Our Story: Two Co-Founders, One Mission
This is the complete story of You Can’t Bring It With You — kept here, in our Curator’s Journal, so it never gets lost to a redesign or a domain change.
2022
Chapter 1: The Beginning
Leon, a British coder in China, started this store during COVID-19.
Surrounded by lockdowns and uncertainty, he began hunting for quirky finds — objects that sparked joy and reminded people to live in the moment. Not gadgets. Not trends. Just things that told stories and made you smile.
The mission was simple: in a world obsessed with the new, there’s magic in things that are already here, waiting to be discovered.
2024
Chapter 2: The Meeting
Then Leon met Ryan at a second-hand market.
Ryan was arranging objects Leon had never seen before — old cameras, hand-painted signs, vintage magazines, handmade art from unknown artists. A three-hour conversation changed everything.
They realized they shared the same vision: in a world of mass production, there’s irreplaceable value in things that take time to find, can’t be replicated, and carry human stories.
Now
Chapter 3: The Evolution
Now we’re co-founders building something rare.
Ryan hunts markets, bookshops, demolition sites, and artists’ studios across China — finding the pieces that make you curious. Leon runs the platform, building the bridge to bring these stories to you.
Every item is a connection between worlds. No algorithms. No factories. Just two people who believe different is better.
Why We Do This
The original idea still holds: life’s too short, you can’t bring wealth with you. But now we’ve added: you can bring stories home.
In a world of mass production, we believe there’s value in things that take time to find, can’t be replicated, and carry human stories.
Our Promise
No algorithms. No factories. Just two people who believe different is better.
Every item we curate is a conversation starter, a story waiting to be told, a reminder that the best things in life can’t be mass-produced.
By Leon & Ryan
Co-Founders of You Can’t Bring It With You
What We Stand For
These are the principles that guide every decision we make, every item we curate, and every interaction we have with our community.
We reject — the status quo of mass consumption:
- ✕ Mass production and homogenization
- ✕ Algorithm-driven recommendations
- ✕ Fast consumption and waste
- ✕ Soulless products
- ✕ Superficial commodification of culture
We choose — authenticity and intentionality:
- ✓ Curation over convenience
- ✓ Authenticity over efficiency
- ✓ Human connection over algorithmic optimization
The Story Continues
Today, our store — and Ryan’s latest finds — live at our new home, The Far Found. This journal keeps the archive; the shop keeps the hunt.
To see what we’re building now, in our own words there:
More from this journal: A New Chapter — our transition announcement · the Our Story blog