ALL GOOD FLOWERS, a new flower select shop, will be opening on the first floor Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building following a major remodel on Wednesday, February 16th. Ahead of the opening of this challenging new store, which even seems to have the potential to expand the role and conception of department stores, we were able to conduct a joint interview with two key figures: Ken Kusatake, the representative of ALL GOOD FLOWERS, and Keisuke Nakamura of DAIKEI MILLS, who handled the interior design of the store. They spoke passionately about the significance of opening a store in a large-scale retail store that mainly focuses on fashion, the crucial differences from existing flower shops, and the thoughts behind this new endeavor.

The encounter between ALL GOOD FLOWERS and DAIKEI MILLS

ALL GOOD FLOWERS opened in 2018 as a select flower shop adjacent to the green shop "SOLSO FARM" within "SHARE GREEN MINAMI AOYAMA," a complex in the heart of Tokyo's Aoyama district where cafes, shops, and co-working spaces coexist, proposing a lush green "PARK LIFESTYLE." Based on the theme of "a comfortable life with flowers," it is a popular spot that presents seasonal flowers in a stylish way, along with materials for arranging them, and also sells original goods and vases.


ALL GOOD FLOWERS' first standalone store is opening at Isetan Men's.
The interior design was handled by Keisuke Nakamura, the representative of DAIKEI MILLS, known for projects such as "SKWAT." He is a rising architect who has created numerous masterpieces of "space," including CIBONE and the new avex headquarters, with a sincere approach to space and its purpose, and a design that gently connects sculptural forms with simple planes. The interview took place when Ken Kusatake of ALL GOOD FLOWERS visited Keisuke Nakamura at DAIKEI MILLS.

Ken Kusatake (hereinafter Kusatake) : Actually, we've received requests to open stores not only from Isetan, but from various fashion buildings as well. However, due to staffing and timing issues, we've been continuously turning them down... But this time, various factors came together nicely, so we've decided to take on the challenge of opening a permanent store.
In pop-ups and similar events, both the venue staff and customers are looking for something that reflects our unique style. That's why we don't change our style to suit the location, but this time it's a permanent installation. Moreover, it's at Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building , so we wanted to create a store that was truly mindful of that setting.


That's where Keisuke Nakamura of DAIKEI MILLS came in.

Keisuke Nakamura (hereinafter Nakamura) : I was introduced to it by Taichi Saito of 'SOLSO', a mutual acquaintance. 'SHARE GREEN MINAMI AOYAMA' is just within walking distance from my home, and it's a nice place where I can buy plants, have a light meal, and then have a coffee. Plus, it's not crowded on weekdays, so I used to go there quite often. And within that, 'ALL GOOD FLOWERS' blended in so naturally with the whole facility. It was a shop that didn't feel out of place in a good way.

Nakamura was impressed by Kusatake's sincere attitude and personality, which came across even over the phone, and also by his interest in the flower shop project, something he had never worked on before, so he readily accepted the request on the spot.

Nakamura : That's pretty much how I feel. I don't really care about money or anything like that; I just decide based on whether it seems like we can do something interesting and whether the other person seems like a nice person. If they show me their company profile or something, it actually turns me off... (laughs).


Kusatake : That's right. We didn't have much leeway in our schedule, and I felt like I had no choice but to ask him (laughs). Actually, we have a lot of projects lined up for next year, and I wanted to ask Mr. Nakamura to handle all of them consistently. I asked him to take a long-term perspective and... I really wanted him to do it!

Nakamura : Yes. I decided it right then and there (laughs).

The concept is to "re-examine how we interact with flowers."

The ideal team-up was achieved. So, what concept did Kusatake-san come up with, and what ideas and designs did Nakamura-san respond with?

Kusatake : All I told them was, "Please don't worry about it being a 'flower shop'." Think of it like dealing with fashion, general goods, or interior design... In short, please don't think of it as "creating a new kind of flower shop."

Nakamura : I think that even before the pandemic, many things in the world were already saturated. That's why many of my clients, not just Mr. Kusatake, are thinking about "breaking down preconceived notions."
On the other hand, we pride ourselves on our ability to make proposals that "break down preconceived notions." We don't necessarily create anything completely outlandish, but rather we excel at creating things that feel familiar yet slightly unsettling.
I felt that the request from Mr. Kusatake was a fun project in that sense. After all, I really like flower shops as a form of content.


