May 3, 2009

Creative woman’s groovy puzzles making comebackBy Rich FaheyBoston.com

It started with doodles. Oodles of doodles. But the doodles soon became designs, designs that struck a chord with jigsaw-puzzle lovers during the turbulent times of the late 1960s.

Quincy resident Sandy Miller, then 23, designed a series of round jigsaw puzzles she named Thingies in 1967 that became kind of the hula hoop of the puzzle set after they were first unveiled at the New York City Gift Show.

There were 100,000 Thingies sold in just the first week under the banner of puzzle maker Springbok Editions, and soon the puzzles were sold in 5,000 stores across the country. There were Love Thingies for Valentine’s Day and Holiday Thingies for Christmas sales.

But about two years after their debut, Hallmark Cards, which had purchased Springbok in 1967, discontinued the Thingies line and began designing its own circular puzzles.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, when Miller, now a 64-year-old grandmother, was visiting son Joe Lapchick in Florida. He surprised her with several Thingies he’d purchased on the Internet, where the used puzzles, which retailed at $1.25 more than 40 years ago, are now doing a brisk business at $25 a pop on eBay. The puzzles also have their own Internet-based fan club.

Now Miller, a successful business woman and designer, is trying to relaunch the Thingies. She has approached Springbok, and while she has no commitment from the firm, she hopes that with updating and modifications, her creations might be a winner again.

“I’m hoping that 40 years later, this version might have a built-in fan club both from the old Thingies collectors and my current devoted fans,” she said.

The Thingies are round, 60-piece jigsaws about 7 inches across, boasting whimsical designs and equally whimsical titles: “Dog in Miniskirt,” “Smoking Salamander,” and “Shish Kebab Vegetable.”

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