John Joseph Borie [commonly known as John Borie] was born in Aiken, South Carolina in 1869 and studied at the University of Pennsylvania and the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. He subsequently worked as an architect in Philadelphia and New York before moving to England in 1906. During his years in England he mainly worked as a furniture designer, interior decorator and decorative artist. He was responsible for designing all the furniture produced by the Canal Workshop, a craft workshop, located on the Harrow Road in London.
Painted mirrors, boxes and furniture designed by Borie and executed by the Canal Workshop is illustrated in 'The Studio Yearbook of Decorative Art' 1922 (pp.70, 71, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80). He died in London in on 29 November 1925