Independent Arts News Reporting 
Ordinary Habit, founded by mother-daughter team Teresa and Echo Hopkins (pictured above). Their mission, “to create artful objects, designed to be both fun and functional, that would help people access habitual moments of calm and connectedness.
Making Art and Design an Ordinary Habit
By Louise Feder
In speaking with a friend recently, we realized, in part fun and part shock, that neither of us had any hobbies. Sure, we each have different pursuits – our calendars are both full, our days are busy – but a hobby? Something done not as a side-hustle, or as a chore, or a necessity, or as a supplement to our work? It seems silly, but taking time to pause, for a regular activity with the sole purpose of relaxation felt like a foreign concept. Where, my friend joked, should we even begin?
Enter Ordinary Habit, founded by mother-daughter team Teresa and Echo Hopkins. Their mission, “to create artful objects, designed to be both fun and functional, that would help people access habitual moments of calm and connectedness,” stems from the pair’s different experiences with a simple object: a jigsaw puzzle.
“We were not a puzzle family at all,” says Echo Hopkins. “I actually was given a puzzle and had it out in my office five, or six years ago now. And we were all just gravitating toward it.” The puzzle, completed by different groups of people during quiet, in-between moments at work, became an opportunity for connection while also slowing down. It was a welcome change of pace, and provided a peaceful yet creative outlet that required the group’s undivided, screen-free attention.
“[A puzzle] is a singular point of focus; it’s not something you can do while you’re doing anything else,” Echo describes. “We live in a time where you’re constantly trying to multitask and you really can’t do that when you’re putting together a puzzle.”
Teresa’s background in design and packaging and Echo’s career in the arts, the duo decided to take the problem on themselves. Ordinary Habit was launched in June 2020, with a line of limited-edition jigsaw puzzles, each of which was designed for, “sensory delight.”
The puzzle was such a success, that, once completed, Echo passed it on to her mother, Teresa Hopkins. “I have a bit of a scattered, busy mind,” admits Teresa. So, every morning, she began her day with a puzzle to help her, “wake up.”
“For me it was different because I was alone, but it became a way to focus and start my morning,” recalls Teresa, noting that her use of the puzzle was more about an individual focus rather than as a tool for thoughtful collaboration with others. “Because I have an active mind, [the puzzle is] something where I have to pay attention to the shapes, and the colors, and what would match. A way of slowing down the mind.”
The activity a success, both the women attempted to find new puzzles that might lead to more mindful engagement. However, they found few examples that met their needs, particularly when it came to the images on each jigsaw puzzle. “We went in search of more puzzles that weren’t targeted toward an older demographic, and there wasn’t a ton out there,” remembers Echo.
And when it came to the physical act of putting together the puzzle, the tactile sensation of the pieces themselves was distracting. “We found that a lot of the puzzles we’d used before felt very cheap,” recounts Teresa. “They were glare-y and really shiny… the pieces were what we call ‘innie-outies,’ where the whole puzzle is made of pieces that are that same shape. It makes [the experience] so frustrating.”
And so, with Teresa’s background in design and packaging and Echo’s career in the arts, the duo decided to take the problem on themselves. Ordinary Habit was launched in June 2020, with a line of limited-edition jigsaw puzzles, each of which was designed for, “sensory delight.” The pieces have a smooth, velvety coating, which creates a pleasant, soft surface to touch, but also eliminates the annoyance of glare when completing each puzzle. The pieces’ shapes are varied enough to keep things interesting, and the boxes for each puzzle are sturdy and styled for display.
“I live in New York, so I don’t have a closet for games – anything you have is out,” Echo laughs. “So that was part of the design process: the box can stand upright, it can go on your coffee table and look like a book in a lot of ways. Even the size of the puzzle itself; they’re a little bit smaller. I kept getting puzzles and then I had no table big enough to do them in the apartment. So, we were really mindful of all those different things when we designed our product. We wanted something that could be on show even when the puzzle is done.”
“We like moments,” says Teresa. “A cat on a couch, or picking apples in an orchard. Moments where you feel peaceful so that, as you work on it, and you’re putting it together, your physical and your mental senses are both calmed.”
Teresa agrees. “We wanted something more unique, more special, and meant as a design piece on your shelf or on your coffee table. We went into every element we could and then we chose the color palates that are vibrant and yet somehow work well in décor. Every bit, down the line, was intentional and something we had to work with the manufacturer to get. So, it wasn’t just off the shelf.”
And, essential to their vision, the pair was extremely thoughtful when it came to choosing the artists and illustrations for each puzzle. Both Teresa and Echo knew they wanted Ordinary Habit to champion and highlight the work of female artists (“The puzzle industry itself is quite male dominated until recently,” remarks Teresa. “It’s so nice that we’re able to get the ladies up there.”), and they knew every chosen piece needed to radiate calm.
“We like moments,” says Teresa. “A cat on a couch, or picking apples in an orchard. Moments where you feel peaceful so that, as you work on it, and you’re putting it together, your physical and your mental senses are both calmed.”
“We’re always trying to find subjects that are detailed enough that they’ll make a good puzzle but still have a sense of calm. There’s not a lot of chaos going on in our chosen artwork,” continues Echo. “The more we created the more we really realized what does and doesn’t work. And we just had to decide intentionally there are some [illustrations] that are really challenging and there are some that are less challenging – I think people want a broad offering in that sense.”
Over the course of the past two years, Echo and Teresa have fostered relationships with female artists from all over the globe. Their work, though different in style and composition, offer appealing glimpses into worlds both real and imagined depicted in each puzzle. In Ana Jarén’s Nap Time, a woman reclines on the floor of her apartment, surrounded by books, breakfast, tchotchkes, and a sleeping cat. The scene is a study in patterns, with colorful plaids and florals all cleverly unified through 70s style earth tones and pops of pink. Meanwhile, Lida Ziruffo’s Fall in the Countryside depicts a dreamy scene where a woman picks pears while a fox reads a book and Quotidian by Studio Proba is a celebration of pure color, line, and abstracted shapes – each of the puzzle catalogue’s many offerings are in turn eclectic, interesting, and stimulating, but always serene.
"...a celebration of pure color, line, and abstracted shapes – each of the puzzle catalogue’s many offerings are in turn eclectic, interesting, and stimulating, but always serene."
This attention to design and passion for women artists and illustrators is beginning to expand beyond puzzles as well. Matching Cards (one set with playful cats and another with bold foliage) and For Now: A Journal for Everyday Moments (a guided journal with writing prompts) are the Hopkins’ newest activities to foster mindfulness through focused play. “I think so much of what we were trying to create with the brand is around mindfulness – finding these moments to slow down,” Echo says of Ordinary Habit. “Something to help you slow down, that you can do for an hour or something you can do for three minutes… that you can kind of create space for mental health through all kinds of activities.”
I will admit – I have discovered I am a slow puzzler. But, I’m taking Maja Tomljanovic’s Christmas Pink House one piece at a time, in stolen moments on the side of my desk. And you know what? I might have found a new hobby.
https://ordinaryhabit.comOrdinary Habit can be found at www.ordinaryhabit.com
