Funkos, posters, collectibles populate Andy’s World, new shop in downtown Woodstock

Andy’s World – which offers posters, magnets, Crocs' charms, Funkos and assorted items and collectibles – now has a home in downtown Woodstock inside Woodstock Square Mall, 110 S. Johnson Street.

Owner Andrew Rios said he had sold his wares at the McHenry County Fair for the past couple years and at Mexican Independence Day on the Square in September.

At the community events, he said, people encouraged him to come open up in Woodstock. He did so, but he also was able to find his store’s current home through another business located inside the mall.

At the county fair, he got to know the people at Our Happy Space, which has been inside the mall since the fall of 2023. The art studio, whose offerings include henna and face paint, was outgrowing its space inside the mall, said Tamara McMillan, who co-owns Our Happy Space alongside her son, Vaughn McMillan and Hannah Daley. Our Happy Space moved to a larger space downstairs in the mall, but its move meant their old space upstairs was vacant.

Rios decided he would go for opening up in Woodstock, and the space was quickly filled by his store, Andy’s World, which opened its doors in October. He said he wanted a friendly name for the store to make it more accommodating to the Woodstock community, even though he does not go by Andy.

Groundhog Day weekend was the first one for Rios' new venture and also the first for Our Happy Space in its new location. Tamara McMillan said Our Happy Space and Andy’s World both opened very early Groundhog Day. Andy’s World isn’t usually open Sundays, and Rios instead is often at a market in Chicago. Our Happy Space is only open winter Sundays when there’s a special event going on.

“It was quite amazing,” Rios said of the Groundhog Day festivities and crowd, adding only a few groundhog charms remained at Andy’s World after the weekend.

Our Happy Space also has a place for artists to sell goods. McMillan said she made groundhog ornaments and has only a few left, while her daughter, Norah, who does crochet and makes puppets, created some crocheted groundhogs. Those sold out.

There were some special guests at Our Happy Space over the groundhog weekend in addition to a craft fair inside the mall. Rapunzel stopped by Feb. 1, while Winnie the Pooh was on hand Feb. 2 to encourage people to “think spring.”

Rios was able to snap a pic with Winnie the Pooh outside the mall in front of an easel advertising that Andy’s World is now open.