Puzzle Lover Finland
What's your name?
Johanna Honkela
Where are you based?
Helsinki, Finland
Tell us about what your ordinary day looks like.
I work as a Product Owner in an e-learning software company. Most of the time I work from home so on breaks I have time for puzzling here and there! In the evenings in addition to puzzling I do a lot of music-related stuff and spend time with my family and friends.
How did you get into the world of puzzling?
I have no recollection of how I originally got into puzzles, but I'm guessing my parents play a big part in it by providing me with a lot of puzzles from a young age. I've been doing puzzles all my life, but I've had a varying amount of more active and quieter times. Before I did an average of 5-10 puzzles a year but a couple of years ago this escalated and now I do over 100-200 puzzles a year. I've always enjoyed games and logic puzzles. Jigsaw puzzles combine my love for logic, games and beautiful things.
What makes you keep puzzling & how often do you puzzle?
I puzzle almost every day. On some days I only have time to put a piece here and there and sometimes I may spend a whole day only puzzling. I like how puzzles calm my active mind; it's like a free therapist.
These days I also get a lot of inspiration from the Instagram puzzle community. Through the puzzle community, I've also learned about speed puzzling and got a whole new perspective on puzzling. I'm not a good speed puzzler (yet!) but I enjoy it very much anyway! Nowadays I have a good, roughly 50-50 balance between speed puzzling and relaxed puzzling.
What is your favorite type of puzzles?
I really like trying out new brands! I love a beautiful illustration puzzle that has a good quality with well interlocking matte-finish pieces.
Mostly I do 500- and 1000-piece puzzles. Sometimes even smaller for speed practicing purposes. I have a couple of 1500- and 2000-piece puzzles in my to-do-pile but I haven't yet gotten around to doing them.
During puzzling sessions, do you listen to anything or puzzle in silence?
It depends very much on the situation and my mood at the time. Many times I listen to music or an audiobook but there are also times I puzzle in silence. I really like the puzzles that have an artist's playlist you can listen to while puzzling.
If you were to describe what puzzling means to you, what would it be?
Me-time and peace of mind.
Tell us about your other interests & joys.
I love music and I've been singing my whole life. At the moment I'm a part of two different bands. I also go see a lot of live music and I enjoy all kinds of genres from metal music to indie and classical music.
I also enjoy a nice walk in the forest or near the sea, watching TV shows and movies, going to flea markets, cooking, reading and going to all kinds of cultural events.
Do you have anything you want to share?
Be kind to each other. Peace<3