About John

I grew up in the bustling aisles of my parents' general store. It was a masterclass in human tapestry and the art of the people. The rich scent of bakery-fresh still-warm French bread, paired with soft cheese and a Coke, still is my fondest memory of simple, profound satisfaction of growing up in a family business.

This early immersion in the ‘people world’—where problems were solved with both hands and heart—probably carved my academic path. I was first drawn to theology and philosophy but, alas, the inevitable outcome was going to be “Why would you want fries with that?” Instead, I pursued visual psychology, and later a Master’s in Perception, Memory, and Cognition at the University of Toronto, seeking to understand the mechanics behind human choice and experience, with special focus on psychology of visual representation.

During undergraduate years, I ran a construction projects during summer months to make the tuition fees. These dual threads—the intellectual and the practical—became the corner stones of my business philosophy and earned me a foothold in many marketing projects with construction-related companies.

After graduation, I spent years working within and alongside advertising agencies, reading everything on sales from CC Hopkins ‘Scientific Advertising” to Ogilvy, to Bernbach to Burnett to Ted Nicholas and so many other brilliant salesmen, learning the craft of influence and fundamental of visual communication.

Today, a father of four grown-up children, I seemingly spend too many hours composing music, doing art, and sitting at my publishing smartphone magazines. But I love it.

Since 1985. I've had the good fortune to work in various communication capacities with many amazing companies with different needs: Hill and Knowlton, Parsons, Right-O-Way Air Express & Cargo, Dynamex Inc., Vista Cargo International Inc., Outokumpu Mintec, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Kaycan Inc., EXIT Realty Corporation International, Recognition Group, The Regina Hill Group Inc., Publishing Alliance, Duffner Publications Inc., Canadian Business Owner, PathoMetrix Experimental Image Analysis, Biomedical Instrumentation, Welda Windows and Doors Industries, Sancor Industries, Scale Services & Sales, Monarch Marking Systems, Leland Industries Inc., LN Building Maintenance, Ravenspear Technologies, Network Leasing, Bramalea Limited, Metropolitan Food Group, Whitby Harbour Development Corp., Ironshore Homes, Modern Landscaping Company, Grandview Children's Centre, North America Courier Alliance, Strings Across The Sky Foundation, Finnish Studies University of Toronto, Vox Finlandiæ Chamber Choir, Tuovi Kaarina Design Inc., K.H. Publishing International, A Taste Above, Cabin Foods Inc., WinePress Restaurant, Agensys Software Inc., Twinax Connections, Loesgen Software Inc., Westminster Time & Clock, Best Vac8tions, Mylex, Dacota Inc., Salco Furniture Corp., Markham Board of Trade, Finnish Trade Center, SodaPop Central, Canadian Friends of Finland, Ehatare Seniors’ Home, Club Tan Tanning Centres, Marchand Corporation, Bahamas Law Report. Canmor Merchant Services.