Michael Storrings Puzzles and Gifts

Michael’s art has adorned the sets of Hallmark Christmas movies and graced holiday backdrops at the Plaza Hotel and the Westin New York at Times Square. Michael is currently the Senior Vice President and Executive Creative Director at Macmillan Publishers. He has designed book covers for New York Times bestselling authors and earned awards from, among others, the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), Print Magazine, the Circle Foundation for the Arts, and more. His art is the most represented in our entire catalog. His illustration style uses vivid, saturated color, dense architectural detail, and compositions that are packed with small narrative elements - individual shop signs, window displays, passing pedestrians, seasonal decorations, and recognizable landmarks. The result is scenes that tell stories at every zoom level, which makes them particularly well suited to jigsaw puzzles.

Piece Counts and Formats

The majority of the collection falls into 1000-piece puzzles, with over 30 designs at that count. 500-piece puzzles make up the next largest group, with about a dozen designs.

Beyond those core sizes, the collection extends across a wider range than most artist collaborations:

• Foil puzzles: Holiday-themed designs with metallic accents on Christmas trees, string lights, and snow scenes
• Panoramic puzzle: A wide-format cityscape
• 1500-piece puzzle: Venice, for puzzlers who want a longer multi-session project
• 2000-piece puzzle: Market in Bloom, the largest piece count in the Storrings catalog
• 300-piece puzzle: Japanese Tea Garden, a shorter-session option
• Greeting card puzzles: Small puzzles in card format with holiday themes
• Advent puzzle calendar: A 12-day Christmas countdown with twelve 80-piece mini puzzles

Subjects and Themes

Storrings' work falls into a few recurring subject areas.

Cities and travel destinations make up the largest group. You'll find New York City scenes (Park Avenue, Times Square, the subway, Bethesda Fountain, Bow Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge), plus Paris, London, Cuba, Venice, and Japan. These illustrations depict real landmarks and neighborhoods with enough artistic interpretation to keep them lively rather than photographic.

Seasonal and holiday scenes are the second major category. Christmas markets, tree farms, winter villages, autumn seaside views, spring libraries, and summer amusement parks all appear in the collection. The foil puzzles and advent calendar lean heavily into holiday themes, with metallic accents on lights, ornaments, and snow.

Other subjects include jazz-age New York, cherry blossoms, bookstores, dog parks in four seasons, apple picking, and market scenes. Several designs cross categories - a Christmas scene set in Paris, a spring scene on Park Avenue, an autumn day by the sea.

What Makes Storrings' Style Distinct for Puzzling?

Storrings fills every section of his compositions with identifiable detail. Streets have individual storefronts with readable signage. Windows show interior scenes. Trees are specific species. Crowds include distinct characters. This density of information means that when you're assembling a Storrings puzzle, every cluster of pieces has something recognizable to anchor your sorting.

In practical terms, this makes his 1000-piece puzzles play slightly faster than the piece count might suggest. You're rarely stuck staring at a featureless section of sky or water. The challenge comes from managing the volume of detail rather than from large areas of uniform color.

Beyond Puzzles

The collection includes a few non-puzzle products carrying Storrings' artwork:

• Greeting cards: Two greeting card assortment sets - one featuring dog park scenes across four seasons, and one with landscape illustrations
• Playing cards: A Four Seasons playing card set with two decks in a keepsake box
• Bookmarks: A magnetic bookmark set with park illustrations
• Tote bag: A reusable shopping bag featuring the Day at the Bookstore illustration

Michael Storrings Puzzles as Gifts

Storrings' city and travel scenes make his puzzles easy to match to a recipient. If someone has a connection to New York, Paris, London, Cuba, or Venice, there's likely a puzzle that matches. The seasonal designs work well for holiday gifting, and the foil Christmas puzzles add a premium visual element to a gift.

The wide piece count range (300 to 2000) also means you can pick a difficulty level that fits the recipient's experience - 300 or 500 for casual puzzlers, 1000 for regular puzzlers, 1500 or 2000 for someone who wants a real challenge.