designing a dream:

How a thos. Moser catalog changed my life

At age 32, Michelle was at a crossroads and found herself searching for something that fueled her creativity and passion for helping people. “It was time to reinvent myself,” she says. She wanted to help people enjoy living through color, texture, shadow, and light. As a child, she says, “I organized my closet by color and methodically placed each toy in the perfect position.” She knew she wanted to be a residential interior designer. Several months later, she applied to a design school in Chicago.

“While in design school, I got on the mailing list of several catalogs. I was bombarded with design and home decor magazines, but I remember getting the Thos. Moser catalog. I was blown away. I didn’t know furniture could look like that. When I received that catalog, I began flipping through the pages and created a list of everything I wanted for my dream home. I marked up the catalog with little tags on the top as I didn’t want to ruin the pages with ear folds, and I even had a plastic sleeve over it to protect it,” she says.  

“I didn’t know furniture could look like that. “

“In my first rendering class, the professor said we should bring our favorite catalogs to class to find inspiration. I knew the Thos. Moser catalog was the one I wanted to bring and the Lolling Chair was the perfect specimen to use for my study. I carried my Thos. Moser catalog with me back and forth all semester for inspiration. I just loved the form and playing around with it. I remember the first sketch was in charcoal. It was terrible, smeared, raw, and looked nothing like the finessed form I saw on the page. The next one was in pencil, and I remember adding different layers, textures, and color, and by the time we got to the final rendering, I still really loved the chair.”   

Sketches of the Lolling Chair from Michelle’s rendering class. If you notice in the corner, she received a well-deserved A-.

With each line she sketched and retraced, she deepened her connection to her brother and his passion for woodworking and furniture design. “My brother, Ryan, was a furniture student at the Rhode Island School of Design while I was in design school, and I knew he would love to see the Thos. Moser designs, too,” says Michelle. “I thought it would keep him motivated about furniture design and to believe that something like this could be his future… it worked! I remember telling my husband I was sending him the catalog, and he said, “You’re not going to send your brother some furniture catalog, are you? He’s going to get made fun of.” Michelle says, ” I sent it anyway. When Ryan received it, he called me and said, “I got this really fancy catalog.” I said I know, I sent it to you. Ryan geeked out over the designs just as much as I did. As young designers, it gave us something new and exciting to connect over.”  

As time passed, Michelle eventually began her own design company, and her brother followed his dream of furniture making. Over the years, their family suffered significant heartaches and celebrated incredible achievements. Through all this, Michelle and her brother have held on to their mutual passion for fine furniture and design. “It says a lot about your company that my family’s shared joy and influence of design came from that catalog and we’re still talking about it some 20 years later. I still get a kick out of thinking about my brother carrying around that catalog on campus and taking it into the woodshop. It’s crazy how life is and how powerful memories can be.”  

The Lolling Chair and Ottoman in cherry.

“When I was a young design student, I could only hope that one day I would own this finely crafted chair, and well, today is the day,” says Michelle. There is never a right time or “enough money”, but there are incredible memories of her brother surrounding that catalog and the hours spent putting pencil to paper as she manifested her dream chair. “The form and look of the Lolling Chair are just timeless,” says Michelle. 

“It says a lot about your company that my family’s shared joy and influence of design came from that catalog and we’re still talking about it some 20 years later.”

Now, two years later, Michelle says, “I received the new catalog in the mail and instantly had a smile on my face. The cover looks exactly like “my chair.” She says, “What’s not to love? Considering I purchased the chair and ottoman “sight unseen,” which I have never done before with any furniture, I was pleasantly surprised at the comfort and elegance in real life.  Sometimes you sit on a piece of furniture and after a while, it’s not comfortable, that’s not the case with this beauty.  I love the brass bar mechanism that raises and lowers the seat back, and the adjustable neck support pillow is the icing on the cake.  I have my Lolling nestled in a corner near my fireplace, it’s cozy and comfortable, and it’s my favorite place to unwind.  I still can’t believe she’s mine!”  

“Talking with everyone at Moser and taking a trip down memory lane is the best thing that has happened to me this year. The Lolling Chair had been sitting in my cart for over a month, and I’m glad I reached out to you guys. It’s been my Christmas miracle.” 

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