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The Woodstock Chimes story

Woodstock Chimes offers a unique variety of high-quality, affordable musical gifts from around the world that inspire, entertain, and bring pleasure to people of all ages. We design and sell the world-famous Woodstock Chimes and distribute a line of award-winning musical instruments and toys called the Woodstock Music Collection. Woodstock Percussion, Inc. was founded in 1979 in New York's beautiful Hudson Valley, which continues to operate today. Founded by professional musician Garry Kvistad, who has a long history in music, explains Woodstock Chimes’ strong commitment to fine tuning and great sound - which makes our products appealing to everyone and unique to the gift industry.

In September 2021, Garry Kvistad chose Sullivans to lead Woodstock Chimes into its next generation. For over 50 years, Sullivans has built a reputation for world-class customer service and unique, high-quality products. By merging with Sullivans, Woodstock Chimes pulls from a larger team equally dedicated to designing and producing quality products that will delight and appeal to everyone.

How it all began

Early 1970s

As a music student in the 1970s, Garry’s curiosity about ancient worlds led him to learn about ancient music and musicians.The musical scales he was studying could not be played on modern instruments, so he decided to build a metallophone (a xylophone-like instrument with metal bars pictured at left) that could play the ancient scale of Olympos, a Greek flute player from the 7th century B.C.. Being an ecologically minded recent college graduate on a tight budget, Garry found the materials for his metallophone at a landfill - it was made from the aluminum tubes of a discarded lawn chair! Garry’s metallophone experiment was so successful, he had the idea to cut and tune aluminum tubes to create windchimes, and Woodstock Chimes was born!

As seen in...

It's always exciting to see our products in newspapers and magazines, as well as on TV and in the movies.

Garry Kvistad giving a TedX talk

Woodstock Chimes founder Garry Kvistad was a featured speaker at TEDx Navesink on April 9, 2016. Garry was one of 28 people selected from over 100 to speak about what he had created. In his talk entitled "Good Vibrations", Garry describes how his fascination with ancient musical scales as a young music student led him to make his first metallophone from discarded lawn chairs. 

Click here to watch the video and learn all about how Woodstock Chimes came to be!

Woodstock Chimes on Grey's Anatomy

The Meredith Grey drama in Grey’s Anatomy continues, and our Habitats - Dragonfly Windbell, Verdigris is right in the middle of it. In Season 15, Episode 23 — What I Did for Love — you can see our Habitats - Dragonfly Windbell, Verdigris hanging in the kitchen scene, between the glass fronted cupboards and the window.­

Will Meredith be able to wash her hands of this latest drama? However it turns out, we’re just crazy in love with Meredith’s impeccable taste.

The Woodstock Chimes Mission

To produce musically tuned, affordable, high quality products that enhance well-being through beautiful sights and sounds. We strive for sustainability, supported by our business practices, our wind-powered chimes and our people-powered instruments.

Why Woodstock Chimes

Why choose Woodstock Chimes?

  • Woodstock Chimes are the original, musically tuned high quality windchime
  • Woodstock Chimes are tuned to beautiful melodies and scales from around the world
  • Woodstock Chimes were created by GRAMMY® award-winning musician Garry Kvistad
  • Available in a wide range of styles, songs and sizes, you can choose the Woodstock Chime that speaks to your soul
  • We stand behind every product we make with a one-year warranty and a lifetime tuning guarantee on our musically tuned chimes
  • Woodstock Chimes are The World’s Favorite Windchime™—the chime more people ask for by name
  • Woodstock Chimes are the choice of discerning customers for nearly 40 years!

Why choose Woodstock Music Collection?

  • Our musical instruments are fun, educational and creative—and they're selected by professional musicians
  • Song sheets and easy-to-follow instructions are included, making it easy to start making music
  • With both classic and original designs, there's an instrument for everyone!
  • Our children's musical instruments are safety tested and age graded
  • The Woodstock Music Collection has instruments suitable for children of all ages (even grown-ups!)

Behind the Brand at Woodstock Chimes