Event and floral designer Philip Baloun died at his Manhattan home Thursday after a short bout with pancreatic cancer. Known for creating fantastic and dramatic arrangements, he had a loyal following of high-society clients.
"He became a pioneer of combining floristry, interior design, lighting, carpenters, painters, seamstresses, and electricians to transform the most generic space into a custom world of wonder," said frequent collaborator Polly Onet, president of the event and marketing company Ober, Onet & Associates.
Baloun, 61, was a theater student and originally came to New York to be a director, but instead he worked for event designer Renny Reynolds and others. He started his eponymous firm in 1979.Baloun designed hundreds of events for prominent clients including George Soros, Shelby White, the LeFrak family, and Sandy Weill. He created corporate extravaganzas such as the Faberge gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art's Temple of Dendur and Time magazine's 75th anniversary dinner, as well as over-the-top benefits including a Venetian-themed gala for the Washington National Opera and the Prince Charles gala at Lincoln Center, for which he created an enchanted forest and a classical garden on the promenade.
He also designed exhibits, including the Chinese Tree Peony Show and the Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Garden, the latter of which The New York Times called "a grand slam."
In February, Baloun designed the multimillion-dollar birthday party for Blackstone tycoon Stephen Schwarzman at the Park Avenue Armory, where he created 50-foot silk-screen re-creations of the host's Park Avenue apartment and draped the remainder of the cavernous hall in red velvet. Liz Smith said the affair "now enters the short list of hot blowouts of New York history."
"His clients came back to him—they had so much confidence in his creative ability," said Steve Paster of Alpine Creative Group, which created many invitations for events Baloun designed. "These were Social Register clients, with high net wealth. They are very demanding. He just knew how to create somebody's dream."
"He became a pioneer of combining floristry, interior design, lighting, carpenters, painters, seamstresses, and electricians to transform the most generic space into a custom world of wonder," said frequent collaborator Polly Onet, president of the event and marketing company Ober, Onet & Associates.
Baloun, 61, was a theater student and originally came to New York to be a director, but instead he worked for event designer Renny Reynolds and others. He started his eponymous firm in 1979.Baloun designed hundreds of events for prominent clients including George Soros, Shelby White, the LeFrak family, and Sandy Weill. He created corporate extravaganzas such as the Faberge gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art's Temple of Dendur and Time magazine's 75th anniversary dinner, as well as over-the-top benefits including a Venetian-themed gala for the Washington National Opera and the Prince Charles gala at Lincoln Center, for which he created an enchanted forest and a classical garden on the promenade.
He also designed exhibits, including the Chinese Tree Peony Show and the Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Garden, the latter of which The New York Times called "a grand slam."
In February, Baloun designed the multimillion-dollar birthday party for Blackstone tycoon Stephen Schwarzman at the Park Avenue Armory, where he created 50-foot silk-screen re-creations of the host's Park Avenue apartment and draped the remainder of the cavernous hall in red velvet. Liz Smith said the affair "now enters the short list of hot blowouts of New York history."
"His clients came back to him—they had so much confidence in his creative ability," said Steve Paster of Alpine Creative Group, which created many invitations for events Baloun designed. "These were Social Register clients, with high net wealth. They are very demanding. He just knew how to create somebody's dream."
