The Orange Basement’s husband-and-wife-team, John Sproston and Rita Dapkus-Sproston
John never thought he’d be running a business, much less owning one. He was a qualified electrical engineer in England, where he was born and raised, and fully expected to continue working in that field until he retired. Then he accidentally met Rita online through a music collectors’ site and things took an unexpected turn.
At the time, Rita owned and managed two successful restaurants, a pizza delivery service (with online ordering), and a bakery. John eventually relocated to be with her and got involved in the business. Rita had been operating her food services for over a decade, an endeavor that required long on-site hours seven days a week. Both John and Rita wanted a bit more time to themselves and a little less stress. And so the restaurant industry was replaced by online retail.
John studied electrical engineering at Croydon College, is a self-taught graphic designer and likes to golf. Rita has degrees in biology and journalism from the University of Illinois at Chicago and likes to read. They both love music, movies and console games, and they rehab houses in their spare time.