This Is Us
This entire endeavor, starting a small business, can be attributed to an offhand request to make a piece of custom lighting for a friend. That simple request tied together a web of loose strings that had been hanging in my face for years, and cluttering up our basement to my wife Melissa’s great consternation.
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Today, with many custom lights and cigar boxes and stray corks and exasperated looks behind us (right hun?) we have begun the journey for real by launching What to Get, and we’re so proud to share it with you!
Through our growing product lines, What to Get seamlessly blends the styles of 2 distinct connoisseur groups, those who appreciate hand-made fine art, new and vintage décor, and furnishings, and those who value, live and support the premium cigar and fine spirits lifestyle.
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We hope you enjoy browsing our small, though growing collection, and that you visit us often to see what new and exciting offerings we’ve added.
Thanks for visiting!
John and Melissa
It's all about Boxes
“What are you going to do with all of these boxes?” Those were the words that started it all, and both my wife and brother said them nearly identically, and at almost the same time.
About 6 years ago we were heading for a working-camping weekend at the property my family owns in Medina County, Ohio. The rural, farm country drive takes us through my hometown of Wellington, Ohio, and it was there, at a stop light at the 4 corners, we noticed an Antique store that would be closing their doors for good that weekend.
Small talk about what kinds of deals could be had at closeout prices occupied us at the light, and as we pulled away, we loosely pledged to stop on our way home should we have time. Unbeknown to me that simple “pledge” changed the course of our lives.
At about 4:30 that Sunday afternoon we pulled up and parked our vehicles, already bulging with camping gear and whatnot, and strolled inside. We were pretty filthy and bone tired from working the property all weekend, so our visit was more to satisfy curiosity than any intent to buy. We just wanted to get home, get showered, and relax.
We, my brother Jason, my wife Melissa and I, poked around the piles of stuff. Old wedding dresses, pie safe’s, boxes of rusted hand tools and general clutter were everywhere. Once in a while one of us would exclaim “this is cool!” or “who would buy this thing” as we chuckled just softly enough as not to upset anyone while we pecked our way through the aisles.
I decided I’d seen enough of the upstairs, and with about 10-minutes available to look through someone’s lifetime of collecting, I headed to the bottom-floor. There, on a hutch that itself would have been a great purchase, I saw empty Cigar Boxes. About 20 of them in total, they were not the pressed cardboard that I’d come to believe all Cigar Boxes were made of. No, their craftsmanship plainly evident, they were made of sanded wood with dovetail joints, beautiful metal hinges, and visual elegance. I just stood there staring.
Carefully I picked one up and turned it over in my hands. “These things are awesome!” I said out loud. Realizing I’d made more of a purpose-affirming declaration than a statement of fact, I knew I was going to catch some hell for buying them.
Within seconds, and already well beyond the question of ownership, I was now considering how many would I own? Indeed, I was transfixed as I looked at this small pile of boxes, hoping this wasn’t all there was. Quickly kneeling I opened a lower door on the hutch and discovered even greater treasure inside. I couldn’t believe my good fortune as I unloaded the larder on the floor in front of me, my actions blinding me to the presence of someone watching me from a few feet away.
“How many you want?” croaked a resigned, weathered male voice. His slight frame was topped with trimmed gray hair and he stood wiping his freshly washed hands on a towel, while smiling slightly and watching me intently. I looked up in a flash, a little startled at the suddenness of his voice. “Well, I don’t know” I said matter-of-factly. “They are beautiful, but I don’t know.”
A deeper, more hopeful grin settled on his face as he spoke again. “Well, if you want more than what’s there, poke around in here,” his hand pulling open a free-swinging closet door. With his other hand he clicked on the light, revealing a space full from floor to ceiling with Cigar Boxes. You couldn’t have fit another in there with any amount of effort. To me it was like someone just opened a bank vault and stepped aside.
Today, I look back on that day with some sadness as so much of what he was trying to sell at the end likely went in a dumpster, including the hundreds of boxes I couldn’t buy. I am also thankful we happened by that weekend because of the course my purchase set for me.
I went home that Sunday with maybe 15 cigar boxes impossibly jammed into the cab of the truck. What I would do with them I didn’t know then, though I was sure I was supposed to buy them. It was as if an unseen presence was calmly reassuring me that in time I would know more, but for now I needed to just let it be.
Today those few have accumulated like rabbits into more than a thousand. They are beautiful and rugged, elegant and masculine all at once. And all of them are waiting for you to appreciate them as much as I do. Enjoy!
