Our Story

Founded in 1958 by Isidore "Iz" Scheinman, our passion is driven by Iz's belief that customer service is first and foremost, while delivering superior quality products to our customers. This foundation has built the framework of the company which has ingrained his principles and forward-thinking throughout our three Chicagoland locations.

The Beginning

In the mid-1930's, a young Izzy was coming of age in Brooklyn, New York. He channeled his ambitious entrepreneurial spirit, street-smarts and a knack for anything electrical when he got his first job changing the light bulbs in the New York City Subway system.

Just a few years later, Izzy enlisted in the United States Air Corps, flying B-29's over Japan as the crew's engineer. While on one particular dangerous mission, he told himself that if he could make it out of World War II alive, he wanted to live a quiet life out in the country with a wife, a couple kids and a small electrical supply store. Fast-forward to 1958, Iz opened Idlewood Electric Supply, Inc. on Skokie Valley Road, a couple miles north from our current flagship location. The name 'Idlewood' comes from the area in Highland Park, in which the store was first founded. The business launched with promising success from the start and by 1970, Idlewood moved to its current location at 114 Skokie Valley Road in Highland Park, Illinois.

Success of a Business

The core of the company's success rested on Iz's firm principle that customer service is first and foremost. He valued every relationship, whether it was with a manufacturer, loyal contractor or a new customer who had never been to the store before. Top quality and reliable products structured Idlewood's foundation earning a reputation as the premier lighting showroom and electrical supply business in the Chicagoland area.

As the business continued to flourish, so did Idlewood's square footage. Expanding to an astounding 10,000 square foot showroom with thousands of fixtures on display, Idlewood's state-of-the-art galleries include a myriad of lighting displays to experiment and interact with, all at the touch of your fingertips. Many lighting options highlight the latest in LED technology and styles ranging from traditional to modern and everything in between.

Lighting options include indoor, outdoor, landscape, chandeliers, lamps, dimmers, ceiling fans, specialty items, home-shading solutions, home accessories, light bulbs and more.

Idlewood's Electrical Supply Division serves our residential and commercial contractors and electricians throughout the Chicagoland area. The team works with premiere manufacturers such as Juno, Lutron, Cooper/Eaton, Siemens and GE, many of which have been lines carried by Idlewood for over 30 years.

Continued Growth

In the late 1990s, Idlewood was bursting at the seams and so the conception of our Barrington branch was born. In 1996, we opened our Barrington location and in 2000, we opened our third location in Chicago.

Idlewood Electric remains at the forefront of showcasing the latest in LED products and lighting selections with the homeowner, designer, contractor, builder, and architect in mind. Idlewood has received many accolades from renowned manufacturers and leaders in the industry including IMARK, Lutron's 5-Star Showroom, Residential Lighting Magazine and TED Magazine.

The dedicated Idlewood team at all three branches is equipped with the knowledge, professionalism and experience to serve our loyal customers with the best service possible and look forward to continue doing so for many years to come.