It's a beautiful thing when someone turns their love for a craft into a business. I remember meeting Naoko for the first time at Canal Street Market, where she was a barista at Office coffee. Her warm and loving persona sparked many conversations between us. I observed she was the same with every other vendor and customer at CSM. In particular, she would always have conversations with the florist, asking questions about the flowers and sometimes making her specific flower arrangements. Fast forward to 2020; she is now a proud owner of her floral company Kabuki.NY, with a residency at Canal Street Market. Exerting her love for the arts and design and making it work in her vision of floral arrangements. Many creative self-starters tend to have something or someone that sparked their interest in the arts. This is very much the case for Naoko; she mentioned to us, "My parents were both in the arts, my dad, a painter, and my mom a musician. So I was always surrounded by creativity, it’s in my blood. What got me into floral art, however, was the love that my grandparents shared for flowers." " I grew up around flowers, and they have always been beautiful to me, and I would look at it as an underrated art form." Naoko shared with us how she came about Kabuki.NY, which stems from her Japanese culture and the love of arts.

 Tell us about your brand and what it means? 

Kabuki.NY is the name of my brand, and Kabuki is a traditional Japanese word. It means the skill of song and dances the characters that are used. However, i changed the meaning of the word, starting with the first character Ka which means song, but i changed it to mean flower. It is now the skill to make flowers dance, i then added NY to show my New York background, but also my initials are also NY, so I'm like NY through and through. The Kabuki theatre inspires me, very bold and dramatic but at the same time minimalist and reserved as is common in Japanese aesthetic. 

When did you start Kabuki. NY?

I launched my company on July 22nd, 2020, during the pandemic. 

I know that you've worked with floral shops in the past. Would you say that the pandemic gave you some push to create your own?

Not really.  Right at the beginning of the pandemic, i was out of a job, and just like everyone else, i was scrambling to figure out what my next thing was. So i took that free time to think about what I'd like to do for my life. I have been thinking about starting my own floral design company. It just so happened that during the pandemic, i had an opportunity to do it, and i didn't think it would come so soon. in this kind of crisis, that now or never drive got me to take that step to be my boss. It feels great, so far. 

You mentioned earlier that being a florist is an underrated art form. And every artist loves it when a customer enjoys the work they've created. How would you describe that feeling?

That feels great because my favorite part of what i do is interacting with my clients and creating something they would love. I ask a series of questions when someone places an order with me. I want to know the occasion, who is the person who will be receiving the flowers?  "What's their aesthetic?" "What's their astrological sign is?"  I want to get to know the person I'm making these flowers for because i wish to make something that feels like it's really for them.

What's one of the best experiences of starting your company?

Building a customer base and getting to know my community, the brands who are around me. Working with new companies that have opened up since the pandemic. I am working with this clothing brand ONS clothing, designing their space, since July, and that's been cool. Gaining recognition and being more of a community presence has been cool. 

Love that you mentioned having a 'community presence.' Can you expand on how crucial it is for a brand owner to have that in this day and age of e-commerce and brand identity? 

I think it's essential to get to know your neighbors and other people in your community. It's vital to build those relationships and introduce yourself. It's about your brand; however, there's an importance on speaking about yourself. People want to get to know the person behind the company. And being able to work together. Especially in such trying times, that sense of camaraderie is vital. In this area of Chinatown, it is a very commercial area, and there are not many people, so the people who are left, i think it's essential to work together to support each other. And just knowing that we are there for each other.

What are some of your favorite flowers you love working on in your arrangements?

That's hard; let's see, i have three favorites right now; I love Anthuriums. i enjoy hanging amaranthus. Roses are also one of my favorites; the Nina rose, a very bright orange, neon red rose. Those are my top three. 

What advice would you give other entrepreneurs trying to tap into the floral industry? 

Develop your style; sometimes, people say things that make you doubt your intuition, don’t listen to that. I believe everyone should focus on being themselves and staying positive, and keeping that good energy flow. Whatever you desire will come to you if you keep working on it.

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