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

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

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 In geometry, a three-dimensional space (3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a mathematical space in which three values (''coordinates'') are required to determine the position (geometry), position of a point (geometry), poi ...

jigsaw puzzles A jigsaw puzzle (with context, sometimes just jigsaw or just puzzle) is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of often irregularly shaped interlocking and mosaicked pieces. Typically each piece has a portion of a picture, which is complet ...

. 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 two-phase materials science, material systems where a gas is dispersed in a second, non-gaseous material, specifically, in which gas cells are enclosed by a distinct liquid or solid material. Note, this source focuses only on liquid ...

puzzle. Gallant was born in

Edmundston Edmundston () is a city in Madawaska County, New Brunswick, Canada. Established in 1850, it had a population of 16,437 as of 2021. On January 1, 2023, Edmundston amalgamated with the village of Rivière-Verte, New Brunswick, Rivière-Verte and ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

. He initially began his career in the

music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...

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

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

(a division of Sony Music) and the

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

. 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, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to find the solution of the puzzle. There are differe ...

, 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 prototype ...

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 bott ...

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 that it represents, as in ...

for Wrebbit became an easily identifiable

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

. 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 Toy store, retail chain. The company is known for its high-end toys, life-sized stuffed animals, Interactivity, interactive experiences, Product placement, brand integrations, and games. FAO Schwarz clai ...

, 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 p ...

, Puzz-3D, throughout

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

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 use purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. ...

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 corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...

, 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,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, at the age of 67 due to

brain cancer A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign (non-cance ...

. 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