Robert Isabell

In the hubbub of daily life, I missed the obituary of Robert Isabell HERE and HERE .
Say what???? He was 57 and died of heart attack. Good looking and fit, he is the last person one would think of this happening to.
Robert started his event design career slightly ahead of me. He started out fresh from Minnesota working for another well known talent named Renny Reynolds, and shortly thereafter started his own business.
Robert was someone I respected, and someone who inspired me. As my business grew, we bid on some of the same events, though his roster of clients was the stuff of stars and society and celebs.
He was also good buddies with Ian Schraeger one time co-owner of Studio 54, the place where I misspent and enjoyed my youth at. He also did the wedding of my dear friend and mentor Marcy Blum, who has just started what is sure to be a fabulous new blog HERE. Her first post is about Robert.
Robert set the standard for a new kind of event design that encompassed the total picture: florals, lighting, room decor. Many of us have him to thank for paving the way for us including mega designers Preston Bailey and Colin Cowie.
I am very sorry to hear of his way too early passing.
Condolences to his family and his friends and his business associates and his clients and his fans, of which I was one of many.
There is another article written about Robert in 1996 that is bittersweet. You can read it HERE