Dandelion Bookshop opens on Oak Park Avenue

Locals mourning the loss of The Book Table on Lake Street can rejoice at a new place to find their favorite book. Oak Park residents Jamie and Kurt Ericson are opening Dandelion Bookshop at 139 S. Oak Park Ave.

Jamie said she and her husband hope to open the store by December, in time for Christmas shopping. When they heard that The Book Table was closing after Centuries & Sleuths in Forest Park, they came up with the idea of starting their own business.

“When we decided to move, having a bookstore here was a big draw,” said Jamie, who moved to the area more than four years ago. “The loss of a bookstore means a big hole in the community.”

The couple chose Dandelion as the name for the bookstore because dandelion “represents hope, resilience and playfulness and is linked to the ideas of desire and growth,” Jamie told the Wednesday Journal. They are also stubborn and a good inspiration for a new venture, she said.

The new bookstore owner said she also writes children’s books and has worked in publishing throughout her career. Contacts from previous jobs and the support of the community made the opening of the new store possible.

The couple also has a 9-year-old son, Teddy, who enjoys reading and often spends time at the library or local bookstore. Jamie said while she plans for the bookstore to offer all types of books, she also wants to have a focus on children’s books.

Jamie taught Teddy to read and she said it was fascinating. Teddy said he likes realistic fiction and his favorite book series is Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

“[Reading] is fun because it takes me to a new world,” he wrote.

Teddy said he was looking forward to checking out books at the new bookstore and doing his homework there after school. He believes other children will also enjoy the opportunity to read their favorite books. Teddy also said he would like to help his parents classify and scan books. One day Teddy would like to write non-fiction books about vehicles and realistic fiction and do illustrations.

“Kids these days spend a lot of time in front of screens,” Jamie pointed out. But reading is so important.

“Our empathy comes from reading,” she said. “Just put yourself in someone else’s shoes and a different world that you probably can’t easily enter…It just opens up so much, and I think we need that more than ever.”

Dandelion Bookshop will purchase books from Ingram Content Group, a bookseller, and later directly from publishers. The business license Jamie and Kurt purchased requires them to sell new books, not used ones. Jamie also said she would like the store to offer other book-related items such as gifts or merchandise.

The shelves are on order, but due to construction, painting and shipping requirements, they may take up to 12 weeks to be delivered, Jamie said. If Jamie and Kurt can’t fully open in December, they may want to open a pop-up store in the same location in the meantime, she said.

Jamie also said she hopes the Dandelion Bookshop will be a place for local writing groups and others to meet and socialize.

“Bookstores are such a connecting point,” she said. “This is the birthplace of Ernest Hemingway; we have to have one here. I really want it to be community focused.”

Locals can take a survey at dandelionbookshop.com to tell Jamie and Kurt more about what they would like to see in the bookstore and what times they would be most likely to shop.

“We really want to make sure it’s a place for everyone,” Jamie said.

In the meantime, The Book Table continues to sell its inventory as the closure looms.

Wednesday Journal, LLC owns the building located at 139 S. Oak Park Ave. located. The publisher and a board member of Growing Community Media are partners in Wednesday Journal, LLC. Growing Community Media is also a tenant in the building.

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