Feb 24, 2009
Around the Industry

Woodstock Chimes Celebrates 30 Years

Thirty years ago, Garry Kvistad, owner and CEO of Woodstock Chimes, dreamed of bringing music to people’s ears in a nontraditional form. With his strong will and impeccable ear for music, the Northern Illinois University professor found himself tromping through a landfill in search of “treasures” to create his masterpiece. It was there he found his first source of materials: a pile of discarded lawn chairs. Using the tubes from the lawn chairs, Kvistad crafted a metallophone, a xylophone-like instrument made with metal instead of wood. From there, Woodstock Chimes took form as Kvistad’s precision-tuned windchimes flourished in popularity.

“To this day, I’m still amazed at how my original dream took shape to become what it is today,” said Kvistad. “When I first started, I would literally wipe out a local hardware store’s entire supply of 1-inch aluminum tubes, just to keep up with demand.”

After an appearance on NPR’s All Things Considered in early 1980 and on the Today Show in 1983, Garry was devoting all of his energy to making and selling his windchimes. In the late 80s, Woodstock Chimes were being sold in all 50 states and distributed internationally. In 1990, two custom sets of Woodstock Chimes were commissioned for a special performance by the Boston Symphony Orchestra commemorating the 100th anniversary of Carnegie Hall. In Woodstock Chimes’ 20th anniversary year, 1999, the company moved into its current 108,000-square-foot facility in Shokan, N.Y.

In addition to its windchimes, Woodstock Chimes’ unique line of musical instruments and gifts from around the world, have proven to be extremely popular with its customer base. Most recently, Woodstock Chimes acquired Asli Arts and created Asli Arts by Woodstock Chimes, a new line of environmentally friendly, bamboo and capiz chimes that debuted with immense success at the 2009 winter markets. The company has also made major advancements in its Canadian distribution by partnering with Design Home Gift & Paper and Playwell Enterprises.

For more information on Woodstock Chimes, visit their website www.chimes.com.