John Robert Wiltgen started writing as soon as his mother bought him a used Underwood typewriter at a garage sale. During middle school he was editor of the school newspaper. He graduated high school in 3 years studying art, literature, creative writing and theater. When he was 17, he was the manager of the Midwest region's model store for the Glidden Paint company while he studied interior design in the evenings despite his mother's pleas he should consider accounting. "You can always get a job as an accountant," she argued. To no one's surprise he didn't take her advice. He's a Leo. Instead, he quit his lucrative job at the paint store to attend design school full-time. After a brief stint at Ray Vogue School of Design, the headmaster asked him to clean out his locker, stop paying his monthly tuition installments and never return. He was 18 years old when he embarked on his career as a residential designer and never looked back.
It's nearly impossible to build a luxury design firm while living in the moldy basement of your parent's modest suburban home. The challenge grew significantly when he lost his sight a short time later. After all, who wants to hire a blind decorator? At 22 John was diagnosed with retinopathy-damage to the retina caused by abnormal blood flow-a complication of diabetes. And though diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in working-aged people it did not stop John from building his brand as a luxury home design professional.
Despite a four-year period of blindness, followed by many other complications of type 1 diabetes, John continued to grow his residential design firm. He obsessed over making his client's worlds beautiful taking him across North America and halfway around the world-from Chicago's Gold Coast to Africa's Ivory Coast. His firm's name is synonymous with its reputation for excellence and superior quality in design, styling, and craftsmanship.