Wentworth Wooden Puzzles
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| Private | |
| Founded | Pinkney, Malmesbury, UK (1994) |
| Founder | Kevin Wentworth Preston |
| Headquarters | Malmesbury, Wiltshire |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
| Products | Wooden jigsaw puzzles |
| Website |
www |
www
The Wentworth Wooden Jigsaw Company (also known as Wentworth Wooden Puzzles) manufactures jigsaw puzzles with 'whimsical' shaped pieces reflecting the theme of the image portrayed on the puzzle. It was founded in 1994 by Kevin Wentworth Preston and is based in the village of Pinkney near Malmesbury, Wiltshire, an area of England known as the Cotswolds.
The venture was established on an existing dairy farm which was forced to diversify into other sources of income when milk production became uneconomical to sustain. Some of the old buildings were converted into industrial use, and the farm became an industrial estate housing many other traders, as well as the new puzzle enterprise.
Traditionally jigsaws are manufactured using a thin flexible cutting blade driven by a motor known as a bandsaw. This method of cutting thin wood requires a degree of manual dexterity and patience to avoid spoiling the work. An alternative solution to this labour-intensive method of cutting intricate shapes in wood was required using modern technology solutions. The advent of the commercial medium-power Laser device has enabled many industries to use this tool to cut many different types of material speedily. The puzzle-manufacturing process uses a laser-cutting method invented and perfected by the founder, Kevin Wentworth Presto, in 1994.
Wentworth production can now focus on the quality of manufacture and design innovation that this new tooling provides. The high-speed production technique allows the small company to supply in excess of 150,000 puzzles a year to destinations in over 35 countries throughout the world.
The design team produces each cutout style individually, most of the designs are unique "whimsy" jigsaw shapes. Whimsies are specially shaped pieces cut into puzzles "on a whim" by Victorian-era hand cutters, an era when jigsaw puzzles became a popular pastime. Wentworth retained this older style of manufacture, and is one of the remaining companies still producing puzzles using these Victorian techniques.
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Wikipedia