Fifteen years ago, John abandoned his Wall Street career to concentrate full-time on his lifelong passion for furniture design and gardens. During his researches here and abroad, he began purchasing the archives of previous designers, building an extensive library of reference books and both new and antique catalogs. Throughout his travels, John photographed gardens and settings from all over, resulting in a collection of slides that today numbers over 9000. His self-study can be best seen in his 12 years of scrapbook-making, which include over one-hundred scrapbooks, covering every conceivable aspect of outdoor living. They love to be seen and used to develop design ideas for prospects and clients. John’s reputation in the little-known field of Garden Furniture Design History led to regular invitations to lecture on the subject and today he regularly addresses decorative arts, design, and horticultural organizations nationally both here and abroad. The years of researching lead quickly to John starting a Garden Furniture business which was firmly rooted in his knowledge of its history and design. In 1994, his design company, Munder-Skiles, published its first brochure of 16 pieces of furniture, the designs which were licensed from historic house museums or taken from wonderful old designs reworked for modern seating. Today, John’s greatly expanded company offers more than 128 unique Garden Furniture Designs, produced from the finest quality wood and metal, which transform into 168 sizes and shapes, ranging from historical to ultra-modern. In 1994, the Munder-Skiles ergonomic Taconic Chair™ was awarded the Roscoe Award for the “Best American Chair” – the first time a garden seat has been so recognized. In June 2000, The New York School of Interior Design staged a 10-year design retrospective of Munder-Skiles called Re-Inventing the Garden Seat... once again, another first for the industry.