Frequently Asked Questions & Contact Form

Are there music boxes currently in stock?

Physical store in Utrecht:

I am open twice a week at a beautiful location in the heart of Utrecht. There is a wide selection of music boxes available for direct sale. View the agenda for all dates.

Monthly online sales:

From April 2025 is the webshop still only three days a month Open. You can then buy music boxes that are available from stock. The offer is placed in the webshop in the weeks before the sale so that you can already see what will be for sale.

Other sales points

I am currently not making boxes for other outlets/shops due to lack of time. So the outlets are most likely sold out. Click here for an overview of these sales spots.

What are the shipping times and costs?

Delivery times and shipping costs per country/region

Please note: The webshop is only open three days a month for the sale of music boxes. See webshop for the next date.

Note: With engraving + a maximum of 5 days extra delivery time.



Pick up in Utrecht (NL)

During checkout you can also choose to pick up instead of shipping.

You can pick up in the shop on Friday and Saturday 14-17 pm in the center of Utrecht (Donkerstraat 21). Or by appointment in the workshop at Europalaan 41



The Netherlands.

Delivery with PostNL

4,00 euro (envelope) only for Gift Letter/Magazine 2-4 days

5,50 € (Letterbox package) 2 days 

8,25 € (Packet service) 2 days



Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg

7,00 euro (envelope) only for Gift Letter/Magazine 3-5 days

12,00 € (Regular Post / Courier)  3-4 business days

26,00 € (express service) 1 Business Days


Denmark, France, Austria, United Kingdom

15,00 – 20,00 euros (Regular Post / Courier) 4-6 working days

30,00 - 55,00 euro (Express Services) 1-2 business days


Hungary, Portugal, Sweden

16,95 € (Regular Post / Courier) 4-6 working days

18,50 € (Regular Post / Courier) 4-6 working days

32,50 € (express service) 1-2 business days


Italyë, Poland

18,00 € (Regular Post / Courier) 4-6 business days

40,00 € (express service) 1-2 business days


Europe other countries

18,00 to 29,00 euros (Regular Post / Courier) 4-6 working days

45,00 € (express service) 1-3 business days

You can also use the shipping calculator in the shopping basket to calculate the shipping costs.


Worldwide

Worldwide shipping is VAT free with regular mail or Express service. Please note that you may have to pay import duties (TAX).


United States, Canada, Mexico

27,00 € (Regular Mail) 7-25 working days depending on destination

59,00 € (express service) 1-3 working days depending on destination


Asia, Australia, New Zealand

30,00 € (Regular Mail) 7-25 working days depending on destination

65,00 € (express service) 1-3 working days depending on destination


Other countries worldwide

35,00 € (Regular Mail) 7-25 working days depending on destination

75,00 € (express service) 2-4 working days depending on destination

 

You can also use the shipping calculator in the shopping basket to calculate the shipping costs.

All prices including 21% VAT if applicable.

CAN I HAVE MY OWN MELODY MADE?

THIS IS POSSIBLE, BUT NO LONGER THROUGH ME. YOU WILL CONTACT THE MANUFACTURER OF THE MECHANISMS YOURSELF. SEE BELOW.

Small winding mechanism with 18 notes

Can you here order (you arrange this without me). A wooden box made by me for your own mechanism you can here order or come to the store in Utrecht. If you order in the webshop, choose the last option 'without mechanism' in the drop down menu 'choose melody'. You can then put the mechanism in yourself or I can do it for you if you come to the store or send the mechanism to me.

Large wind-up mechanism (30 notes) with custom melody

Can you here order. This comes standard in a wooden box. If you prefer a wooden box from me for your own mechanism you can order it here order or come to the store in Utrecht and I will put it in. If you order in the webshop, choose in the drop down menu 'choose melody'  the last option 'without mechanism'. You can then install your own mechanism or I can do it for you if you bring it to the store or send the mechanism to me.

Large hand mechanism with paper sticks.

No longer sold by me.

Large editions (from 1000 pieces)

Unfortunately I can't help you with this.

Can I supply wood myself?

SINCE JANUARY 2025 I NO LONGER MAKE MUSIC BOXES TO ORDER. SO IT IS NO LONGER POSSIBLE TO HAVE MUSIC BOXES MADE FROM YOUR OWN WOOD. UNLESS….. THE WOOD ALSO HAS A SPECIAL VALUE FOR ROBIN WOOD (E.G. BECAUSE OF THE TREE/LOCATION) AND BOXES FOR THE SHOP CAN ALSO BE MADE FROM IT.

