Paul Moss, a charming and disarming, empathetic, kind human being with a practical-joker side, was an event planner's event planner. He thought that orchestrating events was like conducting a symphony. The first things that come to mind when talking about Paul are his talent, organizational ability, fighting spirit, attention to detail, and innate kindness.
Always at work early, he had a classic taste and an interior design aesthetic that made him the darling of the benefit set at the beginning of the company. Many said his secret was that he was a great listener. He heard empathy and turned it into creativity. He took patterns and turned them into statements. Patterns of every shape. He was always thinking and designing in his head.
Just a few weeks ago, at age 49, Paul unexpectedly passed away. I knew him after a long association with his company, Blueprint Studios. He and Mircea Manea founded the company 20 years ago, and it has grown to 300 employees. Like a carefully crafted rocket ship, the company really took off and has become a household word in the event industry in a relatively short time.
Paul was a force of nature, who, even when taking a break for lunch at his favorite taco truck, would offer advice to the proprietor about how to organize the experience more efficiently. Colleagues referred to his obscure habit of always having a tape measure, maybe because his house felt like a perfectly maintained boutique hotel that was in constant need of reorganizing. His visual sense contained irony and fun, but most importantly, he kept it real.
In the last few years, I had the opportunity to have some wonderful conversations and meetings with Paul. He was the conscience of the company, and because of his personal challenges, had a newfound appreciation for even the act of going to the office, hanging out with his colleagues, and creating magical events. When I went to lunch with Paul, he was as interested in my life as my business. It is rare to meet someone in a business meeting who can easily turn a business acquaintance into a friend, and that turned the meeting into a warm and caring session.
We will miss Paul, and will always be grateful for his contributions to the industry—especially for creating not only thousands of events with all their own memories but a company that will extend his DNA far into the future. He was not the "less is more" kind of guy but more of a “more is more." We wish we had much more of Paul. The industry, the company, his colleagues, and his family will miss him immensely.
