Summer is a time of joy! It’s a season for relaxation and spending time outdoors with family and friends. The days are longer, the sun is often a welcome sight, and our calendars are filled with fun gatherings and activities. You might think it’s all work and no play, but that’s not true. Here at Stave, we celebrated Chocolate Chip Cookie Day with homemade treats, enjoyed boxes of Georgia peaches sent to us by Pete and Gail, and savored some exquisite chocolate bars from another puzzling friend. It’s been an unusually hot, dry summer so to beat the heat a group of us made a trip north for an afternoon of tubing down the river. We’ve also had the chance to enjoy our natural surroundings. Just outside our workshop windows, we saw spotted fawns timidly emerging from the trees and hummingbirds and bees that were delighted with the blooms on our hostas.
celebrating Ruth, Ginny and Cindy at our employee picnic
Summer is a time of joy! It’s a season for relaxation and spending time outdoors with family and friends. The days are longer, the sun is often a welcome sight, and our calendars are filled with fun gatherings and activities. You might think it’s all work and no play, but that’s not true. Here at Stave, we celebrated Chocolate Chip Cookie Day with homemade treats, enjoyed boxes of Georgia peaches sent to us by Pete and Gail, and savored some exquisite chocolate bars from another puzzling friend. It’s been an unusually hot, dry summer so to beat the heat a group of us made a trip north for an afternoon of tubing down the river. We’ve also had the chance to enjoy our natural surroundings. Just outside our workshop windows, we saw spotted fawns timidly emerging from the trees and hummingbirds and bees that were delighted with the blooms on our hostas.
We also had the chance to celebrate some important anniversaries. Cindy has been with Stave 25 years, wearing a variety of hats over the years, including managing our Time Share program. Ruth ovesees the shop and has been with Stave for over two decades. Ginny, a masterful crafter, has been here over thirty years! Though she is semi-retired we still enjoy having her here a couple times a week. Together they have over 75 years experience (!) and are so integral to what we do here. Their shared wisdom and expertise is truly invaluable. Our employee appreciation party was the perfect opportunity to present special gifts and beautiful bouquets of vibrant summer flowers to these three. Each of them received a gift wrapped in multiple boxes, because we never pass up the chance to delight and torment each other. The weather that day was gorgeous. We enjoyed delicious food, played games, and some of us even took the microphone for karaoke.
And while we’re celebrating our long-time employees, we want to also take the time to introduce you to some of our newest staff members, so read on to meet the latest additions to our crew.
We also had the chance to celebrate some important anniversaries. Cindy has been with Stave 25 years, wearing a variety of hats over the years, including managing our Time Share program. Ruth ovesees the shop and has been with Stave for over two decades. Ginny, a masterful crafter, has been here over thirty years! Though she is semi-retired we still enjoy having her here a couple times a week. Together they have over 75 years experience (!) and are so integral to what we do here. Their shared wisdom and expertise is truly invaluable.
We also had the chance to celebrate some important anniversaries. Cindy has been with Stave 25 years, wearing a variety of hats over the years, including managing our Time Share program. Ruth ovesees the shop and has been with Stave for over two decades. Ginny, a masterful crafter, has been here over thirty years! Though she is semi-retired we still enjoy having her here a couple times a week. Together they have over 75 years experience (!) and are so integral to what we do here. Their shared wisdom and expertise is truly invaluable. Our employee appreciation party was the perfect opportunity to present special gifts and beautiful bouquets of vibrant summer flowers to these three. Each of them received a gift wrapped in multiple boxes, because we never pass up the chance to delight and torment each other. The weather that day was gorgeous. We enjoyed delicious food, played games, and some of us even took the microphone for karaoke.
celebrating Ruth, Ginny and Cindy at our employee picnic
And while we’re celebrating our long-time employees, we want to also take the time to introduce you to some of our newest staff members, so read on to meet the latest additions to our crew.
Our employee appreciation party was the perfect opportunity to present special gifts and beautiful bouquets of vibrant summer flowers to these three. Each of them received a gift wrapped in multiple boxes, because we never pass up the chance to delight and torment each other. The weather that day was gorgeous. We enjoyed delicious food, played games, and some of us even took the microphone for karaoke.
And while we’re celebrating our long-time employees, we want to also take the time to introduce you to some of our newest staff members, so read on to meet the latest additions to our crew.
Meet Our Newest Talent!
Michele is one of our most recent apprentice crafters. She can often be found in the shop tending to the puzzles as they get ready to ship out, making sure all the pieces make it into your blue box. As a child, she read constantly, and now she finds audiobooks to be the perfect accompaniment to her days. Michele enjoys being outdoors and having adventures by driving down new roads. No surprise, nature scenes and puzzles with whimsical images are the ones she is drawn to.
Mary is a new crafter who enjoys listening to show tunes while she works. Her recent playlist includes Beetlejuice and SpongeBob. The show, Cats, is also a favorite (as well as the actual animal.) At work, she is excited about her upcoming collaborations on some new design concepts. In her free time, she enjoys playing Dungeons and Dragons with colleagues, most often as the dungeon master. As you might have guessed, her chosen puzzle is Backstage On Broadway, by artist Charles Fazzino, especially if it has themed silhouette pieces. (Can you name all the shows this art features?)
Jess is one of our talented crafters who enjoys creating unique silhouettes. In her spare time, she works with dogs as a licensed groomer. She also learned how to ride a motorcycle recently and completed her first 100-mile bicycle race this year. Asked about her favorite movie, The Labyrinth, by Jim Hanson, was the obvious choice, yet deciding on her favorite puzzle was not even possible. You can often find her in the shop listening to horror and true crime books, and laughing at someone’s funny story.
