For the past eight years, Murray Moss has brought innovative, cutting-edge design to the masses. His New York design store, Moss is more influential and successful than most museums for ideas and inspiration and currently has an inventory turnover 10 times a year. "You go to learn something, not just buy something," says Donald Albrecht, senior curator of design at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. "Murray brings the museum to the store.*"

Based in SoHo, New York City, Moss is chock-full of design-conscious items ranging from a Colle wine glass to an Alessi pasta pot to a Zanotta sofa.

Moss studied at New York University, School of Arts, and was a professional actor in both the United States and Great Britain. In 1978, together with Dutch designer Ronaldus Shamask, Moss started his own fashion company, Moss Shamask, Ltd., a company that specialized in made-to-order black and white clothing in four types of linens. The company was an overnight success and many items from the first collection ended up in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The company rapidly expanded to include broad manufacturing of both women's and men's fashions, international distribution and licensing. In 1991, the company's trademarks and trade names were sold to a Japanese company.

Moss launched Moss, a design store, in 1994, which has since doubled in size. Moss wanted to place objects in a new context to allow customers to form opinions about them. He approaches retail design much like a museum curator, showcasing products behind glass cases and displaying a written text about each item. The store presents a highly edited selection of current products created by designers from around the world. The presentation of products is changed by Moss almost daily, keeping the store fresh and current with new ideas. People come to Moss to be inspired, not to shop for regular household items.

Moss currently sits on the Boards of Trustees of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution, the Wolfsonian Museum-FIU and the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA). He is also a frequent guest lecturer at world-renowned art academies and universities. In May 2000, Moss was awarded the House Beautiful "Giant's of Design" Award.

Moss currently resides in New York City.

*Smith, Lee. "Product Wonderland." ONE June/July 2001:73-79.