The Shop Upstairs
By Lisa Arnett
October 2025 View more Shop
Handmade jewelry, clever housewares, and vintage treasures all tell a story at George & Fred
An antique chess set with a tweed-wrapped flask. A handwoven Turkish wool rug in shades of terracotta and rust. A bright floral handbag with a fits-everything silhouette, à la Mary Poppins. These are all items sold at George & Fred (216 S. Main St., second floor), a new downtown Naperville shop opened this past summer by Sharon Rodney. And like every other item you’ll find on the shelves here, they all have a story that Rodney is waiting to share.
As it turns out, Rodney has always loved storytelling. “I majored in advertising and thought I was going to be a Mad Woman, like on Mad Men. I wanted to be a copywriter,” she says. She ended up pivoting to a career in marketing and spent more than 30 years working at Accenture, Jones Lang LaSalle, and other firms in Chicago. “That was very much about telling stories through brand identity.”
Recently, she found herself craving a career change and pondered what she might pursue for her next season in life. “I’m a single mom and I raised my son since he was a baby. He’s now going to be a senior [in college],” she says. “So I just looked at what my life was all about and realized that while I love marketing, I wanted to do something where I just…feel the feelings I wasn’t feeling.”
What feelings, exactly? A deeper connection to the community and an appreciation for artistry, for starters. “Having lived in Naperville for almost 20 years and knowing what a great community it is…I wanted to give back to the community and help tell the stories of creativity of other makers,” Rodney says. “People who work with their hands, people who are artists. It’s not factory-produced; it’s not on Amazon. They put their heart and soul into what they do.”
She envisioned a shop filled with treasures that would pique the curiosity of each person who stepped inside. When she found out that a second-floor space above J. McLaughlin in downtown Naperville was available, it all started to come into focus. “I saw the potential and I thought, you know, this is it. It’s small, it’s upstairs, it feels like a little Parisian apartment up there. It’s got three windows and light pours in from morning until night,” she says. “It’s [one of the] oldest buildings in Naperville. There is a little stone plaque that says 1847, which is when Joseph Naper built it. So it feels historic.”
The two rabbit silhouettes on the shop’s glass door provide the first clue as to whom the shop is named after. “George and Fred are two bunnies from stories I made up for my son when he was a toddler,” Rodney says. “George is like Ernie and Fred is like Bert from Sesame Street. George is silly, always getting into pickles, and Fred is kind of the more pragmatic one.” With no desire to name the store after herself—“It’s not about me,” she emphasizes—Rodney loved the idea of naming it after these two whimsical characters that sprang from her brain in a moment of sheer parental desperation. “My son was the worst sleeper, and I remember him saying, ‘Tell me a story!’ and I just thought to myself, “Oh my gosh, I’ll do anything.’ ”
Inside the shop, you’ll find accessories such as jewelry and handbags—those Mary Poppins–esque bags, for example, are created by a mother-daughter design duo called Atenti, based out of Los Angeles. Home goods include barware, serving platters, pillows, and pottery. Rodney has draped small vintage Turkish rugs over the seats of barstools and the doors of curio cabinets. “Your home is so special. You make it special by what you put on the wall, the rug underfoot, that blanket that you have,” she says. “It’s part of your personality so it feels like your home.”
Though George and Fred may be dudes, the jewelry Rodney carries is designed mostly by women. “I love women designers who tell their own story of why they became who they are.” She’s chosen to focus on demi-fine jewelry, which is a step above costume jewelry but not as pricey as fine jewelry. “I am not in the market of ‘only the finest jewels,’ ” she says. “[Demi-fine jewelry] is for you if you can afford from $30 to $200 but not in the thousands…because I don’t believe jewelry has to be unobtainable and it can also not compromise on quality and be gorgeous and last forever, at a nice price point.”
One jewelry line she carries is by Rachel Reinhardt based in Westport, Connecticut. “When she was 10 years old, she took one of her grandma’s antique buttons and made it into a necklace,” Rodney says. “I remember playing with my mom’s button box, so I just love that. Her mother is also a jewelry designer, and she honed her craft over many years and launched in 1996.” One of Rodney’s favorites designs of Reinhardt’s is the Heartbreaker necklace. “It’s like something Joan Jett would wear,” Rodney says. “It’s a really cool gold vermeil puffy heart locket, and it feels so tactically amazing with these silky gunmetal brass chains around your neck. People love it. It’s edgy, it’s cool, but it’s also sweet and daring.”
After opening the store this summer, Rodney realized that one of those feelings she wanted to feel was hope. “I hope people can find that special something that either when you purchase it for yourself or for a friend, it’s very intentional and very personal,” Rodney says. “When you get a gift from someone that speaks to you and your own personality from a friend that knows you so well, I think that is so special.”
Some of her most memorable recent encounters include meeting a local bartender who purchased a ring for her daughter as a “just because” gift, as well as a woman who visited to buy some pick-me-up presents for her husband who is going through chemotherapy. “She wanted to get him some things that reminded him that she loves him,” Rodney says. “We carry these tiny $3 glass hearts, and she got him one of those along with a puzzle. This is what I was so hopeful for, to be a part of everyone’s story.”
Forging Connections
Owner Sharon Rodney plans to host regular events at her shop, George & Fred. Since opening this summer, she has hosted gatherings such as an Italian-inspired event to showcase imported pottery alongside prosecco and Italian cookies as well as a “wine and design” session with Madeline Giatras of MDLN Interiors. Check the shop’s website (georgeandfred.com) for upcoming events, which might include book discussions or a mahjong class. “I want to host events that keep us curious about the world we live in and create some connection within our community,” Rodney says. “The one thing the pandemic did was make us all feel a little awkward about being with strangers. The truth is the strangers around you are probably some cool people you would love to know.”
Photos: George & Fred