Liz is our latest crafter to join us! Currently, she’s focused on cutting Teaser puzzles and ornaments for the holidays. While it can be challenging to learn so many new techniques, Liz says it’s nice to be in a creative environment with such support from colleagues. She is drawn to the puzzles featuring magical and mystical elements. A fan of ’80s movies and The Grateful Dead, when she’s at home, she enjoys being in nature with her dogs, hiking, and walking the trails.
Beth is our most recent addition to our marketing department, responsible for creating our paper mailings. She collects old school technology, which includes the new modern LEGO sets and building little replicas of typewriters and cameras. In her spare time, she enjoys playing beautiful video games. As a former librarian, this has been a big career shift for her, and she’s found that being in a creative environment can be very rewarding. David Galchutt is her favorite artist. Her proudest accomplishment so far is holding her first mailing in her hands.
Cole is a graphics designer who prepares the images that we use for our puzzles. His desk is your puzzle’s first stop when it’s being created. He is an old soul who loves things from the past - old songs, books, and studying history. If he could travel to any place, his top choice is Italy so he could explore its vast landscapes and architecture. In his free time, he enjoys a good game of Monopoly. His favorite puzzle is Bill Bell’s Carousel Man.
Michele is one of our most recent apprentice crafters. She can often be found in the shop tending to the puzzles as they get ready to ship out, making sure all the pieces make it into your blue box. As a child, she read constantly, and now she finds audiobooks to be the perfect accompaniment to her days. Michele enjoys being outdoors and having adventures by driving down new roads. No surprise, nature scenes and puzzles with whimsical images are the ones she is drawn to.
Mary is a new crafter who enjoys listening to show tunes while she works. Her recent playlist includes Beetlejuice and SpongeBob. The show, Cats, is also a favorite (as well as the actual animal.) At work, she is excited about her upcoming collaborations on some new design concepts. In her free time, she enjoys playing Dungeons and Dragons with colleagues, most often as the dungeon master. As you might have guessed, her chosen puzzle is Backstage On Broadway, by artist Charles Fazzino, especially if it has themed silhouette pieces. (Can you name all the shows this art features?)
Jess is one of our talented crafters who enjoys creating unique silhouettes. In her spare time, she works with dogs as a licensed groomer. She also learned how to ride a motorcycle recently and completed her first 100-mile bicycle race this year. Asked about her favorite movie, The Labyrinth, by Jim Hanson, was the obvious choice, yet deciding on her favorite puzzle was not even possible. You can often find her in the shop listening to horror and true crime books, and laughing at someone’s funny story.
Liz is our latest crafter to join us! Currently, she’s focused on cutting Teaser puzzles and ornaments for the holidays. While it can be challenging to learn so many new techniques, Liz says it’s nice to be in a creative environment with such support from colleagues. She is drawn to the puzzles featuring magical and mystical elements. A fan of ’80s movies and The Grateful Dead, when she’s at home, she enjoys being in nature with her dogs, hiking, and walking the trails.
Beth is our most recent addition to our marketing department, responsible for creating our paper mailings. She collects old school technology, which includes the new modern LEGO sets and building little replicas of typewriters and cameras. In her spare time, she enjoys playing beautiful video games. As a former librarian, this has been a big career shift for her, and she’s found that being in a creative environment can be very rewarding. David Galchutt is her favorite artist. Her proudest accomplishment so far is holding her first mailing in her hands.
Cole is a graphics designer who prepares the images that we use for our puzzles. His desk is your puzzle’s first stop when it’s being created. He is an old soul who loves things from the past - old songs, books, and studying history. If he could travel to any place, his top choice is Italy so he could explore its vast landscapes and architecture. In his free time, he enjoys a good game of Monopoly. His favorite puzzle is Bill Bell’s Carousel Man.
Coming This Fall
To A Puzzle Table Near You
Coming This Fall To A Puzzle Table Near You
As summer winds down and we begin to look forward to cooler months, we can also look forward to some NEW Stave Designs from our newest artists.
Many of you may have already seen Cindy’s first ever Teaser, All the Wave!, a vibrant ocean-themed seashell. She also has another design in the works. You can see a sheep sneak peek here.
Have you eveer seen a Jobot? Joe, one of our crafters, also has his first new design debuting soon. Maybe we can’t show you much here, but trust us when we say, the personality of this robot shines through. We can’t wait for you to see both of these creations once they are finished. Join us in celebrating these amazing achievements as we add these new artists and their creations to to our collection of Stave Designs.
Coming This Fall To
A Puzzle Table Near You
As summer winds down and we begin to look forward to cooler months, we can also look forward to some NEW Stave Designs from our newest artists.
Many of you may have already seen Cindy’s first ever Teaser, All the Wave!, a vibrant ocean-themed seashell. She also has another design in the works. You can see a sheep sneak peek here.
Coming This Fall
To A Puzzle Table Near You
Many of you may have already seen Cindy’s first ever Teaser, All the Wave!, a vibrant ocean-themed seashell. She also has another design in the works. You can see a sheep sneak peek here.
Have you eveer seen a Jobot? Joe, one of our crafters, also has his first new design debuting soon. Maybe we can’t show you much here, but trust us when we say, the personality of this robot shines through. We can’t wait for you to see both of these creations once they are finished. Join us in celebrating these amazing achievements as we add these new artists and their creations to to our collection of Stave Designs.
Have you eveer seen a Jobot? Joe, one of our crafters, also has his first new design debuting soon. Maybe we can’t show you much here, but trust us when we say, the personality of this robot shines through. We can’t wait for you to see both of these creations once they are finished. Join us in celebrating these amazing achievements as we add these new artists and their creations to to our collection of Stave Designs.