5 Minutes with Atsushi Taniguchi

ECT: When did your interest in flowers first begin?

AT: When I was a small child - I used to give flowers to my mother because she loved them so much. That experience taught me how much pleasure flowers could bring. Then, when I was 22, I saw a film about a florist and decided that I wanted flowers to be my life.

ECT: How would you sum up your style?

AT: All my work is centered around the allure of flowers and the balance of nature.

ECT: Do you have a favourite flower?

AT: Yes, the rose. Roses touch peoples’ emotions and I have a special feeling for scented things.

ECT: You were the first Japanese florist to open a flower shop, Jardin du I’llony, in Paris. Can you tell us a bit about that?

AT: We opened in 2015 in the 16th arrondissement, which is a very elegant part of Paris. Jardin du Illony is both a flower shop and an art gallery. As a foreigner, having a store here is a very challenging initiative but I’ve learned a lot and feel that I have much to share with the people of Paris.

ECT: Part of that sharing is through the workshops you run  – what is the most important thing you want to pass on to the people who come to your workshops?

AT: That it is really nature that makes a creation great, not you

ECT: And can they share anything with you?

AT: Absolutely! Seeing how other people react to the beauty of flowers makes me see natural beauty in a new way.

You can join Atsushi for a workshop at his shop,  Jardin du I’llony on our Fleur Créatif Workshops in Paris tour programme. Read more here