. It has that book-lover aesthetic we really appreciated.

As proof of their ability to diversify, they also offer canvas prints featuring your selected photo, and a package that doesn’t involve the Keepsake Book. Those are at cheaper price points to better fit your budgeting, because, we all know there’s many opportunities in Gatlinburg to break the bank on souvenirs and such.

These puzzle packages can make awesome Christmas gifts, and guess what? They have a Christmas Countdown in their window as a subtle reminder of what Puzzle Portraits can offer for your family, in time for the big giving holiday. As an added benefit, they are soon coming out with smaller, 50-piece puzzles a young child would absolutely love.

I can’t think of a better keepsake for your Gatlinburg vacation. You’re definitely taking dozens, if not hundreds of pictures while you’re here—it’s only natural. Why not have something to remember the fun memories you made while you were visiting. The only problem may be choosing the perfect one to put together after toting it home. I literally have taken thousands over the years, but I ended up selecting a recent Gatlinburg photo we’ll be happy to do on our own time.

Their website and Facebook Page are listed below, so you can check out all the cool things they have, and everything they’re working on in the future. The owners embody the spirit of a dream that all comes together when you persist and piece it all together.

Website: puzzleportraits.com

Facebook: Puzzle Portraits

Thank you for reading my latest Small Business Spotlight on Puzzle Portraits in the Mountain Mall in downtown Gatlinburg. I hope to do many more in the future, as I am passionate about helping the little guys in this community thrive, no matter what their background. Small businesses are the lifeblood of the area, and the people I’ve met have made our decision to be here even more satisfying. Stay tuned for more news you can use, plus more inspiring and interesting stories like this one in the future. I appreciate you all!