Secon was born to a Jewish family in
Philadelphia, the son of immigrants from Russia. He was musically gifted, and played the
trumpet,
piano,
oboe and
flute. Secon was the music critic for
The Boston Evening Transcript. In 1950, he was a music editor for
Billboard and
Variety and a songwriter having written for
Nat King Cole and The Mills Brothers (among many others) whilst living in New York City when he heard about a business opportunity from Morris. Morris' wife had recently purchased
stoneware at a
yard sale in their hometown of
Rochester, New York. Morris took a liking to the pieces, which were designed by
Glidden Parker at his factory in
Alfred, New York. Parker informed him that he had three barns full of discontinued or slightly damaged products for sale. The brothers decided to buy the pieces for
US$2,500, and, with the help of their father, rented a store on
10th Avenue in New York City to sell their wares, thus giving birth to Pottery Barn. A year later, an article in
The New Yorker praised the store, and customers flocked to it in droves. Secon remained store manager, while Morris, who was also musically inclined, became principal
hornist for the
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and teacher at the
Eastman School of Music. In 1959, Secon started taking long trips to Europe in search of new products, and asked Morris to help manage the store. In 1966, Secon sold the company to Morris and moved to Denmark, where he pursued his earlier career of music and writing, and where his son,
Lucas Secon (best known for his 1994 hit song "
Lucas with the Lid Off") was born. In 1980, Secon moved back to the United States and settled in Manhattan before relocating to Rochester in 1997, where he died at his home at the age of 90. ==Personal life==