DESIGN TALK usually features the designers of the brands we carry at ESCAPERS, but this time is a little different. We talked to Junji Noritake, the owner of Flower Noritake—a flower shop in Nagoya with a following of many ardent fans from the fashion world.

Noritake does a lot of work in the fashion industry and organized the displays at the ESCAPERS pop-up store in March. His style is dynamic and original. He frequently uses plants that are rarely seen in regular flower arrangements, like reeds, straw and unusual flowers grown by small flower farms. They make his works unique and not bound by convention. So how did Noritake get involved in the creative world and where does he draw his inspiration from?

“I wanted a job where I could create things. I was interested in fashion and also thought about becoming a hairdresser. Then when I was 18 years old, I was struck by a television commercial created by the flower artist Noboru Kurisaki, and I thought ‘This is it!’ I immediately moved to Tokyo and started working at a store run by his top pupil.”

“My style leaned toward pretty as first. But I loved to travel, and as I visited different places across the world, all the stimulating things I saw and felt began to influence my work and shape my style into what you see today. My first overseas trip was to the Americas where I traveled from Santa Fe in the US down to Mexico. I’ve since also toured Europe and Asia, and everywhere I go, I’m inspired by the things I experience. Different countries have different ways of perceiving and handling flowers, which all become sources of inspiration for me.”

*Noritake immerses himself in nature and local plants during his travels. Photos 1 and 2 are from Australia and Photo 3 is from Thailand.

“It’s not just the flowers. Everything I see during my trips is inspiring, like the townscapes and architectures of each country as well as old tools and antiques I find along the way. I’ve been in this profession for over 30 years and I’ve also been traveling a lot. All of that has led to the approach of asking myself: ‘natural or none at all?’ Whether it’s flowers or furniture, if something isn’t natural, it’s best not to use it. Since that’s my fundamental approach, I tend to avoid using artificial flowers. Real flowers have expressions. Even as time goes on, their appearances change to express something new. I do my best to use flowers like that.”

“I usually travel with the staff members at my store. Since we’re all working together, it doesn’t make much sense for me to travel alone since I can’t convey all that inspired me. Traveling as a big group also has the benefit of being able to rent out an entire section of a building or accommodation. For example, we stayed at Green Village in Bali a few years ago where all the buildings and furniture are made of bamboo. Staying in a place like that in itself is a great learning experience and incredibly inspiring. I’ve traveled extensively already, but there are still many places I want to visit. South America and Africa, where there are a lot of interesting plants are on my bucket list. Not flowers, but I also want to go and see auroras someday.”

*Trips with the entire staff are the wellsprings of creation at Flower Noritake. Photos 1 and 2 are from Green Village in Bali and Photo 3 is from a training trip in Singapore.

Noritake’s artistic style has been shaped by the experiences and inspirations he gained during his travels. When he’s arranging a store display, he pays careful attention to two factors: time and space. “For example, if the flowers are going to be displayed for a month, I imagine how they’ll look like a month after I complete the decorations. So, as I mentioned earlier, I’ll try to bring together flowers that look attractive even as time wears on.”

In addition to time, Noritake is also mindful of space. Sometimes he’ll hang flowers from the ceiling or walls and sometimes he’ll use plants that tower over people. The way he crafts these spaces using plants is bold and awe-inspiring. “I don’t always do things the same way though. I design decorations depending on the particular space and location. Take, for example, a compact space with simple white walls and no other decoration. I’d maybe put a single flower into an eye-catching vase and that would be it. It feels really fulfilling when a customer’s request matches the space perfectly like that.”

The photo below is of the ESCAPERS’ showroom entrance, which Noritake designed. He worked from a number of requests and keywords we provided, such as using pampas grass and brown tones. This led him to use reeds to create a dynamic space with a strong, rustic impression. “I wanted it to feel like we had brought nature directly inside. I made sure not to focus too much on the details since I wanted the plants to simply be themselves. Since the entrance had some depth to it, I made the most of that too.”