What kind of flower shop is it that "breaks down conventional ideas"?

Nakamura : I try to step away from the image of a "florist" for a while. I'm still a florist, but I stop handling flowers, so to speak... In short, it's a collection of ways to reconcile contradictory things.

Of course, it's impossible to give shape to every contradiction, so they had to focus on certain points. They started by reviewing the actions of the florist staff, the way the flowers were arranged, and the materials used in the interior design.

Nakamura : But I realized that simply changing the style with such superficial tactics wouldn't work. That's not right. I realized that no matter how far we went, it would just end up being a shop that wasn't "like a flower shop." At that moment, a question suddenly popped into my head about the "origin" of flowers: "How do we interact with flowers in our daily lives?" And what I finally arrived at was the fact that I walk past flowerbeds almost every day.

Indeed, flowerbeds are found everywhere, not only in parks and green spaces, but also in front of train stations, at the entrances to shopping streets, and in the common areas of apartment buildings. We see them every day, yet we often don't consciously think about them; they are a very familiar way of interacting with flowers.

Nakamura : Originally, flower shops pick flowers from flowerbeds, put them in water, and then display them on a table for sale. If we could reverse that process and reverse the timeline, it would create the most primitive, "original" scene. In other words, if we could bring the state of flowers blooming profusely in a flowerbed into the shop, nothing could be more unnatural and yet natural for a flower shop. I think that's what the fusion of déjà vu and incongruity is all about.


What Nakamura was most particular about was not the design or style, but the perspective.

Nakamura : When you try to design something, you inevitably end up using superficial techniques. I realized the importance of having a "perspective"—what looks good in everyday life and what creates a pleasant sense of incongruity. What we should be doing with this shop isn't creating a new style of flower shop, but rather "rethinking how we interact with flowers."

If you see flowers blooming in a flowerbed, it's a perfectly natural and familiar sight. But what if it were inside a flower shop? Or inside a department store? That would be a strange kind of déjà vu; it would be fair to call it a flower shop that "breaks down preconceived notions."

The way a flowerbed is arranged reflects the way a florist operates.

Nakamura : In most flower shops, customer service is done across the counter. So the staff and customers are face-to-face. But face-to-face interaction can be embarrassing, and many people are uncomfortable with it. If you think about it that way, even in a flower shop, it would be less psychologically daunting if customers could choose flowers together, like picking them side-by-side with the staff. If you're side-by-side, you can see things from the same "perspective," and I think the distance feels just right.


There are other points that make this shop look like a flower shop, but not quite a flower shop. The flowerbeds in this shop are surrounded by black-painted wooden beams, and the walls are also uniformly black. This choice was made with the environment of the Isetan Men's store in mind, in order to maximize the presence of the flowers, which are the main attraction.

Nakamura : Looking around the floor, I noticed that a lot of steel was used on the exterior, creating a strong, cold atmosphere and a dazzling worldview. To create a sense of "discomfort," I first thought about eliminating the shop's own colors. So, rather than using black for aesthetic reasons, I used black to "erase color." On top of that, I intended for the beautiful colors of the various flowers to stand out even more against the blank background of black.


Recreating an outdoor flowerbed directly inside a store might seem "outlandish." However, Nakamura expresses the flowerbed by simply arranging 90mm square black solid wood planks. This demonstrates a modern approach to flowerbeds, especially relevant in today's era. But its true brilliance lies in the surprising expandability implemented in both its design and functionality.

Nakamura : The wooden beams around the flowerbed are fixed in place, but we've also designed it so that the beams fit snugly into the area where the flowers are placed, without any gaps. By making the entire surface flat, it can also be used as a bench. The amount of flowers varies from day to day and from season to season. You could arrange the flowerbed so that people can sit on it like a bench and use it as a place for communication. I think it could also be a nice resting place for other tenants (laughs).

Even if it were to be removed, since it's just a collection of small pieces (lumber), it can be easily moved and reused.

Nakamura : This time we used lumber as the material for the flower bed, but what I was particular about wasn't the "material" itself. It was the "way" the flower bed should be.

