On Wednesdays, we look at artist statements or design philosophy statements and discuss the best vocabulary to describe an artwork or design. Today we’ll look at the About page of Stelios Mousarris, a furniture designer from Cypress.
Here is the text from his About page, in italics.
Stelios Mousarris is a Cypriot based designer with a Bachelor Degree in Modelmaking, having worked for Fosters and Partners as a modelmaker and as an assistant designer in 2014 he stepped into the design world by starting his own company Mousarris, with the aim to produce high quality pieces of furniture and other products.
Now my comments:
It’s a little disappointing that a designer who can make such inspiring creations has such a short and uninspired About page. I mean, it’s only one sentence. I want to know more! I have some ideas about how he could provide more detail.
He begins by telling us where he lives and what his degree is in, then tells us where he worked before he started his company, and he finishes by telling us what the goals of his company are. As we’ve discussed before, adding -based to a city or country name tells us where an artist works and lives. An artist could be Paris-based, or Tokyo-based, or based in L.A. It would be more correct to say this artist is Cypress-based because he is a Cypriot. A modelmaker is simply a person that makes models. He uses the phrase stepped into the design world to mean that’s when he began creating his own designs.
This is interesting information, but what more could he do? At Artglish, we encourage artists and designers to write more complete statements or About pages. I’d like to know what inspires and motivates a designer like Mousarris. Why did he begin his own company? Where does he get his ideas? What are his goals with this work, other than creating high-quality pieces? I’d also like to know something about his process. These designs are amazingly intricate. How does he create something so delicate in a way that will also be functional as furniture? What kinds of tools and techniques does he use? Finally, I’d like to know something about how his work has changed over time, the challenges he’s faced, and what makes his work unique.
I think if this designer answered a few more of these questions, he’d have a much more engaging About page. Personally, I’m usually much more interested in artists and designers that give me a better understanding of their work. When I know more, I care more, and I want to see more. Every artist and designer wants a bigger following, and writing an interesting About page is a good place to start.
At Artglish, we help artists and designers to write a statement or About page that best describes their work. We focus on choosing the best vocabulary and language to help your work shine. If you’d like to learn more about what we offer, click here to get exclusive content, or check out our Courses page.
I’ve chosen 5 words or phrases for you to focus on today. They are in bold. If you don’t know them, look up the meaning, synonyms, antonyms, and other forms of these words. You can find links to Merriam-Webster dictionary sites at the bottom of this page.
To see the official Mousarris About page, click the link below:
https://www.mousarris.com/about