Stella Puzzles: Series 3 of the Tretyakov collection
Another 25 beautiful new puzzles came out last October from Russian indie brand Stella. Only distributed in Russia (as far as I can see), the puzzles are manufactured by Trefl in small runs and feature Russian artworks that are part of the permanent collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. I gave a full review of the brand a few years ago here.
This newest batch of puzzles is their best yet, in my opinion. Whereas the second series focused too heavily on still-lifes, here we see a lot of beautiful outdoor scenes, both natural and architectural, showing the mystical grandeur of the Russian countryside. Also featured is another beautiful portrait by Mikhail Vrubel, a haunting scene of Daryal Gorge by A.I. Kuindzhi, and a spectacular view of the Castle of Angelo in Rome by Russian artist S.F. Shchedrin. Every Stella I've seen so far has had exceptionally high-quality print resolution.
The puzzles are very affordable at around $9 for a 1000 piece, $15 for a 2000 piece and less than $20 for their largest size, 3000 pieces. I have ordered mine through 1001puzzle.com, which speaks English and accepts PayPal. If you don't mind waiting a couple of months to receive your order, their economy (i.e., surface) shipping will send up to 17kg. of merchandise for about $85 to the U.S., which amounts to around 15 or so puzzles depending on the size. My package arrived earlier than expected, in around 6 weeks. Despite very robust packaging by 1001, a few of my puzzles arrived with a dent in the corner of the box (see top left box above), probably due to rough handling en route. Still, I'm really happy to have copies of these.
Clockwise, from top left: "Novodevichy Monastery: The Cathedral" by A.M. Vasnetsov, 1500 pieces; "Winter Dream," by A.M. Vasnetsov, 1000 pieces; "Spring in the Forest" by S.Yu. Zhukovsky, 3000 pieces; and "Riding on the Neva" by A.P. Bogolyubov, 2000 pieces.
Stella Puzzles: Series 3 of the Tretyakov collection
Another 25 beautiful new puzzles came out last October from Russian indie brand Stella. Only distributed in Russia (as far as I can see), the puzzles are manufactured by Trefl in small runs and feature Russian artworks that are part of the permanent collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. I gave a full review of the brand a few years ago here.
This newest batch of puzzles is their best yet, in my opinion. Whereas the second series focused too heavily on still-lifes, here we see a lot of beautiful outdoor scenes, both natural and architectural, showing the mystical grandeur of the Russian countryside. Also featured is another beautiful portrait by Mikhail Vrubel, a haunting scene of Daryal Gorge by A.I. Kuindzhi, and a spectacular view of the Castle of Angelo in Rome by Russian artist S.F. Shchedrin. Every Stella I've seen so far has had exceptionally high-quality print resolution.
The puzzles are very affordable at around $9 for a 1000 piece, $15 for a 2000 piece and less than $20 for their largest size, 3000 pieces. I have ordered mine through 1001puzzle.com, which speaks English and accepts PayPal. If you don't mind waiting a couple of months to receive your order, their economy (i.e., surface) shipping will send up to 17kg. of merchandise for about $85 to the U.S., which amounts to around 15 or so puzzles depending on the size. My package arrived earlier than expected, in around 6 weeks. Despite very robust packaging by 1001, a few of my puzzles arrived with a dent in the corner of the box (see top left box above), probably due to rough handling en route. Still, I'm really happy to have copies of these.
Clockwise, from top left: "Novodevichy Monastery: The Cathedral" by A.M. Vasnetsov, 1500 pieces; "Winter Dream," by A.M. Vasnetsov, 1000 pieces; "Spring in the Forest" by S.Yu. Zhukovsky, 3000 pieces; and "Riding on the Neva" by A.P. Bogolyubov, 2000 pieces.