The difference between SHARE GREEN MINAMI AOYAMA and Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building

The Aoyama store is located in a complex surrounded by nature, while the Isetan Shinjuku store is opening in the "hall of fame for men's fashion." We asked Mr. Kusatake about his thoughts on what kind of differences he intends to create with these two ALL GOOD FLOWERS stores, which are vastly different in terms of location and the character of the buildings they are located in.

Kusatake : The Aoyama store, given its location, attracts many young women and couples, so roughly speaking, the Aoyama store is geared towards women, while the Isetan Shinjuku store is geared towards men. We also plan to stock items other than flowers that men will find appealing.
However, looking at pop-ups and such, there are a lot of female customers, so the "for men" aspect is more of an underlying theme, I guess (laughs).

In the case of the Aoyama store, houseplants are handled by the adjacent SOLSO PARK, and are not offered under the ALL GOOD FLOWERS brand. Another major difference is that the Isetan Shinjuku store carries not only cut flowers but also plants. However, there are also similarities.

Kusatake : I think it takes courage to enter a flower shop, especially for men. That's why the doors to our Aoyama store are always left open. The area in front of the store is like a park, so we make sure that people can freely wander around. Although our Isetan Shinjuku store is inside the building, it's in a place where many people pass by, so we wanted to give it a similar sense of openness.





One of the main reasons Mr. Kusatake was drawn to the idea of a flower bed was its ease of movement and circulation.

Kusatake : If we put up a counter, the flow of customers would stop there, so to speak. I think that if we don't have a counter like that, it will be easier for customers to buy and feel closer to the store.
When flowers look beautiful, you feel good in that space. And when you think about why it feels good, isn't it because of the flowers? So, you might as well buy some flowers (laughs). I think Mr. Nakamura had a different approach; he wasn't thinking about how to "sell" flowers, but how to "make people want to buy" them.


A standalone flower shop only needs to attract customers looking for flowers. But this time, it's a shop inside a large facility like Isetan Shinjuku. Even if someone's purpose wasn't to buy flowers, they might stumble upon it while passing by. The pleasant space created by the flowers makes people want to buy flowers even if they didn't come specifically to buy them. It's possible to tap into that kind of latent demand.

Nakamura : It's located on the first floor, facing the corridor, so it's a place with a lot of foot traffic. I think creating a situation where such "encounters" can happen is the right way for this space to be.
Earlier, I mentioned that the world as a whole is saturated, and I think the act of selling things is also completely saturated. In other words, people are becoming stifled by the overly rational approach to selling things. We are entering an era where there is a demand for something that can break away from this situation and offer a sense of refreshing unfamiliarity.


Nakamura says that in times like these, the most important thing is "experience."

Nakamura: I think it all comes down to how to create "experiences" that enrich the soul.
Even if the flowers don't sell on the spot, I think this scenery and experience will leave a lasting impression. They might happen to encounter ALL GOOD FLOWERS again in a different location and think, "Oh, that's right," and buy some. It might not be the fastest business approach, but I believe this is the way things should be sold in the future. It's more sustainable and long-lasting than traditional methods, and I think it's what makes people happier.

The luxurious comfort of a life with flowers.

Nakamura : Just like with the flowerbed story, it's about creating things that make people feel good, or that make them feel nice, or that make them happy. I think everyone is starting to reaffirm that we need to create those fundamental feelings. In that sense, it's becoming important how much oxygen the space itself can breathe. If we don't mix in things that have lived for a long time, like plants and vintage items, instead of just new and flashy things, the space will suffocate (laughs).



Kusatake : That's certainly true. I'm not particularly interested in "new ways of presenting things" to begin with, and I don't think this is particularly groundbreaking. I have absolutely no intention of saying, "Come because this is a new way of selling." Rather than wanting to sell flowers, I just want people to have fun (laughs).
We want to do something interesting, create a fun space, and on top of that, we hope it will lead to customers thinking, "Plants are nice, flowers are nice." Whether it's young people or grandparents, it would be great if people who come into Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building just pass through the flowerbeds.

Isetan Men's has long been a place that offers the finest luxury for men. However, with the arrival of ALL GOOD FLOWERS, it may be evolving into a place that transcends genre, gender, and generation, proposing a new kind of luxury and a truly rich way of life that is appropriate for the present age.


[Related Articles]・Delivery service for seasonal flowers has also started! We asked the owner of ALL GOOD FLOWERS how to incorporate flowers into your daily life in a stylish way.