ALONG THE WAY: PARIS

I discovered Atsushi Taniguchi when my Instagram suggested I view a reel from a “Japanese florist who also works in Paris.” Not only was I immediately intrigued, but I made a point of stopping by his charming Jardin du L'llony Paris boutique on Rue Mesnil a few weeks later.

As I walked in through the door, a Japanese woman was gracefully bowing to Atsushi as he handed her one of his floral creations. After she left, I introduced myself and learned that she is his client in Tokyo and whenever she comes to Paris, she orders his flowers for her hotel room. The ultimate luxury!

Atsushi asked me if I was ever in Tokyo: indeed, I was the following month! In fact, would I like to join him on one of his weekly trips to the flower market just outside the city? Even after he told me he would pick me up outside of my hotel at 4am, I could barely contain my excitement.

And sure enough a few weeks later before dawn, my hotel elevator opened to Atsushi's infectious smile waiting by his shiny black van loaded with empty water buckets. Soon we were zooming down the highway leaving the dark soaring skyline behind us. As we shared our love for flowers, Atsushi already felt like an old friend.

Once we got to the market, it was hard to keep up with him as he raced down the long aisles from flower to flower, you could practically see he was already imagining how he’d use them. As he waved goodbye, he handed me his beautiful book on arrangements, inscribed. Once again, the world seemed not only to come full circle but also feel wonderfully very small.