Eternal Flower: Koji Arai

Koji Arai is one of those people who accidentally found their great ambition and passion in life. When he started working in a flower shop in São Paulo the main goal was to earn a living and improve his command of Portuguese. He could barely tell a rose from a tulip, let alone make a bouquet. As the shop did not spoon-feed him any instructions Arai learnt the art by stealing with his eyes. Ever since that first experience he has been obsessed with plants and the possibilities of flower design. After returning to Japan, he joined Dai-ichi Engei as floral designer and product developer.

The collection of designs in this book, however, stands apart from his professional work. The Eternal Flower is his ode to flowers. In this book he wants to give a voice to the beauty of their colours, their enthralling eccentric shapes, their life, their death, their fragility and elegance and at the same time treasure them for eternity. Koji Arai puts his talent at the service of flowers, hoping to help disclose the fascinating aspects of flowers and plants that we often remain unaware of. This he does with great skill and bravura.

Text in English and Japanese.