About this item

Ikebana is a Japanese art form that began in the fifteenth century, but a new generation of florists around the world have begun embracing its natural, minimalist ethos and reimagining it for the modern age. Studio Mondine is at the forefront of this movement; with their restrained approach, a few foraged branches and a single flower stem can feel as dramatic and elevated as a whole bouquet of pricey blooms. The book is organized around four central tenets of ikebana: naturalness, movement, balance, and simplicity. Every chapter includes an essay explaining the key tenet followed by a series of representative seasonal arrangements. For each one, Luu and Matsuba discuss the design's connection to ikebana philosophy and then offer readers step-by-step instructions for re-creating the arrangement, with photos showing the mechanics of building the piece (foliage manipulation, working with floral frogs, etc.