MEET THE MAKER WerkShoppe creates puzzles with colorful, modern art for all ages. P uzzles gained popularity during the 2020 pandemic and are not going away anytime soon. " What we are seeing and hearing is that COVID introduced a whole new multigenerational audience to the art of puzzling, " said Ann Marie Mendlow, president and co-owner of WerkShoppe. " Making a puzzle is a great way to unplug and feel the satisfaction of solving a puzzle pieceby-piece. " Mendlow and Wayne Hueners, CEOs and co-owners of WerkShoppe, have worked in the retail industry doing wall décor for many years and known each other for almost 30 years. During the pandemic, they both found they shared a love of puzzling in their free time and decided to launch WerkShoppe. Mendlow says the company aims to create bold, colorful and modern art selections of puzzles for every type of puzzler. 124 WINTER 2025 GIFT SHOP® PLUS BY ELLEN WAGNER Managing Editor