Back in 2016, the owners of the Wharf Shop in Sag Harbor Village, frustrated by a lack of jigsaw puzzles with a Sag Harbor theme, decided to come up with their own.
“It started with demand. We had been asked for years, but no one had made one,” said Gwen Waddington, who owns the shop with her mother, Nada Barry. “So, we knew we’d have to produce a lot of puzzles to have them manufactured at an affordable price.”
The first was a collage of photographs, including an image of the Sag Harbor Cinema, which has been featured in each succeeding puzzle. “It’s such an iconic image,” Ms. Waddington said.
Eventually, the first puzzle sold out and a second came and went too, which has now led to a third, being offered just in time for HarborFest, a thousand-piecer for $22.95.
“We wanted something unusual but still pleasing. We know two artists whose work we have used in greeting cards, Hugh Gallagher and TylerAnn Mack. I approached them and asked them to use their images.”
The puzzle is again a collage, this time of four paintings by the two artists, both frequent visitors to the village. One of the cinema, one of the windmill at Long Wharf, one of Windmill Beach looking toward the bridge to North Haven, and another from the beach on North Haven looking toward the windmill, with the village behind.
Ms. Waddington said the shop stocks enough puzzles to last two to three years. Once they sell out, they’re gone forever.
“You could probably find them at a yard sale with several pieces missing, otherwise these are items unique to the Wharf Shop. You will not find them on Amazon. We don’t have a store on the internet, we prefer just to have a brick-and-mortar, and we want people to have the experience of coming to a traditional toy and gift store.”
During HarborFest, customers can fill out a raffle ticket in the store to try to win a puzzle. On Sunday at 5 p.m., Bob Wilson, who helped design and lay out the puzzle, will draw tickets and give away three puzzles for free.