THE WOOD MUST MEET THE CONDITIONS BELOW.

Conditions for supplying wood:

– SAW PLANKS (so no logs, wood slices)
– FREE OF cracks and large knots (small knots allowed)
– DRY WOOD with a maximum of 15% moisture **
– FREE OF metal, screws/nails etc. (if in doubt, check with a metal detector)
– MINIMUM THICKNESS: 3,5cm for Piccolo and Lude models. 5cm for model Robin and Tamino
– MINIMUM WIDTH: 18cm
– MINIMUM LENGTH: 54 cm
................................................................................................................................. ..
** A plank of a freshly sawn tree dries on average 1 cm per year, provided it is placed in a well-ventilated and dry place. So a board of 4 cm thickness needs 2 years, sometimes less in hot dry summers, e.g.

Send a message

If the wood you have in mind meets the above conditions, please send me an email with your request and the details of the wood in question. Also send some photos of the wood so that I can judge whether it will indeed work, to prevent disappointment later. Because usually there are additional unexpected surprises with the wood. Also mention which type of wood it is. (I cannot use wood types with a lot of resin such as Larch and Douglas)
Where else can you buy the music boxes?

You can find all (physical) sales points here

I'm looking for a melody that does not appear in the webshop

Unfortunately it is not possible to request a different melody.

This is because I only purchase from the supplier a few times a year, and have to purchase at least 100 pieces per melody, which is expensive.

You can buy a music box without a mechanism from me and put in the mechanism that you have bought yourself somewhere else through me or yourself. Please note that the model is identical, otherwise it will not fit.

To have a mechanism made with your own melody, see the question 'can I have my own melody made'

What is the difference between manual and wind-up?

The difference is that a manual mechanism you have to turn the lever to make the music sound. This lever is always on the side and is visible. Depending on the melody, it is silver-colored with a red ball or completely gold-colored. A manual mechanism has 18 tones.

A wind-up mechanism plays by itself for a few minutes. You just have to wind it up, the further you wind it the longer it plays. The winding key is at the bottom of the box, out of sight (except for Piccolo, who has it at the top). A wind-up mechanism is available in various versions. The smallest has 18 tones. Larger, more expensive machine heads have 30,36,50 or even 72 tones.

What does showing 18/23/30 mean?

This indicates the number of notes that are on the mechanism.

To be more precise; The mechanism has a comb with teeth that are tuned from high to low. There is also a rotating cylinder with pins, the position of these pins determine the melody, and every time a pin hits a tooth, a tone is heard.

The smallest and most sold mechanisms have 18 tones. (music box Piccolo, Lude, Celesta, Robin, Tamino) There are also larger machine heads with 30 (Tamino, Calandra) and 50 tones (Orpheus, = temporarily unavailable).

You can imagine that the more tones there are, the nicer it will sound, because it is closer to the original. The mechanism also plays longer and contains a larger fragment of the original piece of music. The quality of the materials is better and so is the sound.

Questions about engraving

I do not yet know the text for engraving.

For example, if you want the box to be delivered quickly before a birth, but you do not yet know the name and date of birth, it is best to order the box (with engraving, fill in: 'text will be later') due to delivery time / availability . As soon as you know the text for engraving, email this to me. Then I can usually engrave it within a few days.

Can I have my own logo / image engraved?

Yes, that's possible. Keep in mind that the engraving is black / white. So if a logo / image is graphic then we can usually engrave it. When a good quality file is supplied in pdf, the price is 15, -. If the file still needs editing then 10-20 euro is added. Send the file by e-mail for a quote.

Can I have multiple surfaces engraved?

Yes, that's possible. First choose the area before the first engraving and fill in the desired text. After this an option for a second engraving for another plane appears. If you want a third engraving, please contact us.

Layout of text

By default we use the font 'Gabriola Regular'. Subtle, elegant and with beautiful sleek lines, perfect for engraving. (a different font is possible on request if it is in our 'font' collection)

The layout is provided by us by engraving. How this will look depends on the number of characters and the available surface. It is therefore possible that texts with long sentences are divided over multiple lines. If you would like to have an example of this in advance, let us know.

 

Online sales for May are closed. NEXT ONLINE SALE IS ON 23, 24 & 25 June. The physical store in Utrecht is open twice a week and has sufficient stock for direct sales! (visitors only)

Please note: Rob no longer makes custom music boxes. Requests for custom work will no longer be considered.

ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT BOXES IN THE PHYSICAL STORE Click HERE ANSWERED.

Contact form

    After sending, receipt will be confirmed below. You will not receive any additional confirmation by email.

    FOLLOW ROBIN WOOD!

    ADDRESS & CONTACT

    Rob de Looff

    Robin Wood Music Boxes

    Workplace:
    Europalaan 41
    3526 KN Utrecht
    The Netherlands

    Shop window & Shop:
    Dark Street 21
    3511 KB Utrecht

    Call: + 31 (0) 6 11 30 38 99
    Email: rob@robinwoodmusicbox.com

    Workshop is not a visiting address. The shop is open twice a week. More info below.

    Greetings from the music boxes

    maternity room!

    Workshop De Createur Europalaan

    The workshop on the Europalaan. On the left is Rob's studio.

    Shop window & shop in the Donkerstraat

    Shop window & shop in the Donkerstraat. See calendar for opening hours

    More Info

    Shop window & shop of Robin Wood in the Donkerstraat

    Tribute to the trees

    A tree is like a book

    A tree is like a book in which time writes. Many city trees end up in the shredder and are stoked, as happens with classified documents that should no longer be read. It's a shame! In more and more cities, there is an initiative to really reuse this wood sustainably and give it back to the city in a new form, such as music boxes!

    Stadshout Tafelboom Utrecht

    Wood full of stories

    The wood for the music boxes is very carefully selected by Rob. They are made of the trees that grew in or near the city, on a square, in a street, park or urban forest, perhaps in a place where you like to go, you may have passed them hundreds of times! That makes this wood so special. We know where the tree was and sometimes there are still pictures of it. In short: Wood full of stories!

    New wood on the way !!

    SOON NEW MUSIC BOXES WILL BE MADE FROM THESE TREES:

     

    Every now and then Rob goes to buy new wood, from which regions and cities this will be is stated below.

    THE HARVEST OF THE PAST MONTHS:

    GLASTONBURY, UK 
    Bought by chance from Sacred Wood during a trip in July:
    WALNUT,
    Yarley near Wells
    OAK, from the forest at Butleigh
    BEECH,
    Ashwick Grove House at Oakhill

    ZEALAND
    Wood from Zeeland Wood in Koudekerke
    YEW,
    Singelstraat 15, in the heart of Middelburg
    WALNUT,
    Northern Achterweg 46, Wemeldinge

    DORDRECHT 
    Wood from Dordrecht Wood
    RED BEECH,
    Augustine camp
    OAK, Dortwijk Estate
    ELM, Marienhof, oldest farm in Hoeksche Waard

    UTRECHT
    Wood from table tree, Neighbour & Botanical Gardens.
    BEECH from 1900, Museumlaan

    ELM,
    Canal Street Lombok

    The famous BROWN BEECH,
    Emmalaan (1843-2020)
    TREE OF HEAVEN, Botanical Gardens, Budapestlaan

    AMSTERDAM
    Wood from City wood Amsterdam
    ELS,
    Vondelpark (1969-2017)
    SWEET CHERRY, Kraton Garden Java Island
    PEER, Delflandplein 

    TDuring the next three-day online sale, some of the above trees will be available for sale as music boxes. In the physical store, boxes of some of these trees are already available for purchase.

    Interactive tree map

    This map shows all trees of which once upon boxes are made. The wood from this may have been used up for a long time.

     

    Click on the icon at the top left to expand / collapse the menu.

    If you click on a tree on the map or in the menu, more info and photos will appear if available.

    Most recent trees & wood

    You may still find boxes of these trees in the webshop.

    The old lime tree from Zeist

    Trees from Utrecht and the surrounding area

    some trees from which Rob has made boxes over the years.

    Trees from Amsterdam & Haarlem

    There are no photos of many trees, but there are!

    Trees from other cities

    A selection

    Impression of various types of wood

    Please note that these photos only give an impression! Color and drawing of the wood are different with every box, even if it is made from the same tree!

    WOOD TYPES NEDERALND

    Most common types of wood

    Exclusive wood types (sold out!)

    NEWSLETTER

    RECEIVE THE BEST NEWS FROM ROBIN WOOD EVERY QUARTER

    SORRY, CURRENTLY SOLD OUT You can leave your email below, and you will receive a one-time message as soon as this box, or a similar copy (if it was a unique item) is available for sale online again.
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