This time, we interviewed Teiko Tsunakawa, the owner of the flower shop "whole," which will be selling flowers at " UNDECORATED meets Kansai Noguchi with whole & uRn.," which starts on Saturday, January 22nd.

――First, please tell us about how you started "whole." Was it a childhood dream of yours?

Tsunakawa: It was a bouquet of flowers my husband gave me that sparked it, at a time when I was thinking of starting something of my own. Until then, I had no connection to flowers or plants, so I wasn't interested in them. (laughs)
I've always loved clothes and used to work in the apparel industry. The job of a florist, where I could do everything from buying to display and customer service, seemed appealing to me, and I gradually became more and more interested. Looking back now, I feel like it was a very simple decision. (laughs)

Kono: It's surprising to hear that you weren't originally interested. It must have been difficult to start learning something new from scratch. How did you study?

Tsunakawa: I couldn't just start on my own all of a sudden, so I worked as a VMD in apparel and used my weekends to intern at a flower shop in Harajuku for a year, learning as an assistant. There, I became even more fascinated by flowers and wanted to focus on it more, so I quit apparel and started working full-time.




――At what point did you consider becoming independent?

Tsunakawa: I wanted to open a shop with my husband, who is a hairdresser, when he became independent, but a person who had helped me out with a part-time job when I was a student asked me, "Would you like to try opening a shop in a shared space?" I thought, "I won't get another chance like this," so I decided to open my own flower shop first.

I worked there for a while, and then when my husband became independent, we opened our current shop together.

Kono: I see. I've always thought the interior design, with the connection between the hair salon and the flower shop, where you can see the flowers from the salon, is very lovely. The flow of getting your hair cut, feeling refreshed, and then going home to decorate with flowers—that lifestyle is really wonderful. This kind of space where different industries gather is exactly what UNDECORATED aims for, and I can really relate to that.






――With flowers, if it's a rose, it's a rose, or a lily, it's a lily, so the types of flowers are limited, making it very difficult to express individuality. Among these, what do you value most at "whole"?

Tsunakawa: I believe that combinations are the only way to express a shop's unique character, and that's what I value most. In fact, I never intended to make it distinctly "whole"-like; the current atmosphere simply evolved as I gathered things I liked based on my mood at the time.

Each customer has their own desired atmosphere and type of flowers, and just like fashion trends, it varies depending on their feelings and circumstances at the time. That's why I consider combinations based on their current mood and offer them to customers. Sharing that atmosphere with customers is a lot of fun.

Kono: But there are indeed color schemes that feel very "whole"-like, aren't there? More in the array of colors than the types of flowers. But that atmosphere was something you naturally created, Tsunakawa-san.




――Finally, please tell us about your future prospects.

Tsunakawa: I'm grateful that things have gone so smoothly so far. First, I started in a shared space, then opened my own shop, and at first, I was working alone, but then one staff member joined, and then another joined six months later. Now, I want to enhance our teamwork with this group and provide even better service to our customers.

Following last week's interview, we spoke with another creator participating in "UNDECORATED meets Kansai Noguchi with whole & uRn." Next, we will be interviewing Buntaro Miyata, the director of "uRn.," who will be providing tea catering at "UNDECORATED meets Kansai Noguchi with whole & uRn."


Profile
Teiko Tsunakawa
Owner of the flower shop "whole." After working in sales and VMD at the select shop "Ron Herman," she became a florist. After two years of training at a flower shop, she opened "whole" as a weekend-only shop in a corner of a wine bar in Tomigaya, Shibuya-ku in April 2017. In April 2019, it was renovated and reopened as a shop annexed to the hair salon "AWRY BY THE MANNER" in Yoyogi Uehara. Her flower styling proposals, utilizing her experience in apparel, have garnered attention from many women.

『UNDECORATED meets Kansai Noguchi with whole & uRn.』
Date and Time: Jan 22 (Sat) - Jan 28 (Fri), 1 PM - 7 PM
Location: groundfloor Gallery, 2F, 1-8-1 Nakameguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo
Inquiries: 03-3794-4037

Contents:
- Sale of Kansai Noguchi's works
- Sale of UNDECORATED 22SS
- Flower sales by whole (limited to Jan 22 (Sat) and Jan 23 (Sun))
- Sale of uRn.'s organic tea BAWA (limited to Jan 22 (Sat) and Jan 23 (Sun))

For more details, please refer to this article.

Announcement of POP UP event
UNDECORATED meets Kansai Noguchi with whole & uRn.