Who

Murray Moss is the tastemaker behind the legendary SoHo design and housewares store Moss.

Backstory

Moss's father was a design obsessive: When he redesigned the family home in Chicago when Murray was a boy, he installed, among other things, a pedal-operated water fountain in the dining room so no one had to bother with drinking glasses. Moss moved to New York in the late '60s to attend NYU and initially pursued an acting career, but changed direction when his parents passed away and he used his inheritance to move into the fashion business. He founded the design house Moss Shamask Ltd. in partnership with designer Ronaldus Shamask, specializing in made-to-order linen clothing, before selling the company in 1990. Four years later Moss launched his eponymous design store on Greene Street, filling it with objets d'art like Aalto vases and Kaj Franck glasses. He and partner Franklin Getchell have since expanded to three storefronts and in July 2007 they opened a second location on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles.

Of note

The Moss industrial design mecca has long been famous for treating its wares like art objects and bringing a museum sensibility to retail, an attitude reflected in the "Please Do Not Touch" T-shirts worn by employees. (The inspiration seems to run both ways—the MoMA's recent $425 million makeover of its gallery spaces was reportedly inspired by Moss's layout.) The store's collection of items varies from the very functional (like a handy collapsible kitchen strainer) to the much more extravagant: A porcelain mask of a snarling tiger will run you $6,000, although that's a bargain compared to the most expensive item, a Venini glass sculpture on sale for $190,000. What you see at the store today may not be there tomorrow. Moss changes the layout daily, and has the walls repainted white each week. But his obsessive attention to picking just the right items and keeping the sleek store in a state of perpetual change has paid off. His company reportedly grossed $25 million in 2007.

Soundbite

"I am not selling heart valves. I am not trying to save your life. I own chairs that you cannot sit on."

On the side

Moss and Getchell are co-owners of Centovini, the Italian restaurant/wine bar on Greene Street. Their partner in the venture is restaurateur Nicola Marzovilla, formerly of I Trulli. Naturally, Moss handled the eatery's eminently mod design.

Personal

Moss has been in a relationship with former actor and TV producer Franklin Getchell for more than three decades; these days Getchell is also his business partner and oversees the business end of things. The couple lives in the Olympic Tower building on Fifth Avenue. Their neighbors in the building include Benihana founder Rocky Aoki, restaurateur Nello Balan, and interior designer John Saladino.