Villager Puzzles and Other Firms Grow Amid Demand for Analog Goods

When Kelly Striemer’s kids were young, she began working on puzzles after putting them to bed to spend her quiet evenings away from her phone, canadianbusiness.com reported.

That personal escape turned into Villager Puzzles, a Comox, British Columbia-based business launched in 2023. Striemer started the company with the hypothesis that other consumers wanted to avoid doomscrolling and find screen-free activities that left them feeling accomplished.

The venture has expanded rapidly alongside a wider market shift toward analog goods. Villager Puzzles has tripled its revenue year over year, selling roughly 150,000 puzzles across 500 stores nationwide in the past year.

Online fatigue and a growing distaste for artificial intelligence are driving the trend. A Talker Research survey found that more than 80 percent of Americans now incorporate analog activities like crafts, books, or games into their daily routines, with younger generations leading the movement.

Eventbrite reported that phone-free events surged in global popularity by more than 550 percent between 2024 and 2025. Other Canadian enterprises are capturing this consumer demand.

In Vancouver, Lucky Tile Mahjong is capitalizing on interest in the traditional Chinese tile game. Google searches for beginner mahjong instructions jumped 230 percent over the past year.

In Toronto, the bookstore Hopeless Romantic sells monthly subscription boxes filled with human-created books and cozy goods. Co-founder Kearston Bergeron noted that customers express strong anti-AI sentiment when purchasing arts and literature.

Our Little Makery, a Strathmore, Alberta-based seller of DIY craft kits for wooden art, has grown tenfold since launching nationwide in late 2023. Founder Lynnsy Plunz began the business as crafting pop-ups in 2018 before shifting to shadow box kits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Repeat customers currently drive approximately 65 percent of her revenue.

Plunz sources all packaging, paint, and wood from Canada to maintain a competitive advantage. As demand for hands-on projects increased, she refined her brand tagline from community and creativity to the art of slowing down.

In Squamish, British Columbia, jewellery business Oh Okay expanded after founder Riley Hill taught silver clay workshops. Students repeatedly asked where to buy home supplies, prompting Hill to launch DIY kits in October 2025.

Hill’s revenue grew by an estimated 300 percent year over year following the release of the kits. Instagram videos documenting the crafting process fueled the sales growth.

Plunz observed that her adult customer base places high value on physical proof of human creation.

It’s true art, Plunz told canadianbusiness.com, describing customers who question the origin of digital goods. It’s human-made. Whereas, they look online and they’re just not sure anymore. Like, who made this? Where did it come from? Is it real?