NAOKO HASHIMOTO

kurashiki / kyoto / Tokyo, japan

Grew up in Japan

I grew up in a small town called Kurashiki, playing around in my grandpa’s vegetable farm. When I was 18, I moved to Kyoto, the original capital city of Japan. At my international university, I studied Spanish language and foreign studies. After graduating, I worked with interior design in Tokyo and then met my husband who was traveling from the States.

In 2019, I moved back to Kyoto and worked at a florist shop ‘Nishimura hanaten’ to learn about ikebana culture and flower techniques. Kyoto’s unique lifestyle inspired me to share this kind of Japanese culture using flowers in the States.

old greenhouse in milton

I moved to Georgia in 2019. With the chef’s offer, I started ikebana display at Sushi Hayakawa in Doraville. Our friend and restaurateur, Chris, kindly let me use his greenhouse which was relocated from an old elementary school. I set up rainwater collection and cultivated a small plot into a flower garden. In the spring, it just started to bloom. The challenges of growing flowers brought me a lot of joy and lessons from nature.

Despite the fact that popular flowers can be shipped and distributed to destinations around the world, finding and embracing the ‘local, seasonal vibe’ is the specific goal of my flower arrangements.

My humbling challenge is endeavoring to express the ideas and culture of Japanese flower arrangements and techniques “ikebana” and uniquely adapt them to Georgia’s surrounding.