The Far East to the East Coast

The Ikebana Shop brings Japanese flair to Halifax

By LINZ CARYL TAN

Wed. July 4, 2010

      (TAMMY FANCY photos. www.fancyfreefoto.com)

    

Intricate Japanese calligraphy, teacups and pressed flower greeting cards line delicately lit white walls. The smell of sandalwood incense fills the room as water burbles down a ceramic fountain. A bright red paper umbrella and fresh flower arrangements complement the Zen interior. The Ikebana Shop leaves its doors open—perhaps to conjure luck according to the traditions of feng-shui but more so, to welcome customers in. Snatches of conversation and the muted roar of Quinpool Road’s traffic fill the space.

Store owners and immigrants, Ferdi and Miyako Ballesteros, were armed with a positive attitude and a keen desire to share their love of Japanese art and culture as they opened the Ikebana Shop in December 2009. Miyako started practising Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangements, as a hobby in Tokyo. Following their move to Halifax, she opened an exhibit of her Ikebana creations, which brought some interest. “People wanted to learn Ikebana, so she started teaching lessons,” says Ferdi. “We also started doing arrangement services for businesses and individuals.”

Miyako notes that Nova Scotia is an ideal place to enjoy and practice Ikebana. The art prioritizes the creation of space through minimal use of branches and flowers, so Nova Scotian homes provide good foliage and materials for Ikebana creations. “In Japan we don’t have big houses like we have here, so it’s difficult to find branches from the backyard,” Miyako says. “But here, everybody has a small or big garden. You can use a few stems of flower from your garden then you can create a nice arrangement.”

Inspired by this place, their idea took on a life of its own. “We thought that if we want to make this grow and let people know, we need a showroom of some sort because Ikebana is a very visual art,” Ferdi says. “Instead of just making a showroom, we decided ‘oh, let’s put stuff in and make a retail store.’”

Today, the retail store is filled with Japanese-inspired products coupled with a studio on the second floor where Miyako teaches Ikebana lessons on Wednesdays and Sundays. Both Ferdi and Miyako had no experience running a retail store, so they faced a steep learning curve. They’ve discovered a waiting market, though. “We are happy because our performance has exceeded what we expected and the best indicator is seeing a lot of our customers coming back,” Ferdi says.

Best-selling products include ecobags designed in Japan, incense in different shapes, colours and sizes, plus green tea, brought in directly from Kyoto, Japan. The Ikebana Shop has a wide customer base. The store’s website attracts customers from around the world—Vancouver, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Europe and South America. Kids enjoy little erasers that come in the form of vegetables, fruits and animals, among others. Book selections with Japan-specific content attract men, while candles, bento boxes and cards draw women. Often, a lot of the products are purchased as gifts.

A part of the store’s great reception can be attributed to its Quinpool Road location. Home to a diverse assortment of businesses—like Egyptian, Greek and Chinese restaurants—Quinpool Road reflects the city’s growing diversity. “There’s a lot of good traffic here and there’s a lot of support from the neighborhood,” Ferdi says. “The power of word of mouth here in Halifax is very strong and that helps us a lot.”

Miyako also recalls that before opening the retail store, her students comprised a small, core group. But today, Ikebana displays inside the shop have drawn people’s attention. “A lot more have become interested in Ikebana and come to learn from me,” she says. “Recently, in every Ikebana lesson I have some new students who come in, so that’s quite nice.”

Sunny Shaffner used to work in a local grocery’s flower department. She first learned about the Ikebana Shop when Miyako purchased some flowers and talked to her about the Ikebana style of flower arrangement, piquing her interest. “I like that Miyako can share her work with Halifax because I find that a lot of her pieces have traditional Japanese influences, but at the same time, she incorporates a Nova Scotian flavor,” Shaffner explains.

Ferdi and Miyako have begun to collaborate with local Nova Scotian potters to create ceramic flower containers for Ikebana arrangements. “Nova Scotia has very talented artists,” Ferdi says. “We try to work with them to meet minimum conditions and then let their creativity fly. I’d like to be able to say that of course, we import containers from Japan, but we have local artists who are very good as well.”

“It’s the dream, but one day maybe we will export Ikebana containers to Japan made by Nova Scotian artists because they do have a different perspective on things,” Ferdi says. Mindy Moore is a Nova Scotian potter who has consigned some of her vases and tea cups for the Ikebana Shop. She has always been drawn to far eastern ceramics and the Japanese aesthetic of wabi, which hearkens back to the beauty of the irregular, asymmetrical and rustic.

“Just having that kind of a shop here is very inspiring because they appreciate my approach to clay,” she says. “Because they like my work, it’s inspiring for me to walk into that kind of space with the art that she does with flowers… They’re opening the door for Haligonians to see something that maybe some of them have never experienced or seen before. I think it’s really easy to appreciate that.”