Check Out Courtney Spehar’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Courtney Spehar

Hi Courtney, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am an Interior Designer by trade, but I am also a very busy mom of three children. Like all moms, I am incredibly busy chauffeuring the kids around to their activities, helping with homework, hosting playdates & sleepovers, oh, and working. We move at such a fast pace, it suddenly hit me a while back… although I spend a lot of “time” with my kids, it wasn’t as much quality time as I would like.

Now that my children are older, I have tried slowing things down… finding simple activities to connect with them more. We really were not a puzzling family. However, on a snowy day a couple of years ago, I randomly pulled a puzzle out of our closet and noticed myself getting lost in it. I’m competitive in nature, and absolutely love the sense of completion, and tackling tasks. I had forgotten how much fun puzzling can be! In fact, super rewarding and therapeutic.

As each child would come and go that day, they would add a couple pieces here & there. It was at this time I realized what incredible 1-on-1 time it was puzzling with them. We were truly connecting… talking about the image, finding “the” piece, and talking about other life things too. Although we didn’t come anywhere near completing the puzzle that day, I realized that this was an amazing activity for the family. After they all went to bed, I sat back down with a glass of wine, put on my favorite Spotify album, and got back to puzzling…I was locked in.

And so it began, our family’s new way to connect, and conversely MY peaceful end to the hectic days. As we began doing more puzzles, I realized that these puzzle companies were missing a really great opportunity for the consumer to display their hard work within their homes. As a professional Interior Designer, I did not love the images we were spending so much time assembling, and the framing options were not of good quality. So, I set out to select art-forward imagery that I would want on my own walls, and to design a really unique, cool frame.

I have always had an obsession with colored acrylic, and therefore wanted to select vibrant colors that would complement the puzzled artwork. Is it a puzzle or is it art? We are mutually both… ēklektik pieces is an acrylic form of puzzled art. We are such a unique product that we are the perfect gift for the person who literally has everything! You don’t have to be a puzzler to love our products. You just have to love beautiful things. After many years in the making, ēklektik pieces officially launched in August 2023.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
How was ēklektik pieces going to be unique… and ONE OF A KIND?
The acrylic idea actually began with the frames! Who doesn’t love, vibrant, colored acrylic? Especially these days, acrylic is all the rage and very on trend. A couple of years ago, there was a puzzle that I really enjoyed assembling. I didn’t LOVE the image, but it was on my table for weeks and my sweet Dad knew it took my family a lot of time to complete so he bought me the frame to showcase & display our hard work. The $100 frame arrived and it was, for lack of a better description, super flimsy. I have an appreciation for beautiful, high-quality products that represent my style. And this was not it. So, I set out to design colorful, acrylic frames that could compliment the puzzle. Our custom-designed frames can be used with all of our art puzzles and are easy to use. Either assemble your puzzle right on the frame, or on any flat surface (and easily slide the puzzle onto the frame). Close the top tray and you are ready to display/hang either vertically or horizontally. Super easy, no messy glue either!

We are all familiar with traditional particle board puzzles and even the wooden jigsaw puzzles. But after designing the colored acrylic frames, we decided ēklektik pieces should take puzzling to a whole new dimension (literally) by putting the imagery on clear acrylic as well. Once we tried it, we were obsessed! Seeing the image through the sides of the pieces is just so unique. Not to mention, you can really feel the exceptional quality of the acrylic pieces in the way they “klick” together. Such a sense of satisfaction!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I personally curate our portfolio based on artwork/artists that I would want to see hanging on the walls in my own home. Our goal, is to collaborate with artists whom we admire, for their work and who they are as individuals. We begin by designing the puzzle pieces.

Our ēklektik artists are extremely thoughtful in designing each individual puzzle piece and therefore it is a quite extensive process that takes months. The piece designs are inspired by elements within the artwork, and often times, very typical of elements that you find throughout that artist’s work. It is our intention to enhance the artwork through the unique acrylic medium. Once we custom design the acrylic pieces, we laser cut them, and verify their structural integrity and design intent to make certain that not only are we are in line with the artists we are representing, but that the pieces interlock in order to create the perfect puzzle. Our puzzles truly are… art within art!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.eklektikpieces.com
• Instagram: eklektik.pieces
• Facebook: eklektik.pieces