Design Diva
(Photo: Karsten Moran)
Stephanie Mossios, BA’12 (Flor), the first in her family to graduate college, majored in psychology at FDU and now works in the interior design industry.
As a sale consultant at Waterworks, she helps turn high-end tiles and faucets into custom remodels for her clients. “I’ll partner with designers, architects and builders during the selection process,” she says.
“When I graduated from FDU, I really didn’t have an idea of what I wanted to do.” She took a job as a project manager at a commercial roofing company. “That’s how I got my foot in the door of the home industry.” Then she worked at a luxury appliance company, which exposed her to a high-end clientele.
Now at Waterworks, a provider of high-end fixtures and tile for bathrooms and kitchens as well as custom cabinetry, Mossios uses the skills she learned at FDU every day when she engages with customers. “The psychology degree allowed me to become a very well-rounded person. It taught me how to read people and the room,” she says. “It helps with dealing with different personalities and understanding other peoples’ perspectives.”
A member of the New Jersey chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers, she feels like she is running her own business at Waterworks. “I do a lot of presentations to introduce products to various people in the industry. Essentially, we’re a one-stop shop for luxury clients.”
The product quality speaks for itself. “If you pick up a copy of Architectural Digest or Home and Garden magazine, you will always see our products there.” Savvy consumers may also spot them in the background of social-media posts by celebrities such as Robert Downey, Jr.; Gwyneth Paltrow; and the Kardashians.
If she’s dealing with a customer who is working with a contractor, Mossios will do more to facilitate their dream makeover. “I’ll step in and help with the bathroom and kitchen designs, picking out or suggesting finishes, tile and the fixtures,” she says.
Her knowledge of art history, courtesy of classes at Wroxton College, also enriches her work. “If I’m talking to an interior designer about a particular style, it helps that I am familiar with some of the styles of artwork from around the world. The Dutch like white and blue titles, the Portuguese use handmade terra cotta tiles, and Italians and Greeks prefer marble.”
Contributing to her success is her bubbly personality. “I can have a conversation with anybody,” Mossios says. “If ‘Miss Congeniality’ was based on someone, it would be me.”