Hospitality Design - November 2014 - 89

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deborah moss
By Alissa Ponchione
Photography courtesy of Henrieta, Garret Rowland, and Moss & Lam

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MAKING MEMORIES
Crafting meaningful narratives through
artwork

Most epic stories act as living documents,
facts that grow into lore over time and
retellings. The track of Deborah Moss and
Edward Lam's relationship follows this
trajectory: Two young artists fall in love at
the Ontario College of Art and Design and
end up building a business together that
spans decades.
Luck and fate worked together to create
Moss & Lam. When Moss turned 20, she
wanted to have her own art studio, which
came to fruition when she and Lam started
their Toronto business as a way to fund
their own projects after graduating. "We
figured we'd get a job once a month, and we
could still have time do our own artwork,"
Moss says. What started out as something to
finance their art careers ended up growing
into a lifelong passion.
Yet, when Lam passed away a year and
a half ago, the business the couple started
in 1987 had to change as much as Moss did.
"It used to be the Ed and Deb show," she
explains. Studio employees rallied around
Moss, who empowered them to take risks in
their work, though Lam's influence continues
to drive the company: his diligence and work
ethic, and the curiosity and thoughtfulness

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he displayed in each project still pervade
the studio. "He was an incredible artist," too,
which Moss misses. "At the same time, the
studio is in a really happy place. My staff enjoy
their work and realize they are a part of
something special."
Moss & Lam's portfolio is nothing if not
prolific. The company recently finished the
Park Hyatt New York-where it added water
color-inspired wall finishes, tablescapes, and
bookshelves-and is gearing up to work on
the Four Seasons New York and Four Seasons
Orlando, while also getting into accessories
and adding more one-of-a-kind small artist
works. Moss & Lam also offers handmade
pieces carried by Avenue Road, a line of its
own laser-etched carpets, and a recent focus
on paper that involves hand-dyeing and rolling
cotton rag paper into spirals.
"If you want something special, come to
us," Moss says. For anyone who has seen the
63-foot-long mural at the Clement restaurant
in New York's Peninsula Hotel-a painting
depicting an idyllic New York City-or the

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1. The 63-foot-long
mural of a dream-like
Central Park at Clement
restaurant in New York's
Peninsula Hotel.
2. The handpainted
mural at the Dalayou
Tea Room in Hong Kong
depicts an evocative
forest scene.

3. The Edge Spiral series
is made of hand-torn
and dyed cotton rag
paper.
4. At the Kitchener
Public Library in
Ontario, Moss & Lam
suspended 22,000
sheets of silk screened
paper-like fabric from
the ceiling.

handcarved, stylized wave wall in the W New
York, know this to be true. But the sweet
spot is the stories that drive the artwork.
"We create something that people will
remember," she says, "something accessible,
something possible. A memory." hd
m ossand la m.com

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Hospitality Design - November 2014

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