a bit about me
by john d. erickson
updated 30 september 2004

Wondering if I'm the John Erickson you think I am? Or maybe you already know me, but want to know a bit more? This might help.

I grew up in Moline, Ill. and in 1997 graduated from Moline High School.

In June 2001 I graduated from a university in Evanston, Ill. with a degree in Communication Studies. I worked extensively in Information Technology there, including a two-and-a-half year stint in Technology Support Services and one year in the Learning Technologies Group. For a few quarters, I also shot photos for the university newspaper.

Towards the end of college, on a lark, I took a part-time sales position in a suburban location of the clothing store that was once famous for its conservative American style. I learned firsthand why the chain has been going down the tubes.

From January 2001 to June 2002 I worked in an enormous international bank testing software in a small division that provides equity order execution and routing services to wholesale clients and day traders. It was not my dream job.

In the summer of 2002 I came to the Boston area to attend a summer architecture program at a university in Cambridge, Mass. (which I wrote about here) and decided to stay on the east coast for a while, never having lived outside Illinois. The months of August and October, both spent painfully unemployed, sandwiched an extraordinary and entirely unexpected trip to Mongolia, during which I helped a friend research a possible film documentary. In November, for quite a change of pace from the gers and nothingness in Mongolia, I started working for perhaps the most progressive fine men's clothing store in the world.

In September 2004, I departed Louis and moved further upstream to the wholesale part of the clothing chain. I now work for the sales agent for the most prestigous Italian clothing manufacturers. He's a bit of a designer himself, too.

Immediate future pursuits will continue in men's clothing, perhaps with more writing. Several years from now, plans may divert to building preservation, restoration, and renovation. I also love the idea of trying my hand at being a pastry chef.