At 20, he graduated from Tokyo’s Flower College, which also opened doors at Kamon Flower Gate Co Ltd; a rich and fertile working environment where his talent only sharpened. Currently, Niwa is chief designer at the respectable Floreal Opaque Marunouchi, specialising in dressing wedding ceremonies and hotels, both in Japan and abroad. The international competitions he participates in are personal tests of strength. He juggles, constructs and experiments with flowers. His brother and co-designer Sinji supports him in this constant search. As partners, they work together under the name ‘Mixture’. Hideyuki’s classic, linear style, with its precise, sparse and thoughtful placement of plants and materials – the quintessential characteristics of the Japanese concept of wabi sabi – rightfully earned him the ‘Bronze Leaf’ in the 2010/2011 edition and the ‘Golden Leaf’ in the 2012/2013 edition of Stichting Kunstboek’s prestigious International Floral Art.
The World of Colour according to Per Benjamin
€59.90In the past ten years, Swedish floral designer Per Benjamin has developed his own colour theory for florists. The World of Colour according to Per Benjamin is an educational, entertaining and inspirational book in which Per Benjamin explains his colour theory in detail, both in theory and in practice. The photographs are a mix of studio work, outdoor arrangements and impressive pieces created for the decoration of events such as the Nobel Prize presentation. Taken together, they are the perfect illustration of the inexhaustible possibilities with colour and provide the florist with a perfect guide to easily put together a harmonious palette.