Lakewood Art Supply
When the Olson family relocated to Lakewood from their home state of Texas, they found everything they had been envisioning in an adopted hometown — a uniquely diverse, urban, walkable community on a Great Lake.
Well, almost everything.
“Lakewood just really ticked off a lot of the boxes when we talked about where we wanted to live. We really loved it,” says Galadriel Olson, an art teacher. Her husband, Kevin Olson, is an accomplished illustrator, screen printer and oil painter. “We’re a family of artists, and we were looking for an art supply store, and we couldn’t find one. We kind of joked at first that maybe we should open our store.”
That joke turned into reality in January 2022, when the Olsons opened Lakewood Art Supply, an inspired shop for fine art supplies, including markers, pens, pencils, paints, clay, sketchbooks and paper and screen printing supplies. You’ll also find kids’ art supplies and crafts along with yarn, embroidery floss and beads — all arranged in rainbow order.
In fact, Lakewood Art Supply even sports a signature rainbow floor.
“What would an art supply store be without a rainbow floor? You can’t really be sad if you’re walking on a rainbow,” Galadriel says. “That’s been super fun, and we have people that come in just to take pictures of the floor.”
The Olsons have been overwhelmed by the support from the local community and neighboring small businesses. “We’re just really super happy that we landed in the spot that we landed in on Madison, because the other small businesses have been so incredibly supportive,” she says. “I can’t even express the amount of gratitude for everyone coming in and supporting small businesses. That was really one of the reasons why we love Lakewood so much.”
13345 Madison Ave., lakewoodartsupply.com
Magically Found
One of Rebecca DeNoewer’s favorite things is watching people discover vintage home decor items in her store, aptly named Magically Found, which she describes as having a “witchy cottage-core vibe.”
“I love when people come in and they get really excited when they find this thing that they didn’t know they were looking for, or maybe they knew they were looking for and they just hadn’t found it yet,” DeNoewer says. “Like you magically found it — that item was meant to be a part of your home.”
Magically Found also features a lot of local artists specializing in flower arts, ceramics, stained glass and wood burning.
“I’m not even the new kid on the block anymore,” DeNoewer says of her business that opened earlier this year. “The foot traffic is really amazing. It doesn’t matter what kind of day it is — there’s always people out and walking by, and definitely people wander in all the time. It’s been really great so far.”
13349 Madison Ave.
Doki Doki Kawaii Shop
Nominated for accolades like “best hobby store,” “best comic collection” and “best toy shop,” Doki Doki Kawaii Shop is a pastel playground for those looking to experience kawaii and anime fandom, including manga, imports straight from Japan, cuddly plushies, collectible figures and blind boxes and even Japanese stationery.
The brainchild of owner Ami Rizek, Doki Doki is the one-of-a-kind haven she always wanted as a young girl growing up in Lakewood.
“There are so many other people like me who really enjoy kawaii and anime. It’s more than just a hobby; it’s part of what inspires us, what motivates us,” Rizek says. “It’s just really a magical space.”
Open since December 2022, Doki Doki hosts a variety of monthly events, including tea parties, Pokémon trading card game nights and its Magical Girl series, which focuses on self-care and self-love.
“The cool thing about my shop is typically, if you find a hobby store, usually you don’t find something that’s centered on women and queer folks,” she says. “My shop absolutely is, because it’s really important to me to make our space inclusive and welcoming.”
Rizek also offers private shopping times by reservation for those who are neurodivergent and become overstimulated or anxious in a typical store setting.
13737 Madison Ave., dokidokikawaii.shop
Apple Jax Toys
The classics reign king at Apple Jax Toys’ “Mothership” on Madison.
Curators of retro-themed, vintage and modern toys, Diana Hlywiak and her husband, Allen Singleton, have been attracting toy collectors and enthusiasts from around the country to their happy storefront for nearly five years.
Apple Jax carries hundreds of action figures, games and puzzles, outdoor play items, Barbies, Calico Critters, Pokémon, GI Joes, Star Wars, My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake and other retro-themed items like Mad Libs, Colorforms and Fashion Plates, to name a few.
“We’re a legit neighborhood toy store,” Hlywiak says. “Every year we grow, and the reason why we picked Lakewood is we live here, we love Lakewood and it’s also got a high concentration of families. The Birdtown area was kind of like untapped at that point when we opened, and then all these other really cool specialty shops started popping up around us.”
Singleton has been a toy appraiser for a long time and has even been called to consult on Guinness Book of World record collections.
Apple Jax also refurbishes toys and buys toys for cash or trade.
13002 Madison Ave., applejaxtoys.com
Oktober's
Much like its online presence of Keep Cleveland Creepy, Oktober’s is the brick-and-mortar portal for all things metaphysical and occult.
“Anyone who doesn’t know what that means, and that’s most of my family,” jokes Owner Jessica Oktober, “it’s crystals, candles, magical herbs, oils, books, incense and jewelry,” among other things. “We offer Tarot readings, Lenormand, astrology, Reiki healing sessions and spirit medium readings. We have readers seven days a week.”
Celebrating four years in business this fall, Oktober’s sells more than 180 types of crystals and features handmade wares from local artists, in addition to specialty items from other states.
“I make all of the magical oils and sprays, and we make a lot of the jewelry in-house,” says Oktober.
Oktober’s recently expanded into an adjacent storefront, creating a new event space with Victorian furniture and a marble bar. The space has been booked for birthday parties, divorce parties, book signings and fundraisers.
“We’ve expanded, which means we get to help more people,” Oktober says. “We get to talk to more customers, have more classes, have bigger classes, have more events. I’m always working on new stuff to try to let people know that there’s magical help where they might need it.”
12611 Madison Ave., keepclevelandcreepy.com
