John was born on the outskirts of Toronto, Canada in 1970 and grew up in the countryside on a subsistence farm. After graduating from York University with an Honours degree in Fine Arts, specializing in Sculpture, he worked as an art administrator at galleries in Toronto. He also worked for an extended period of time at a Bronze Art Studio as a Foundry Technician, working on a wide variety of sculptural projects. Over a decade ago he conceived a series of fantastical umbrella and parasol designs. After coming to Japan and researching umbrella and parasol design he began successfully prototyping and fabricating his designs.

Art and engineering come together creating designs which draw inspiration from forms found in nature. Di Cesare is currently working on an expanded line of umbrellas and parasols that are fanciful and innovative without parallel. That same spirit of imagination and artistry is being applied to a new series of dramatically distinctive fashion items. Di Cesare Designs was founded with the purpose of creating designs that are elegant, unique, and boldly eccentric.