Some careers are worth pausing to celebrate, and this is very much one of them.
On 3rd September, after 54 remarkable years with Jephsons Shopfitters, Drew is finishing his final day on the tools. He joined us back when he was just 16, fresh-faced and probably slightly unsure what he was letting himself in for. Fifty-four years later, and with his 70th birthday coming up in December, he leaves as one of the most respected members of our team.
Why this is amazing news
To put that into perspective, Drew has worked through decades of change in this industry. The tools have changed, the materials have changed, the technology has changed, and the customers have certainly changed. High streets have been reshaped more than once. Fashions have come and gone (and come back again). Through all of it, Drew has quietly turned up, done brilliant work, and made everyone around him better for it.
Jephsons has always been a family-run business, and one of the quiet privileges of that has been watching people build proper, long careers with us. We’ve been fortunate to celebrate plenty of milestone anniversaries over the years, and each one has meant a great deal. But 54 years is something else entirely, and it has honestly amazed us all. It’s a huge credit to Drew, and it says a lot about the sort of person he is.
He has been part of countless projects over the years, from local fit-outs to national rollouts, always bringing the same craftsmanship and care whether the job was big or small. His knowledge of the trade is genuinely hard to replace, the kind you can only build up through decades on site, seeing every situation at least twice.
Beyond the craft itself, Drew has been a huge part of the Jephsons family. He’s the kind of workmate you always hoped would be on your crew: generous with his knowledge, quick with a joke, and the safe pair of hands you wanted on the trickiest jobs. Anyone who has worked alongside him over the years will know exactly what we mean.
As for what comes next, retirement plans are still taking shape, though we have a strong suspicion the motorhome will be doing plenty of miles this autumn. Wherever the road takes him, he leaves with the very best wishes of everyone here.
Drew, thank you. For 54 years of graft, good humour and quiet brilliance. You’ve set a standard the rest of us will be trying to live up to for a long time to come.
Enjoy every second of it.