Feature :: Page 4 :: The Chimes They Are A-Changin' Jump to Page 1 : 2 : 3 : >4< of The Chimes They Are A-Changin' Not every idea is a winner, admits executive vice president Stacey Bowers, a former Blackearth ensemble member. As fans of contemporary music and art, he and Kvistad have tried to market products with a modern look, using plastics, stainless steel, and clean lines to create pieces reminiscent of the Museum of Modern Art. But the designs hit a sour note with customers. The last three years have been rocky. A Woodstock-owned retail operation—two stores and a mail-order business—closed when it proved too costly. The move involved layoffs, which grated against Kvistad’s humanitarian side. Some retail stores and chains have gone under, leaving Woodstock scrambling for new markets. (Once found only in specialty shops, the chimes now are sold at Lowe’s and other major retailers.) An increasing percentage of Woodstock’s percussion designs is now made overseas, and most of its children’s line and other musical gifts are produced by other companies. Still, the company continues to grow. “Success in business is about adaptation,” Ash says. “Over the past 24 years Garry has shown incredible ability to look into the future and change his company.” And like many Obie-born businesses, Woodstock is concerned with more than just the bottom line. Some of its glass chimes are handcrafted at a fair-trade design studio in Johannesburg, where workers are paid a living wage and profits are reinvested into the South African community. Proceeds from sales of Woodstock’s Liberty Chimes are donated to the September 11th Children’s Fund. Kvistad himself is chair of the Woodstock Guild, a regional arts organization and parent group of the 100-year-old Byrdcliffe Arts Colony. “Oberlin was an important turning point in my life, both socially and musically,” Kvistad says. “I went there in 1967 to become a symphonic musician and left wanting to do more. Oberlin taught me how to open my ears and eyes to everyday experiences and take something new with me as a result. My father warned me that as great a school as Oberlin was, it was not the real world. Thank God for that.” Sally Parker is a freelance writer in Rochester, N.Y. :::::
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