Your store has a sense of place. Your puzzle selection should, too. Local landscapes, familiar landmarks, and regional wildlife give shoppers a meaningful connection to the products on your shelves.

But that connection doesn’t have to end at the state line.

If your local MI Puzzles designs are working well for your store, consider a small next step: add a few designs from states that border yours. Keep your home state at the center, then give customers another stop on the map.

Start local. Build outward.

You don’t need to carry puzzles from all 50 states to tell a broader American story. A thoughtful regional selection can start with the state your store calls home and grow into the states connected to it.

The idea isn’t to replace your local favorites. It’s to test whether a few nearby destinations belong alongside them.

Think of your display as the beginning of a road trip. Home is the first stop. A neighboring state is the next. Together, the designs invite shoppers to think beyond a single place while keeping the assortment connected to your store.

Your customers’ stories may cross state lines

A shopper might live in one state, have family in another, and spend vacations in a third. A nearby-state puzzle could remind them of a weekend trip, a place they grew up, or someone they’re buying a gift for.

Those are possibilities worth exploring, not reasons to assume every out-of-state design will sell. Let conversations in your store guide the choices.

Listen for the places customers mention. Where are visitors coming from? Which nearby destinations come up often? Are shoppers asking for a particular lighthouse, park, landscape, or wildlife subject? Those details can help you choose a more relevant test than simply adding random states.

Choose designs with a clear connection

Neighboring states are a straightforward place to begin. Within those states, look for subjects that make sense beside the designs you already carry.

• A shared landscape: Coastlines, mountains, lakes, or other scenery that connects your region.
• A familiar travel route: Places shoppers might recognize from a drive into the next state.
• A favorite subject: Lighthouses, waterfalls, cities, wildlife, or national parks that complement your current selection.
• A customer connection: A place visitors or regular shoppers have specifically mentioned.

A state’s story includes more than its landmarks. Landscapes and wildlife can also provide a natural link between neighboring places. The goal is an assortment you can explain in a sentence, not a shelf full of unrelated destinations.

Test a few designs, not a whole new direction

Start with two or three designs from one or two neighboring states. Keep the local assortment that customers already respond to, and treat the additions as a small experiment.

MI Puzzles’ 16-unit puzzle cases can be mixed and matched, so a case doesn’t need to be devoted to a single design. Include a few regional additions alongside your local selections, within your overall order.

Give the new designs a visible place and a fair opportunity to be noticed. Track which ones sell, how long they’ve been on display, and what shoppers say about them. When it’s time to reorder, let those results determine whether to replenish, try a different subject, or stay more closely focused on home.

Help shoppers see the bigger picture

A neighboring-state design needs a little context. Display it beside a related local puzzle rather than leaving customers to work out why it’s there.

A simple sign can introduce the idea:

Start here. Explore next door.

Or invite a collecting journey:

Build your own puzzle road trip.

Group designs by region, route, or subject. Staff can point out the connection naturally: “If you like this local scene, here’s another from the next state over.” That gives shoppers a reason to consider a second design without relying on a discount or a hard sell.

A broader map, one thoughtful addition at a time

MI Puzzles offers designs representing all 50 states, made in the USA and featuring Phil Stagg’s original photography. That range gives your store room to explore beyond its borders while staying rooted in real places and recognizable subjects.

You don’t have to build the whole map on your shelves. Start with your part of it. Add a neighboring state. See what connects with your customers.

The next design worth carrying may be just across the border.

Explore MI Puzzles designs for your next regional assortment.