...and Bottles
I think the first one was a Woodford Bourbon bottle. The weight of it pleased me. Heavy things are more durable, made of better materials and are therefore more valuable, or so we’ve been programmed to believe. I guess advertising, marketing, and our parent’s admonitions do work after all.
I set it aside, unsure of exactly why I was keeping it, and I told all the guys at the Cigar Shop to hang on to the rest of their empties for me. “Man, she is gonna KILL me” I muttered to myself under my breath. It was one thing to be collecting empty cigar boxes with no defined purpose, but to add bottles too? Melissa was for sure gonna kill me.
I took it home and with great stealth set it in the basement near my ballooning collection of Cigar Boxes. Tucking it away in the darkness made it easier to justify. We didn’t use the basement except for storage, so really what was it hurting? Then I shared the news with my wife that I’d also be collecting bottles. In all honesty, I don’t remember her exact reaction other than shooting me a look that resembled a nuanced blend of panicked exasperation and a sincere belief that she was married to a hoarder. I got off easy as it could have been worse.
Working in a Cigar Shop part time the past 8 years I’ve had ample opportunity to feed the beasts that command me to add to the bottle and box collection. There hasn’t been a day that I’ve worked when I didn’t bring home at least one of something. My familiarity with, and proximity to the products, as-well-as, the people who appreciate them, is what formed the connections that would eventually lead to the creation of What to Get. To further put it in context, I’d been assembling a well-balanced mixed drink, and now all I needed was a stick to stir it with. As it turned out, the stick was named Jeff.
“Hey John, when you have a minute - no hurry – can you fill this for me? Thanks buddy.” Jeff is a member in our cigar lounge, a magical place bringing men and women together, who’s work cuts across all occupations, and who share a genuine love of cigars and premium spirits. You’d be hard pressed to find a better melting pot anywhere. Jeff, as is common most days that I see him, asked me to fill his lighter and I was glad to oblige.
Returning to the lounge I handed him the lighter while admiring a near empty bottle on the table next to him. “That’s a cool one Jeff, don’t forget to leave it for me” I said, though I knew he never needed reminding. “Yeah, that’s a good one” he said picking it up. “Do you think you can make a lamp out of it for me?”
For years the members had been asking me just what I was going to do with all the empties I’d collected, and I always told them I wasn’t sure. Then one day I found a website run by someone who was transforming spirit bottles into beautiful table lamps. I just couldn’t believe I’d never thought of it myself, and when I saw them, everything clicked. I would make custom lighting from the bottles I’d collected, only mine would be true statement pieces.
Jeff topped off his glass and handed me the Old Fitzgerald bottle that once cradled Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey within its squat, beefy profile. It was crowned with a multi-faceted cut glass topper, and I pictured the piece already finished in my mind. It was magnificent. As casually as I could manage, I asked him a few questions about what he wanted and told him I’d give it a shot. Turning quickly, I silently left the lounge and its low thrum of multiple conversations, all the while knowing with absolute certainty, I had just stirred the biggest drink of my life.
...and Lighting. OH MY!
That first custom lighting order was something I won’t forget. I didn’t know where to begin, and as
I sometimes do, I was worried about eating the whole Elephant instead of just going bite-by-bite. In retrospect it feels like I made so many mistakes, but I had an unshakable belief I was going to be successful.
Drilling the bottle was probably the most
nerve-wracking part of the process. You only
get one shot and failure is disaster if you don’t
have a spare around. After clearing that hurdle
the whole thing came down to process and
sequence of steps. On the whole the piece
came together beautifully.
I was pretty nervous the day I delivered it to
Jeff. I was not only taking a HUGE step in the
growth of my fledgling business, I would be
doing so in our Cigar Lounge, a room packed
with our matter-of-fact, no BS, Saturday
Bourbon crowd. The opinions in that room
mattered to me and everyone would be
looking it over, however casually. Jeff’s
reaction would be pivotal to my success.
To my great relief, he loved it.
Today, I feel a huge sense of obligation to all
who’ve supported me in this endeavor. From
some it was simply words of encouragement,
and from others it was the sharing of wisdom
and counsel without asking anything in return.
From my wife and family, it was never giving up
on me.
I know it all required immense patience and time to see the vision come together, and I’m incredibly thankful to each and every one of you. I won’t disappoint you.
Lastly to Jeff, thank you for asking. It gave me the push I needed to jump. I will always owe you one buddy.
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John
