· By Benjamin Sachs
The Suprising Origins of Waves Puzzle
Full disclosure: I’m a real-life architect.
And back when I was in graduate school, I was busy designing towering skyscrapers and flowing domes.
Sounds cool, right?
Well it was…until I hit the job market.
Instead of living a life of artistic ambition, I was reviewing shop drawings and coordinating HVAC ducts with structural beams.
And if those details are starting to put you to sleep…
Just imagine how I felt!
I began to miss how immersed I felt in design…
When time would just fade away and the creative juices were coursing through my veins.
So I decided to rebel – in the nerdiest way possible.
One lonely night in my tiny Brooklyn apartment, I fired up Rhino, my favorite 3D design software.
But instead of dreaming of more cities and towers, I did something totally different – I designed a puzzle!
I was playing with different curves that looked like puzzle joints, and just like that, the original Waves Puzzle was born as a digital sketch.
After some design refinements, I laser-cut the puzzle from walnut, and then from blue lucite.
As I clicked each piece into place, something magical happened…
That old immersive feeling I’d been missing came rushing back.
Only later did I learn there was actually a word to describe what I was feeling:
Flow state.
Have you ever felt so absorbed in an activity that everything else seems to melt away?
That’s flow.
And flow is why I keep making new puzzles.
Because I want YOU to feel that same sense of flow, focus, and fun I first felt all those years ago.
So I’m curious…
Have you ever experienced a “flow state” while puzzling?
Let me know in the comments, I’d love to hear your story!
Happy puzzling,
Ben
Co-Founder, Waves Puzzle
P.S. Ready to experience the Waves difference yourself? Our iridescent lucite puzzles are more than just a challenge—they're a gateway to your personal flow state. Check out our collection and find your perfect puzzle match. Your coffee table (and your mind) will thank you!