Paul-Émile Gallant (July 17, 1944 – September 13, 2011) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

who developed

Puzz-3D ''Puzz 3D'' is the brand name of three-dimensional jigsaw puzzles, manufactured by Hasbro and formerly by Wrebbit, Inc. Unlike traditional puzzles which are composed of series of flat pieces that when put together, create a single unified image, ...

three-dimensional Three-dimensional space (also: 3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a geometric setting in which three values (called ''parameters'') are required to determine the position of an element (i.e., point). This is the informal ...

jigsaw puzzles A jigsaw puzzle is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of often irregularly shaped interlocking and mosaiced pieces, each of which typically has a portion of a picture. When assembled, the puzzle pieces produce a complete picture. In th ...

. He is also credited with inventing both the Wrebbit Puzzle Machine, which is now known as the Puzzle Shots Factory, and the Perfalock flat

foam Foams are materials formed by trapping pockets of gas in a liquid or solid. A bath sponge and the head on a glass of beer are examples of foams. In most foams, the volume of gas is large, with thin films of liquid or solid separating the reg ...

puzzle. Gallant was born in

Edmundston Edmundston is a city in Madawaska County, New Brunswick, Canada. On 1 January 2023, Edmundston will expanded, annexing the village of Rivière-Verte and parts of the local service districts of the parish of Saint-Jacques and the parish of Sai ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

. He initially began his career in the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

, which lasted approximately eighteen years. Gallant worked for Trans Canada Musique,

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

(a division of Sony Music) and the CBC. Gallant switched careers and began working in the toy industry in the late 1980s. He began working on a new concept for the traditional

puzzle A puzzle is a game, Problem solving, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together (Disentanglement puzzle, or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at th ...

, but involving 3D solutions inspired by commercial design. Gallant reportedly completed his

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

for what would be called Puzz-3D after one year of design. In 1989, Gallant laminated

polyethylene Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging ( plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bo ...

foam, the same type used to insulate airliner cockpits, with paper and built his first 3D puzzle (a miniature wall) on his kitchen table. His new Puzz-3D puzzles, which often could be built into models of actual buildings and other landmark structures, could be placed on display indefinitely after completion. He founded his own company for Puzz-3D, which he called Wrebbit Inc., in partnership with Rene Binette. The

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...

for Wrebbit became an easily identifiable

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

. The three dimensional product line was launched at the Canadian Toy & Hobby Fair in 1992. A crucial entry to the US market started when Gallant drove from Montreal to New York's

FAO Schwarz FAO Schwarz is an American toy brand and store. The company is known for its high-end toys, life-sized stuffed animals, interactive experiences, brand integrations, and games. FAO Schwarz claims to be the oldest toy store in the United States, ...

, the oldest toy store in the US, in September 1991 and convinced their toy buyer to immediately order 72 puzzles. Gallant spearheaded the expansion of Wrebbit and its keystone

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...

, Puzz-3D, throughout

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and elsewhere in the world. The Puzz-3D product line was made in Canada, but sold in more than 40 countries worldwide. Approximately 30 million Puzz-3D puzzles were bought by global

consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. T ...

s by 2000. Irwin Toys purchased Wrebbit in 2001. However, Irwin Toys went out of business in 2002 and Gallant once again became the owner of Wrebbit and Puzz-3D. Gallant sold Wrebbit and its product lines to the international toy manufacturer,

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of ...

, in 2005. Gallant was awarded the Canada Export Achievement Award in 1995. The following year, he became the recipient of the Canada-America Business Achievement Award in 1996. In 2008, Gallant was inducted into the Canadian Toy Industry Hall of Fame. Gallant died on September 13, 2011, in

Laval Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxem ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, at the age of 67 due to

brain cancer A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secondar ...

. He was survived by his three children, ten grandchildren and two sisters. His wife, Françoise, died in 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallant, Paul 1944 births 2011 deaths Toy inventors Toy designers Canadian designers Businesspeople from New Brunswick People from Edmundston Businesspeople from Quebec Jigsaw puzzles