GIRARD- According to vintage candy and T-shirt store owner Linda Barton, customers typically react in awe when they first step foot inside Sweet Memories Vintage Tees & Candy.
They frequently say out loud,” I remember these, I remember those,” Barton said. They are overflowing with memories of candy and sodas from their youth.
The standard Big Wheel, Lite-Briet, Shrinky Dinks, Operation, Twister, Mouse Trap, and action figures from G. I. Joe to Star Wars to music traditions and movie characters are just a few of the vintage products that Barton wants to re-create in his 2, 500-square-foot toy store.
Barton remarked about how she selected the items, saying,” I wanted to have everything from parents to young children.”
Through a collaboration with the Idora Park Experience, which has donated products from its collection, including one of the sizable metal” Kiddieland Soldiers” that after guarded the entrance to Kidstown at the original amusement park in Youngstown, as well as Porky the Paper Eater, the room, an addition to the chocolate and T-shirt keep on Trumbull Avenue in Girard, even nods to local history.
A licensing arrangement for Barton to offer a line of Idora Park clothing and soda is also part of the partnership with the Canfield-based company. A portion of sales revenue will be donated to the company to aid in the preservation of artifacts in its collection.
BEGINNING STARTED
When Barton announced that she had decided to add products to the store in August, she went about compiling a list of the top 10 products from each generation beginning in the 1940s and beginning her search for the products.
She claimed to have spent about$ 150, 000 to store the business while attending a toy fair in September at the Javits Center in New York City.
After that, the shipping began to arrive,” Barton said, snapping her hands.
She started renovating the area at the store that had previously been used for storage for the chocolate and T-shirt shop around the same time. She spent an additional$ 50,000 to install a glass door, upgrade the heating and ventilation system, and redo the floors and ceiling.
It was enjoyable conducting the research, Barton said. ” I move very quickly.”
A string was cut on Wednesday to commemorate the new room, which also happened to coincide with its smooth opening. Black Friday, November 24, is set aside for a great entry.
Santa Claus may be present on November 25 and a rum bread tasting with Tortuga Rum Cakes, which are available in the candy store, will take place. Additionally, the chocolate and T-shirt retailer may introduce its series of Goetze Candy Company, which produces Cow Tails and Caramel Creams.
INVENTORY
Barton claimed that she bought products from at least 20 different businesses. From people who want the toys they had or wanted as a child to things appropriate for children and child, the company’s products has products suitable for all ages.
A sizable vintage energy football game, the initial Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs, Barton’s favorite item, Fashion Plate, and Sit’n Spin are among the items. Additionally, there are railways from Lionel, an action figure wall, a wall of Pez, various table games, Airsoft, Fisher Price, and items related to creativity and STEM.
She also had a female astronomer number on hand.
I’ve always seen a lady astronaut before, so that’s why I purchased them, according to Barton.
She also owns Lego, but in order to do so, she needed the company’s approval by submitting a firm plan, allowing them to look over three years of her financial information, and she had to go through background checks.
She said,” I created the visual so that when visitors enter, they see the things they remember.”
LICENSING
At this year’s Canfield Fair, Barton claimed to have met Jim and Toni Amey, the masters of the Idora Park Experience. The three came to an agreement allowing Barton to offer a range of garden T-shirts and sodas with official licenses. To help protect and restore area items, the Idora Park Experience receives$ 5 for each T-shirt sold in addition to a portion of beer sales.
Another innovative T-shirt certificates include Mentos, Goetze, Beemans candy, and Bazooka Joe.
The licenses join dozens of others, such as Popsicle, Good Humor, Isaly’s, Dots’, Junior Mint, Dum-Dums; Necco; Klondike; Peeps ); Smarties; Breyers; and more.
The National Packard Museum in Warren, as well as tees from St. Anthony, Saint Francis, and Padre Pio, are all items that the retailer sells.
A part of the purchase is always donated.
Money is donated from the foods, chocolate, and sweets-related jerseys to Akron Children’s Hospital. Barton claimed that so far, she has given the medical system about$ 40,000, which she attributes to saving her daughter’s life when she was a young child.
Due to her generosity, Akron Children’s has since named a place at its clinic in Boardman. Room No. 1 is Special Memories Vintage Tees. 247 at the workplace.
The Packard range returns to the museum, the Saints collection goes to Franciscan Friars of Youngstown, and the military line benefits a spiritual program that aids military personnel suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.