MOUS

Last year, the siblings who spent their childhood in the elevated showrooms of Arteriors stepped out on their own. Tanner Moussa and Mackenzie Lewis launched MOUS after spending decades (courtesy of an Architectural Digest article by Carla Gibbs) “watching artisans at work on factory floors, forging connections with makers, and, most importantly, inheriting a deep reverence for all-things interiors.”

MOUS’ designs are a combination of classic contemporary design and craft. The debut collection, which was initially available only online, was inspired by Egyptian influences and French Deco’s sensual, curvy forms.

The enterpreneurial siblings… blessed with a lot of homegrown talent, wanted to carry on the legacy of furniture designers. They said (courtesy of Luxe Source) “We knew we wanted to create furniture, and something that was artful, intricately detailed, and above all, functional.”

Their first collection is called Narrative Arc; it includes 29 dramatic and organic silhouettes of case goods, upholstery, and ceramics. The siblings’ hope was to work with what they have learned over their lifetimes and to design an elevated collection of “unique furniture.”

The pair  found their way to furniture design via different paths. Lewis started working at the company after earning her degree in fine arts and Moussa came to the company after spending a decade working in New York City in the financial industry. The pandemic and heightened rise in virtual shopping convinced Lewis and Moussa that this was “their time” to launch out on their own.

They said that starting their own business was the easy part… the hard part was selecting which pieces acquired over a lifetime of travels would be transferable to MOUS. One thing they remained adamant about is ensuring that functionality prevail as important as the design itself.

It helps that Lewis and Moussa are able to call upon the artisans Arteriors has used for the past 35 years. Those skilled craftsmen are now considered family. In addition, everyone fully understands the beauty in small-batch production. Being privy to witnessing how craftsmanship can be affected by “production marginality,” they’ve gone to extremes to ensure that their collection is not affected by the industry’s nuances.

Lewis said “Since our artisans and tradespeople create these smaller batch runs, they focus on every detail to achieve perfection. As most of them are generational as well, the partnerships behind the Mous line is unique. The industry needs generational knowledge of these crafts and art, and we’re upholding that belief in the product we create and produce.”

MOUS is housed in a 12,000-square-foot building that encompasses a showroom, warehouse, and offices. While not exactly the refined spaces of Arteriors showrooms, the space allows guests to personally experience the collection. Part of the appeal of a mainly-online presence is that it allows the company to remain “nimble” and stay up-to-date with their customers’ changing needs and desires.

Moussa said about his pieces and their collection, “It’s the concept of modern beauty with functionality that stems from numerous past design styles.” Artfully speaking, there is no doubt that MOUS’ second collection will be just as inspirational as Narrative Arc.