3 Keepers & a Regret: John Brewton
He kept his mother's table, his wife's ring, and his laptop. I kept a mountain bike until a stranger told me it was worthless.
3 Keepers and a Regret is a recurring series on Retail Therapy on Substack where I ask people I admire to name 3 things they’d fight to keep — bought, inherited, stolen — and 1 thing they regret.
I published the first 3 Keepers & a Regret on May 27 because the actual Lindsay Sword said yes. It’s only now that I realize how well known she is, which is good because I probably would have been scared to ask otherwise. I didn’t know if this would take or if anyone but me would be interested. I love when I’m wrong! Every Wednesday since, I’ve been thrilled to share unique women right here on Substack. Including Sari Botton, the queen of the questionnaire, here.
I’ve realized two things:
It’s all been women
All the voices are from the US
So I’m expanding, by design. This week it’s the first man. The first guest outside the US is already in the queue. So is the one after that. And let’s just say London Calling.
Which brings us to the 3 Keepers’ first male guest, John Brewton of Operating by John Brewton. I’m just starting to get to know John, joining his coaching program to work with him on how I can grow Retail Therapy. Another 3 Keepers guest, Laura LeBleu, has written about how John has helped her with Geezer. I then vetted him further with her, because buyer’s remorse is a thing for me. And before letting John take it away, I did let him know he would be the first man to share his Keepers. Which makes me wonder, would he have answered differently if I hadn’t told him? We’ll never know.
Three Keepers
3 things you’d fight to keep — bought, inherited, stolen
No. 1 — My mother’s dining room table
My mother's dining room table and chairs sit in my dining room, in our wonderful place round which we regularly have meals with family, my wife, my daughter, our step-children, and friends. Both the chairs and the table are priceless to me. They're also one of a kind and hand-made from an artisan on Cape Cod.
No. 2 — My laptop
If I were accosted on the street and was trying to be mugged, I would fight to keep my laptop if it were with me because that is my center of all the work I do.
No. 3 — My Tiffany’s wedding band
My Tiffany's wedding band that my wife bought for me. Marriage and family are everything to me. But our home isn't our home, without the marriage that my wife and I worked very hard to maintain and build.
One Regret
now the regret
I bought a set of Hermes dishes and cups for my daughter on her first birthday, thinking it would be this wonderful keepsake and couldn't wait to give it her, only to realize when the time came to unwrap it, it was a monumentally selfish and extravagant gift that my two-year-old was not going to know how to enjoy. My wife also thought it was a bit silly. I happen to think that the plates and bowls and cups are very beautiful, but I could have used that money to get my daughter something that she really loves and would have fun playing with, not a possession that would ultimately sit in her father's office someday.
Why I’m Still Shopping
What John didn’t share is that he learned how to grow a business inside his family’s company. If you’ve never had a chance to be around a family business, there’s nothing like it. Watch Succession to see for yourself. The family business is why his mom’s dining room set is an heirloom to him. Not because it’s one-of-a-kind, but because of what got spilled on it, daily.
If you scratch a little deeper, all of John’s keepers represent the people in his life. His mom and a ring from his wife. His laptop is John. His role in the family is being John. It’s a big aspiration for me.
Everything John kept was a gift. It’s what he bought for his daughter that’s his regret. It reminds me of when my mom bought me a pink fur coat as a kid. She was so excited. I cried. John’s daughter may want the Hermès dishes. If not, I’ll take them out of his office. You can’t buy an heirloom into existence.
It’s like when I graduated college early and moved to Idaho for a job as a business reporter. I romanticized the whole thing. It would be an adventure. I’d suddenly become an “outdoor girl.” I bought a Trek mountain bike and had the tires filled with goo, which I didn’t know was a thing. Turns out I just wanted to shop for the part. I had to break a 6-month lease so I could leave.
I kept the bike. During Covid I found a service to come to the house and tune our bikes so we’d have something to do. They fixed Gary’s. They told me mine was worthless. They charged me to haul it away.
Big thanks to John Brewton of Operating by John Brewton
When life stops making sense, we shop. More soon.
My mother is an antiquer and a collector. She collected vintage children's china and displayed them in my room when I was growing up. When my daughter was born, she gave them to me. We glue gunned them onto (removable) shelves as decoration. When it came time to move, we couldn't get the china off the shelves! I saw the shelves the last time I was home, with the china still attached, in the basement.
Moral of the story: china can be pretty decor, but find a better way to attach it so it doesn't fall off and break!