Alongside the usual Dixieland jazz on vinyl and popping bottles of bubbly at the Loubud Wines tasting room, there’s a new soundtrack in El Paseo’s courtyard: the low hum of a scroll saw slicing through thin pieces of plywood.
With the smooth though speedy hands of a surgeon, Loubud’s co-proprietor Paul Hughes recently started hand-cutting jigsaw puzzle pieces on the patio, revealing how he creates the intricate designs that guests love putting together while sipping on sparkling wine.
“They love it,” said Hughes, the husband of Loubud’s founder/winemaker, Laura Hughes. When they opened their small wine bar last December, they made puzzles part of the experience, pairing tactile entertainment with the tastings. Said Paul, “We get some real puzzle heads in here.”
While Loubud may be most Santa Barbarans’ introduction to the craft, the hand-cut puzzle revival started sweeping the country years ago, with top collectors spending five to six figures on one creation. Yet Hughes is still one of only about 30 hand-cut puzzle makers in the nation, whose work is sought out by about 700 dedicated collectors. The New York Times covered the craze in July.
“I keep them small in the tasting room because people need to be able to finish them,” said Hughes, who sells those versions for as low as $30. But he makes much bigger and even multi-layered puzzles, with cut-to-orders ranging from $80 to $500 on the website. His top sale so far was a $1,200 commission.
Relying on both public domain artwork as well as pieces he’s licensed from Santa Barbara artists, Hughes glues the images to 12-ply boards of Finnish birch and finishes the back with a special Danish oil. Then he uses a jigsaw blade on the scroll saw to carve out individual pieces — many of them freestyle, some carefully drawn out, most quite tiny.
Paul Hughes cuts a puzzle piece on his scroll saw at the Loubud Wines tasting room in El Paseo. | Credit: Matt Kettmann
“I try not to make any of the edges too regular — how boring,” said Hughes. “Irregular edges help a painting’s brush work really stand out.”
His puzzles also include “pieces of whimsy,” like the musical note–shaped piece that’s part of a street scene with a man singing, or mission bells in an Old Spanish Days piece, or a bodice in a dressmaking painting. Though his latest pieces are quite complicated, you can also see his first attempt on the tasting room bar: a thicker-blocked, fluorescent-spraypainted ode to their friendly golden retriever, Taco, who’s usually wandering nearby.
Raised in the bohemian environs of Mountain Drive, Hughes dabbled in many pursuits growing up, thanks to his creative grandparents. “They always had me doing new hobbies as a kid,” said Hughes, who also plays tuba and writes crossword puzzles.
He discovered hand-cut puzzles while bored during COVID, when he saw someone on YouTube present one as a gift. “That’s an amazing thing,” he recalled. “I’ve never seen a puzzle made for someone before. That spoke to me.”
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This puzzle by Paul Hughes features three layers, including interlocking pieces that cross levels. | Credit: Matt Kettmann -
This musical note is an example of a “piece of whimsy” in Paul Hughes’ puzzles. | Credit: Matt Kettmann -
This bodice s an example of a “piece of whimsy” in Paul Hughes’ puzzles. | Credit: Matt Kettmann
Before puzzle making and wine selling became his livelihood, the 2005 Santa Barbara High grad worked in computers, first fixing them with his uncle and then for a surveillance company that consulted with casinos around the country. He learned how to count cards but grew sick of witnessing so many people lose their money.
After meeting Laura, who’s been an assistant winemaker at Sanford Winery since 2012, he got a job with a wine industry database company. He was laid off last year, which is what pushed the Goleta-residing couple to open the tasting room — just one month after their son, Eliot, was born.
Hughes continues to explore the puzzle possibilities, and he is including them as small gifts for Loubud wine club members in this season’s shipment. “It’s the first time I’ve made so many of the same image,” he told me a couple Fridays ago in a never-again tone. “It’s been a test of my patience. But I discovered some efficiencies that I wouldn’t have otherwise — lessons learned!”
The craft’s original boom goes back to the post–World War I period, when former military seamstresses turned into puzzle makers. “They went from making boots and pants to making puzzles on wood,” said Hughes. “It’s a very similar motion.” They made so many that antique puzzles aren’t usually worth much these days, especially since most are faded and missing pieces.
“The top dollar goes to modern crafters,” confirmed Hughes, who’s looking forward to connecting with more of them — as well as those dedicated collectors — in Minneapolis next July at the Puzzle Parley. Began in 1994, this will be the 18th biennial gathering of custom jigsaw puzzlers, some of whom compete for the coveted best-in-show award.
Until then, he’ll be running his scroll saw in El Paseo when the tasting room traffic is slow, or when guests are interested in learning more. Said Hughes, “I’ll teach people how to do it, too.”
The Loubud Wines tasting room (20 El Paseo; [805] 500-8533) is open Thursday-Sunday, noon-6 p.m. See loubudwines.com/puzzles.
