To surprise her boyfriend with an original Christmas gift, a young woman from Germany began searching online for a music box that could play his favorite Beatles song. After browsing countless websites from different countries, she found the perfect gift on the website of a Bulgarian company.

“She told me she wanted to give him a romantic present and was overjoyed to discover his favorite melody embedded in a box. I was the only one in the whole world offering it".

This is how Ventsislav Nikolov, owner of VM Art Commerce, a company producing wooden music boxes with mechanical crank mechanisms, tells the story.

“The German girl was touched that for a relatively small amount of money, I put in so much effort. I personally handled and shipped the single piece,” Nikolov recalls.

His company was the first in Bulgaria to specialize in trading Tin Toys. It started five years ago, offering tinplate toys to people nostalgic for their childhood years. These items were reproductions of globally popular toys from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.

Later, however, Nikolov decided to change the concept, moving into the production of wooden music boxes with mechanical cranks.

“There was a demand for crank music boxes in wooden cases for all sorts of occasions, mainly as gifts,” the entrepreneur recalls.

Soon, wholesale clients appeared, requesting larger quantities of the romantic souvenirs. It became clear that greater production capacity was needed, since imports could only cover half the demand.

When an order for 2,000 units came in, customers had to wait several months. “They weren’t happy with the delays. That’s when I started thinking what I could do - who could help me, how laser engraving was done, and so on”, says Nikolov. He realized he needed his own engraving machine. But it was expensive, and he didn’t have enough funds.

“My wife and I decided we’d push forward on our own. We measured our strength, saw what we had and what we could do,” he explains. He met with several banks, but his idea for a new business wasn’t understood. During that period, he and his wife calculated what guarantees they could offer and how far their resources would stretch.

“One bank rejected me outright. Another wanted a solid apartment as collateral - worth twice the loan amount - and asked for an interest rate of 12.8%. Then I discovered the Мicrofinance institution Jobs (today BDB Microfinance), a subsidiary of the Bulgarian Development Bank, and things finally worked out”, the entrepreneur recalls.

“I brought samples of the music boxes, and the expert at Jobs really liked the idea and explained what documents to prepare. That’s how our partnership began. From the very start, the bank was positive”, Nikolov says gratefully.

After receiving the funds, he ordered the machine, and just three months later, business was booming.

The workshop for producing music boxes is located in the village of Lozen, near Sofia. The machine has a capacity of about 2,500 boxes per month. For production, quality plywood is sourced from Bulgarian suppliers. Nikolov also found beautiful natural stains in the village of Selishte, near Apriltsi. “They’re made by some local guys without any chemicals, in wonderful colors. They’re perfect for us,” he explains.

Today, his company supplies the largest bookstore chains in Bulgaria, as well as several souvenir shops. The music boxes can be found at the entrance of Klisurski Monastery, and in stores in Troyan, Veliko Tarnovo, Sofia, and Plovdiv.

The firm also offers boxes with custom images, such as the Klisurski Monastery or the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, and personalized designs - for example, with the names of newlyweds or pictures for birthday gifts. Each box plays a different melody.

“If it’s a gift for a man, they often choose The Godfather theme. We also recently added Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik. Our range of film soundtracks is quite large too. Absolute hits are the themes from Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and Star Wars,” Nikolov says.

He expects to receive more orders for corporate gifts this year. “Across Europe, we have no real competition. One German company also makes cranks, but their boxes are cardboard,” he adds. His firm already exports to the Czech Republic and is testing small shipments to Austria.

One of the surest proofs of his business’s success is the opinion of his three-year-old daughter. “She knows how to play a melody, but she doesn’t have a favorite. She listens to whatever happens to be within her reach,” Nikolov jokes.

And as for potential competition? He isn’t worried. When asked what he would do if another company entered the same market, he smiles: “Let them come. I’m already five years ahead.”