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MartinPatrick 3: The Partnership Behind It

MartinPatrick 3: The Partnership Behind It

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 It started the way so many iconic things do: quietly, improbably, and with no one’s permission. An empty brick warehouse in Minneapolis’ North Loop. Two guys. No investors. No outside money. And a vision that sounded almost absurd in 2008—build the most beautiful store in America. Not a boutique. Not a showroom. Not “retail” the way we’ve been trained to think about it. Something else. Something that felt like the coolest living room you’ve ever stepped into—where a man could find everything: clothing, furniture, art, whiskey, watches, cologne… a whole universe under one roof, curated with taste and intention.Today, that universe has a name: MartinPatrick 3. Forbes called it the hottest retailer in America. It became the most photographed retail space in the Midwest. It survived a recession, expanded in the middle of a pandemic, and still turns away private equity offers. And behind it all are two of my favorite humans: Dana Swindler and Greg Walsh—creatives, builders, business partners, and yes, partners in marriage.This was their first-ever podcast interview, and I felt so honored to hold the room for it. Because what they’ve built isn’t just a store. It’s a statement. A love letter to design and a rebellion against mediocrity. Also, a reminder that in an age of AI, convenience, and endless scrolling, what people truly crave is still the same: beauty, presence, and real human connection.They weren’t chasing “retail.” They were chasing a feeling.When I asked them when they realized MartinPatrick 3 had become something special, Greg said something that made me smile because it explains everything about them: they weren’t watching what everyone else was doing. They were inside their own world—editing, curating, refining. Their compass wasn’t trends. It was taste.They started from design, and they never left it. From the lighting to the books, from the socks to the sectional, everything is chosen with the same question in mind: does this feel beautiful? does it feel right?That’s why the store changes you. I mean it. I’ve told people before—on a hard day, I want to shower, dress up, put on heels, and walk into MartinPatrick 3 just to recalibrate my nervous system. Because beauty has that power. It changes your posture. Your mood. Your sense of self. It reminds you: you’re alive, and you get to decide how you show up today.“We weren’t chasing anything. We were building what felt right—and trusting that people would feel it too.”The part nobody sees: the recession, the fear, the sandwiches.Here’s what I loved most about this conversation: we didn’t romanticize the journey. We told the truth.MartinPatrick 3 opened in October 2008—literally the worst timing imaginable. Everything hit the fan. The economy collapsed. People weren’t shopping. They were surviving. Dana and Greg were surviving too. Dana admitted they put safeguards in the lease—an “out” after 12 months. They didn’t want the liability. They were being careful because they had to be. At one point they even put their house up as bank collateral just to keep the business afloat.And then there were the years no one posts about—years of cutting expenses down to nothing, years of making sandwiches instead of going out to lunch, years of “we do not have room to pretend.”That’s the part I want young entrepreneurs to hear: the truth behind the aesthetic. The truth behind the beautifully lit photos. “We were in survival mode. We cut everything down to nothing—so the business could live.”Dana’s hidden genius: learning the science so the art could survive.Dana is one of the most strategic, fiscally responsible people I’ve ever met—and he earned that wisdom the hard way. He didn’t come from retail. He didn’t come from accounting. He came from engineering and finance-adjacent worlds, and then suddenly he’s managing inventory, sell-through, margins, metrics—things no one teaches you in a way that matters until it’s your money on the line.At one point, their CFO quit (because Dana was asking too many questions). Dana went home, grabbed an accounting textbook, read it over the holidays, and figured it out.That is a lost art: figuring it out instead of collapsing. Curiosity instead of helplessness and true responsibility instead of fantasy. “Retail is art and science. You can have the creative—but you need the numbers for it to work.”Greg’s gift started at 12—and it never left.One of my favorite moments in our friendship happened this summer when Dana showed me something Greg made when he was twelve years old: a model home. Not a “cute little kid project.” An immaculate, deliberate, detailed architectural masterpiece.It explained the whole man. Some people are given a breadcrumb early. A talent that whispers: this is what you’re here to do. Greg didn’t have the internet back then. No Pinterest. No tutorials. He built from memory, exposure, ...
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