Overview
In August 2011, New Zealand’s online shopping sphere gained a dynamic addition with the launch of Thousand Piece Puzzle, a shopping destination dedicated to merging the gap between fashion and art. Concrete Playground Fashion Editor, Christina Roys catches up with the brains behind Thousand Piece Puzzle to find out more about their unique approach to online retail.
Launched by two creative individuals, Shaye Laree and Logan Cassin, Thousand Piece Puzzle has continued to evolve into a diverse and creative store inspired by their mutual passion for fashion and art, showcased through their social media, quirky lookbooks and art experiments as well as their forward thinking clothing brands including I Love Ugly, Commoners_Alike and popular Australian label, Jensen, each handpicked to support their creative direction.
Since completing their studies in Graphic Design and Commerce respectively, Shaye and Logan have naturally progressed into business together, first friends and now business partners, both bring their different ideas and backgrounds to the table which has shaped their unique vision for Thousand Piece Puzzle.
“We do things that most people wouldn’t,” says Logan “the majority of retail clothing stores merely focus their efforts towards their clothes, at Thousand Piece Puzzle we aim to push the boundaries, combining elements of art alongside our core business of fashion to offer a distinct difference from other online outlets.”
The dynamic duo describe themselves as craftsmen with an idiosyncratic vision to collectively and creatively connect like-minded people, seeking collaborative projects with various individuals and groups across different industries, which has ultimately helped define them from their competitors and position their product in an interesting and innovative way.
“We have come across so many interesting and talented people over the years that didn’t have an avenue to promote their work easily or express themselves in a professional atmosphere,” says Logan “this sparked the idea that we could create a culture of like minded individuals where it would be easy to present and execute creative ideas, which led us to the development of Thousand Piece Puzzle.”
“While the store isn’t a full time project for Logan and Shaye, they are happy to keep it that way, confessing it keeps them sane and their ideas fresh only working on it part time.
“The luxury of growing a business with a small team means we are able to have a greater personal impact on what we portray to the public, says Shaye “we are very particular with what we do and how we go about it and although it’s a hectic workload, we’re confident we have set a solid platform but are always looking to improve on aspects that need development.”
Currently in motion for their next big collaboration project, they are excited for their winter showcase held in conjunction with Collectif magazine in Auckland on Wednesday July 11th. The event presented by Tuatara Brewery and French Revolver Studio will launch Collectif Magazine’s third issue and showcase the Thousand Piece Puzzle winter collections.
Concrete Playground has a double pass to the event, $250 Thousand Piece Puzzle voucher, issue 2 & 3 of Collectif magazine and 6 x pack of Tuatara beer to giveaway to one lucky person. Simply email auckland@concreteplayground.co.nz with the subject line: thousand to go in the draw. You must be subscribed to Concrete Playground in order to win.