Los Angeles, California · Est. 2019 · Founded by Rachel Hochhauser & Jena Wolfe
Rachel Hochhauser and Jena Wolfe were running a boutique creative agency together in 2019 when a rainy weekend in Yosemite changed the direction of everything. Rachel became obsessed with puzzles and immediately noticed the problem: the design was terrible across the entire category. She pitched Jena on fixing that. Piecework launched that year with four puzzles -- modern, maximalist, designed like coffee table books -- and hasn't stopped since.
Rachel Hochhauser and Jena Wolfe co-founded Major Studio, a female-led boutique creative agency, before they ever touched a puzzle. Then came a rainy Yosemite weekend in 2019 where Rachel picked up a jigsaw and couldn't put it down -- and couldn't stop noticing that every puzzle on the market looked like it had been designed in 1987. She pitched Jena on something simple: make four puzzles, modern and design-forward, inspired by the visual language of high-end coffee table books. No big deal. Just four puzzles.
Piecework launched in 2019. The puzzles sold out. The brand grew. Rachel and Jena concept and shoot much of the imagery themselves, building immersive little worlds -- the Italian coast, a farmers market, a still life of heirloom tomatoes -- that people want to display even after they're finished assembling them. Then came cocktail napkins, almost accidentally: they needed tomato-themed products to complement a puzzle, couldn't find any they loved, made their own from 100% linen, and the sardine napkins that followed outsold almost everything. Collaborations with goop, Broccoli magazine, and others followed. In 2025 Piecework acquired Areaware, the beloved design brand, adding home goods to their growing universe.
On a registry, Piecework is the category that makes a Sunday afternoon feel like a gift -- the puzzle that comes out on the first rainy day in a new home and stays on the table until it's done.
