This is the story of how a simple idea evolved into something deeper.
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CHAPTER 1: THE BEGINNING (2022)
Hey there! I'm Leon, a British coder who got stuck in China during COVID-19.
When the pandemic chaos settled and I could finally leave, I made a gutsy move—I decided to stick around.
Why? Because life's too short not to embrace the unexpected.
As the saying goes, "A man hath no better thing under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry."
So I started "You Can't Bring It With You."
The idea was simple: share quirky Chinese gadgets and fun finds that brought joy to daily life. A reminder to live in the moment. To invest in experiences, not just stuff.
I built the Shopify store, curated products, and shared them with the world.
It was fun. It worked.
But something felt... incomplete.
CHAPTER 2: THE MEETING (2024)
Then I met Ryan.
It was 2024, at a small second-hand market I'd wandered into.
Ryan was arranging objects at his stall—things I'd never seen on Amazon or AliExpress.
- An old camera with someone's name carved inside.
- A hand-painted sign from a demolished neighborhood.
- A magazine with graphic design that looked decades ahead of its time.
- Handmade pieces from artists I'd never heard of.
I was curious. He started explaining.
Not just what they were, but why they mattered.
The stories behind them. The people who made them. The China that tourists never see.
That conversation lasted three hours.
By the end, I realized something:
I'd been sharing "quirky Chinese gadgets"—the same stuff you could find anywhere.
But Ryan had been collecting things you couldn't find anywhere else.
Real stories. Human stories. Stories that deserved to be told.
CHAPTER 3: THE EVOLUTION (2024-Now)
So "You Can't Bring It With You" evolved.
From a store sharing fun finds, to a platform curating things you won't find on Amazon.
Ryan became my co-founder.
Now we work together:
Ryan haunts second-hand markets, old bookshops, demolition sites, and artists' studios across China. He finds things that make Western audiences pause and ask:
- "Wait, what is this?"
- "Where did this come from?"
- "Why have I never seen this before?"
Old objects with character. Handmade pieces with soul. Designs that challenge what you think you know about China.
I run the platform—building the site, reaching the audience, turning these discoveries into products people actually want.
Every item here is our collaboration:
- His eye for what's genuinely different.
- My ability to share it with the world.
- Our shared belief that the best things are the ones you can't find anywhere else.
WHAT WE CURATE NOW
We don't follow categories or time periods. We follow curiosity.
If it makes us stop and ask "What's the story here?"—that's what we look for.
THINGS WITH CHARACTER
Objects that have lived a life before reaching you. Not pristine. Not perfect. But full of personality. The kind of things that make you wonder about their past.
THINGS YOU WON'T FIND ON AMAZON
Handmade pieces from local artists. Vintage objects from markets and bookshops. Designs that never made it to mass production. The China that's not in the export catalogs.
THINGS THAT START CONVERSATIONS
"Where did you get that?" "What is that?" "Tell me the story."
Perfect for collectors who appreciate the uncommon. Perfect as gifts for people who have everything.
WHY WE DO THIS
The original idea still holds:
Life's too short. You can't bring wealth with you. Invest in experiences, not just stuff.
But now we've added something more:
You can bring stories home.
In a world of mass production and same-day delivery, we believe there's value in things that take time to find. Things that can't be replicated. Things that carry the marks of human hands and human lives.
Not everything needs to be new. Not everything needs to be from a factory. Sometimes the best things are the ones that already have a story.
- Every purchase keeps a story alive.
- Every gift shares something genuinely different.
- Every object becomes a bridge between worlds.
FROM MASS MARKET TO ONE-OF-A-KIND
That's the journey of "You Can't Bring It With You."
It started as one British coder's reminder to live in the moment.
It evolved into two friends' mission to share the China you won't find in catalogs.
Ryan finds the things that make you curious. I build the bridge to bring them to you.
No algorithms. No factories. No mass production.
Just two people who believe different is better.
Welcome to the next chapter.
By Leon & Ryan
Co-Founders
You Can't Bring It With You
Somewhere in China
