Walt’s design aesthetic and skill set reflect his background. At fourteen,

Walt left home for art school in Graz, Austria to study metal sculpture and jewelry making.

At eighteen, he joined an endurance motorcycle racing team. After an accident stopped his racing career short, he worked for a brief period in Marseilles as a shunter in a train yard. His interest in metalwork led him to take an apprenticeship in Germany to become a toolmaker. He worked as a toolmaker in Austria and later as a welder in Italy.

A job with an Austrian steel company took him to Moscow, where he eventually joined the Austrian Foreign Service. In 1985 he transferred to New York City for a position promoting contemporary Austrian art and culture. During his twenty-two years in New York City,