(Photo: Brad Paris)

What’s Murray Moss like?
He’s an intense control freak with the best sense of humor. Once he put a Martha Stewart cookbook next to a book of dark S&M pictures. Martha came in and noticed. She left without rearranging our stuff.

Does the store feel sterile to you?
I love it. When I go to other stores, the first thing that jumps out at me is dust.

What object do you covet?
I’ve been here so long, I don’t feel the need to buy anything. It’s like, This is my living room, and I have an $80,000 chandelier in one corner and a $20,000 sofa in the other.

Are Ikea and Target beneath you?
Ikea is kind of scary. The last time I was there, I noticed everything was beat up. The tester only has one leg! It’s really strange.

Who’s your toughest customer?
No offense, but the bride, by far.

Related:

• Archive: “Ask Shop Clerk”
• Articles by Denise Penny
• Table of Contents: Feb 14, 2005 issue of New York | Subscribe!