Puzzle company Frisson helps Ukrainians escape wartime reality

October 19, 2024

By Ukraine

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Editor’s note: This article is part of a series of profiles highlighting successful Ukrainian startups and businesses. The series is funded by the regional investment fund Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund (UMAEF) and created in partnership with Spend With Ukraine, a non-profit organization that launched a platform to showcase businesses with Ukrainian roots and provide one more meaningful way to support Ukraine – by choosing to spend with Ukraine. The series’ sponsors are not involved in the editorial process of the writing of these profiles.

As a child, Kseniya Morozenko would piece together cut-up postcards at her grandmother’s home in Donetsk Oblast.

Years later, Morozenko was stuck at her apartment in Kyiv during the Covid-19 pandemic and remembered the homemade jigsaw puzzles from her childhood. She searched in shops in Ukraine, but could only find jigsaws for children, which gave her the idea to set up Frisson, a puzzle company featuring Ukrainian artwork geared towards adults.

“I want to support Ukrainian modern art and contemporary artists and show their work through puzzles,” she told the Kyiv Independent at a trendy bookshop in Kyiv that sells Frisson’s products.

The puzzles are elegantly packaged with the pieces wrapped inside an environmentally-friendly mesh bag and bundled with two coasters, a postcard, a note, and a poster of the design. Morozenko says she was inspired by Apple’s boxing and spent a long time crafting the packaging, including hand-stitching the first 200 mesh bags herself.

In 2020, the market was wide open for Frisson as no one else was doing anything like it in Ukraine. Morozenko, who had spent nine years working as a client manager with Ukrainian brands, invested $5,000 of her own money into the project and is a one-man team, although she recently hired a social media manager.

By the summer of 2021, nine months after Morozenko conceived the idea, Frisson began producing its first jigsaws in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s printing mecca. The first puzzle retailed for Hr 500 ($12) and featured one of Morozenko’s favorite murals in Kyiv painted by artists Viktoriya Lime and Andrii Kovtun.

`Supporting artists`

Morozenko now has a queue of artists wanting to work with Frisson but she only selects those who are involved with charity projects. So far, the company has worked with 15 artists on 22 designs, including large 500-piece puzzles and smaller 100-piece postcard jigsaws, which are all made with recycled materials.

Many of the artists have a notable following in Ukraine, including the globally-known artist and muralist Waone, and the designs often sell out quickly as they are limited to a run of 200. The artists set the price themselves, starting at $100, and Morozenko pays them upfront, particularly now with the uncertainty of war.

“You never know what will happen tomorrow,” she said.

Frisson has sold over 3,000 puzzles via its online store and 20 shops across Ukraine, including Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, and smaller cities like Uzhhorod and Ivano-Frankivsk. Morozenko also hauls jigsaws to artisan markets and makes specially commissioned pieces for companies.

With the larger puzzles retailing for Hr 700 ($17) and the smaller ones for Hr 300 ($7), Morozenko wants to spread the work of established artists to a bigger audience. “The puzzles make art accessible to everyone,” she said.

Foreign artists have also contacted Morozenko, eager to work with Frisson. She is contemplating the idea, but says she will only work with artists from countries that are supportive of Ukraine like Lithuania, Canada, and the U.K.

`Help during war`

While Frisson is becoming more popular abroad, with orders from the U.S. and Australia, most customers are in Ukraine where Morozenko has spent the last few years building up a “puzzle culture” for grown-ups.

Like the puzzle boom during the Covid-19 pandemic, many Ukrainians are seeking comfort and escape from the brutal reality through jigsaws. At the start of the full-scale invasion, one of Frisson’s most popular designs featured a group of friends enjoying a picnic.

“People ordered it as a gift and sent it to their friends with a postcard saying, “Imagine it's us after our victory.” I would sign and personalize the postcard,” Morozenko said.

The puzzles have also helped veterans. The company partnered with the Superhumans Center in Lviv for wounded soldiers and Morozenko says the jigsaws help with both physical and mental rehabilitation. One soldier even completed the puzzle with his prosthetic arm, surprising the doctors who didn’t believe it was possible to clasp the small pieces.

“I just cried after seeing that,” Morozenko said.

At the outbreak of the war, Morozenko had to shut down printing operations in Kharkiv as Russian troops attempted to besiege the city. For two months she searched for a new printing facility, eventually finding one in Lviv after a tip from another company making puzzles.

Frisson still had stockpiles of puzzles from the Kharkiv printing factory and began sending 50% of the money from sales to the Armed Forces. Morozenko strongly believes that every Ukrainian company should help the war effort and Frisson has a collection of charity puzzles with half of the proceeds going to NGOs or the army.

The company also ships free jigsaws to organizations that help orphaned children and displaced people. Morozenko wants to bring people together through her puzzles and her slogan “Better Together” is proudly printed on the front of every box.

`Beyond the Ukrainian market`

With success at home, Morozenko is preparing to expand into the foreign market too. So far, the Ukrainian diaspora in countries like the U.K. and Canada has brought Frisson’s puzzles but Morozenko wants to expand further.

She recently won a place on the UA Global: Etsy Start program alongside 500 other small and medium-sized Ukrainian businesses. The program, launched by the Ukrainian government and USAID, will train and mentor companies on how to set up online Etsy stores and open doors to foreign markets.

In addition to jigsaws, Morozenko also knits and sells anti-stress balls and coasters, while also signing postcards, personalized notes, and running between different artisan markets.

Despite managing the company entirely by herself, with the occasional helping hand from friends who model for photoshoots, Morozenko finds the inspiration to keep going from the artists and organizations she works with.

“If they don’t stop, how could I?” she said.

Frisson turns peaceful moments into artful experiences through its unique jigsaw puzzles, created in partnership with well-known Ukrainian artists. During these tough times, Frisson provides a sense of solace to Ukrainians, including veterans in rehabilitation. Visit Spend With Ukraine to discover more companies uplifting Ukraine with creativity and innovation — your support fuels resilience and recovery.

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