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.
Creativity with Flowers. A Collection of Floral Recipes
€65.00Acclaimed florists Per Benjamin (SE) and Max van de Sluis (NL) share their extensive knowledge in the field of floral art in this voluminous recipe book. Step by step they create bouquets, table decorations, arrangements with cut flowers and plants, wedding flowers, sympathy pieces, festive Christmas decorations and other impressive designs for the home. This book compiles all eight volumes of the popular (and sold out) series Creativity with Flowers. It covers a nice mix of commercial and artistic designs and caters both to the hobbyist and the professional. In addition to the hundreds of arrangements, both florists graciously grant us a peek behind the scenes, they explain their way of working, sources of inspiration, thought process and creativity to encourage the reader to do more than merely copy their arrangements. The ultimate goal of this book is not only to provide the necessary tools and techniques, but also to give florists the confidence to develop into artists with a personal style and a unique artistic personality.