Jeff Forman/

Jason Williams will open Spaceman Floyd’s Cosmic Toys in Madison next week.

Jason Williams swore by everything from his religious beliefs to Carl Jung’s synchronicity theory while deciding where to open his vintage toy store.Now that his business, Spaceman Floyd’s Vintage Toy Store, is set to open Thursday in Madison Village, a more tangible product is getting him through the hours of arranging, planning, tiling and shelf-stocking."This is my third cup of coffee today," he said around noon, earlier this week. "This is 10 to 12 hours a day. This is the hardest I’ve ever worked in my life, but it’s for me so it makes sense that I would do it."It also gives him the best opportunity to make a lasting impression when the weekend-long Madison old Fashioned Days event kicks off. because his business is new and flashy — life-sized dolls and a gigantic ant in a suit coat are visible from the front window — foot traffic will flow to him at various points during the event. Williams just hopes they like the contents enough to come back even when it’s not 80 degrees in August.Spaceman Floyd’s is a resale and trade-in shop of toys from the early ’90s and before. The only new items you’ll find there are candy and gag toys like Whoopie Cushions and exploding golf balls. G.I. Joe toys, wrestling figures and super heroes dress the store, along with comic books, board games, VHS tapes and 8-bit Nintendo consoles.Williams wanted to open his own store during many of the nine-plus years he spent working at Big Fun in Cleveland Heights. He began soliciting vintage toy trades in area newspapers and online more than a year ago, and the results of those efforts constitute most of the products that sit in his store today.his big catch came about a year ago when a call came from Paducah, Ky., a small town near the Illinois and Missouri borders. The collectibles Wilson purchased from a woman there make up about 45 percent of his store’s merchandise.Hulk Hogan, Superman and the rest of the gang would seemingly appeal to collectors and few others. But Bill Buttwin, who owns the property that will house Spaceman Floyd’s, says excitement is mounting among those far too young to recall most of the store’s used items."Kids had their nose up against the windows and their hands because the lights were off," he said of a recent day in front of the store. "It was funny, and then I went to look myself. I left my handprints there, too."Still, it might be a while before enthusiasm outweighs the questions surrounding Spaceman Floyd’s, particularly how its owner expects such a concept to last in such a small pocket of Northeast Ohio.Downtown Willoughby was his first choice, but Williams also considered locations in Mentor, Painesville and other nearby cities. He missed out on some openings by mere days and declined others for financial reasons. Holding onto Jung’s concept, Williams also believes that opening a store at the site his wife pointed at during a drive down Madison’s Main Street months ago is far more than a coincidence.As for the economic implications of opening a toy store during a time when some providers of essential products are struggling, Williams thinks people still want distractions, even if they come in the form of a Barbie doll or a 13-inch replica of Aquaman. He’s also aware that he could be wrong about this."This is all me," he said. "I didn’t take out any loans, I didn’t take out any credit cards. This is money I’ve been saving up for two years."If it fails, it fails, and I’m broke."Buttwin, whose property also has successfully housed another nonessential, Safire Rose Beads and things, for nearly five years says there is no doubt Spaceman Floyd’s can have a long, fruitful run in Madison."If I didn’t think he could make it, I wouldn’t have rented it to him," Buttwin said. "It’s just how Jason markets his product. his tentacles will reach most parts of Ohio, at least. On a store like this, word’s going to fly fast. He’s going to do great."though he halted his mission to become an English professor to start the business, Williams wouldn’t make that type of prediction just yet. However, he has no regrets about the undertaking."If you live your life in the belief that there’s never a right moment to do anything, you’re always going to find reasons not to do something," he said. "Are you going to be worried about North Korea attacking South Korea? ‘Well, I can’t do anything because we’re going to be in another war.’"you have to take risks."

Vintage toys at Spaceman Floyd’s a throwback to past

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