A new store on Madison Street in Forest Park is enlivening the local home décor scene with a distinct personality. Partners Jef Anderson and Noel Eberline opened Yearbook in September, and already this new addition has created a buzz. The store will appear in an upcoming issue of Chicago Home and Garden Magazine.
Yearbook is the first retail venture for Anderson and Eberline but the pair, who are partners in life as well as business, went in well prepared. Anderson has 14 years of experience in graphic design, both in firms and as a freelancer. He worked in visual design for Marshall Fields and Bloomingdales, establishing a wide working knowledge of the home furnishings marketplace while developing his own unique style.
To balance out Anderson’s design expertise, Eberline brings his business sense to the store. Anderson describes Eberline, who has a career in computer technology, as “our bread and butter, the backbone of the store.”
Located at 7316 Madison in the space formerly occupied by Chix with Stix, the store was completely redesigned to both reflect Anderson’s design ethos and better fit the multiple functions of both a storefront and a design studio.
Anderson spent July and August renovating the space. After carefully drawing out his plans, he removed partial walls, installed globe light fixtures and a high chair rail to better emphasize the store’s offerings. He also created a front wall to maintain a studio feel and display space. Anderson went so far as to custom design the business’s signage and create an outdoor message board to bring a sense of community to the store.
“I guess the shop is a pretty good case study of my design,” he says. “I was never one to spend a lot of money on furniture brand new. I’m just a lover of style. My style is anything I like. Yearbook sort of embodies a diverse embracing of many styles: academic, industrial, mid-century and traditional. I’m not trying to follow anyone else’s style; it comes from within.”
The store carries a mixture of new and vintage items — both furnishings and home décor — but the vibe is definitely old school charm. A rowing skull hanging from the shop’s tin ceiling was manufactured in Oxford, England in the 1930s and invokes scenes of English schoolboys rowing down the Thames. Vintage school and sports photos adorn the walls throughout the shop, along with memorabilia, adding to the academic feel.
Anderson remarks that some items, such as a vintage Ralph Lauren leather sofa and monumental mantelpiece affixed to one wall, are fixtures, but the majority of the store’s wares are less-permanent.
“Things in the store change seasonally,” he says. “Right now for the winter season, we have a lot of 1930’s vintage trade blankets. The store sort of has a wintery, Adirondack look. We custom design our own pillows with down inserts, sometimes using Ralph Lauren fabrics or old school patches.”
When pressed to describe the store’s style in a quick sound bite, Anderson ponders his response. “The atmosphere here is about stimulating interest. Some of the items suggest aristocracy and pique peoples’ interest by tapping into a lifestyle they may not have been a part of. We have things from the past that are both elite and very blue collar, and we have them bleed into each other. There are a lot of layers to it.
“I’m more on the design end, but Noel has very good taste. We work very closely to make sure it’s a very tight brand. We made a pact with each other that we would never sell anything we wouldn’t own ourselves.”
The store’s focus is on home décor items, but Anderson and Eberline are careful to stock a wide range of products for people that complement the style of a home.
Anderson explains that offering a wide range of items is part of creating the store’s personality. “We wanted to offer a range of products: from candles to wallets to large furniture items to everything in-between. It’s meant to be an enjoyable experience.”
At any given time, the store’s wares might include Max Pearson Knoll Chairs from the 1970s, a vintage mail sorter from the 1890s, a banker’s cart on wheels and vintage office furniture salvaged from a supplier who rented the items to local movie productions such as The Untouchables.
While these big items are show stoppers, the smaller accessories are also an important part of an inventory that emphasizes the beauty of the handcrafted. The store carries vintage hotel silver and restaurant porcelain, including many now-defunct brands. Yearbook has partnered with West Virginian porcelain maker Homer Laughlin to create exclusive reissues of some of Homer Laughlin’s earlier work as well as the Yearbook signature coffee mug.
Another Yearbook find is local leather artist Nicholas Jenson who recently moved to the area. Jenson handcrafts his one-of-a-kind pieces, which include large bags as well as smaller items like iPhone cases.
Yearbook has quickly become a part of the community with recurring after-hours events. The store hosts “Study Halls,” evening events in which a local designer or craftsman speaks on a specific topic. A past event involved Anderson and a former Fields colleague demonstrating holiday decorating, and another night featured Jenson creating his leather wares. Continuing the school-themed events, the store also regularly offers “Graduate with Honors,” events in which a portion of the night’s sales are donated to local charities like the Forest Park Food Pantry.
“We really want to be engaged with the community,” says Anderson. “These kinds of events as well as our private shopping events, in which we partner with other local stores, help us provide a different kind of shopping experience.”
The store was carefully planned to accommodate such events, with space in the rear of the store that opens onto a back deck. Anderson admits that the one problem he encounters is that the event space, which also serves as a design studio, is often crowded with new inventory he has discovered.
“When we opened the store, we consolidated from ten to three storage units, and they were packed up to the door,” he remembers. “We recently found an early 1900’s warehouse in Maywood with a freight elevator, and moved everything there. Our goal in the New Year is to turn it into a sort of underground location for special events. We’re thinking it will be good for sneak previews of merchandise, maybe with live music. It will be an interesting extension of what we’re doing with the store.”