ENTREPRENEURIAL brothers Afzaal and Aftab Ahmed have made a new twist on the traditional jigsaw puzzle into a big seller in the toy market, after only a year in business.

The pair, from Newcastle, put their project on the market after three years of development work, and it was snapped up by retailers such as John Lewis.

Afzaal, 32, and Aftab, 31, started the business after completing their studies at Northumbria and Oxford Universities respectively.

Now they are hoping to develop overseas markets.

Their puzzles are popular in Ireland and Italy, with other markets beginning to follow.

That success may involve the brothers having to leave their offices, in the front room of their home in Newcastle, and seek premises elsewhere in the region.

They have already spoken to organisations such as the Business and Innovation Centre in Sunderland, about the possibility of taking space, but are also keeping an eye open for sites in Tyneside and County Durham.

At the moment, the puzzles are manufactured by about nine different UK manufacturers, but the brothers hope to eventually bring that in-house, so they can keep an eye on the quality.

Afzaal said: "Our first year of trading has been a good one for us and the time is now right to move to the next stage of development. That could see us take on a unit where we can assemble the puzzles, if not manufacture them ourselves.

"Until now, we have only been a small operation, selling a lot by mail order as well as through retailers such as John Lewis.

"But it has taken us three years of hard work to reach this point, with a lot of development, involving focus groups of children.

"We sold about 3,000 puzzles in the run-up to Christmas, but anticipate selling far more this year as the word gets around about our products."

The business really started to take off in February last year, when they exhibited at the Spring Fair in Birmingham.

Since then, they have won several awards, including best gift for a Prince's Trust-backed company in the 2002 Gift Awards.

Last June, the pair won the Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year award, following success at the northern regional finals. Now they are looking to broaden their product range in time for the next Christmas rush.

Afzaal said this was a quiet period for the toy industry, which gave them time to develop new products.

"We hope to have at least four puzzles in the shops this Christmas, including T'Rex and Save Our Planet puzzles, to go with our current Tiger Tiger and Floating Zoo products."

Fixits puzzles comprise 204 individually cut shapes that are interactive and captivating for six to 11-year-olds.

"Each piece is like a little toy in itself," said Aftab. "The whole puzzle is an animated 3D image that children feel they can reach out and touch."

Each puzzle also comes with an adhesive sheet for making it permanent, allowing it to be framed and hung on the wall.

Aftab said: "I think we've proved that the jigsaw puzzle still has a place in a world of computers and electronic toys.

"We've tried to re-invent the puzzle by making it 3D, presenting it as a whole new product."

Eventually, the brothers hope to break into the adult market, making large puzzles that will grab the attention of an older audience.