He gained national recognition for his furniture, and sculpture in 1977 when he and his work were featured on the KPIX-TV program Evening Magazine. Video.. He was the co-founder of Bears in the Wood a small chain of retail stores in the San Francisco Bay Area which served as the showrooms for furniture that he both designed and built. The stores also sold Teddy bears which were imported from around the world. The merchandise was displayed within an environment which featured a three-story waterfall, and a full scale log cabin. These were the first stores in the country to market "just" Teddy Bears. The airing of that TV special set off a national Teddy Bear store frenzy in the United States from coast to coast which began in 1976, and continues until the present.
