How to Succeed in a Most Puzzling Business

When an artist, an architect and a rocket scientist team up to create the next great puzzle craze, they learn that conquering the toy market is far from child’s play.

Photos by Alexis Lambrou

Tom Sebazco is somewhere in the monstrous Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on Manhattan’s far west side, past the Hello Kitty display and neighboring My Little Pony quad, beyond the personal care products and party masks in the “Lifestyle” section, an area that also houses artisanal beeswax, odorous candles, endless coffee mugs and an array of neon-lighted diner clocks. The NY Now trade show, “The Market for Home & Lifestyle,” has invaded the quarters, welcoming 35,000 mid-August weekend attendees, including Sebazco, who is here to to sell his ENI Puzzle to prospective buyers representing museums, toy stores, gift shops, boutiques and everything in between.

Sebazco’s in the subterranean “Gift” area, standing in front of his lot, number 5535. His ENI Puzzle stand is adjacent to Vikolya’s shoes, coat hangers and knick-knacks, Concord Lane’s handcrafted walking sticks, and across the aisle from Aviv Judaica’s traditional Jewish holiday celebratory and ceremonial i…