She studied at the same artistic academy as the famous designer Kenzo. Mrs. Asayama is a well known designer and flower design teacher, with her own atelier Floramor in Tokyo. Here she creates a platform whereby the Japanese market meets the works of foreign designers in the articles she publishes in Japanese floral magazines. On top of that she is also the author of the floral best seller Moss Work. Schreurs is always delighted to welcome Mrs. Kazuyo Asayama frequently at our show greenhouse and hybridize department and we are proud that she favors Schreurs rose varieties!

Mrs. Kazuyo Asayama with the promising new Schreurs variety Angelina!®. This is the new Rote-Rose!.

Mrs. Kazuyo Asayama making an arrangement with the Schreurs? rose variety Aqua!® and Gerbera Kimsey® These varieties are well known in Japan and/or her preferred new cultivars. Also in this newsletter there are pictures of beautiful arrangements made by Mrs. Kazuyo Asayama using the Schreurs variety Aqua!®.

The story of my career goes back to about 28 years ago, when I was working in a flower shop. I remember that I used to dislike carnations, but one day during a visit at a breeding company I saw carnations of such wonderful colors and at that moment forgot about my dislike for carnations! I just thought it would be wonderful if I could use them in my arrangements. Form then on I was convinced that there are many people like me; people who might change their opinions and hold different perceptions once they see more and diverse varieties.

So, when I worked as an overseas representative for an import company in Holland, I visited many growers and breeders and tried to update the Japanese market with the latest developments. On my return to Japan, I started my own company and continued to provide the industry with the latest information. I received many invitations to make speeches, do demonstrations and give lessons, etc. Furthermore, many Japanese growers came to me to seek information about new varieties, so this led me to start getting involved in the importation of new varieties.

I also organize frequent study trips for Japanese growers and florists to The Netherlands and Ecuador. As I undertake this I mainly focus on carnations and roses. Especially roses: since they have immense popularity in Japan.

An important reason for all my activities is that I want to discover all beautiful flowers in the world - before any one else does! I enjoy promoting the flowers I am fond of. I feel happy having these new flowers in my work and I think there will be many people who share my feelings, which is why I keep doing these activities.

I am very interested in breeders. I often wonder what kind of people create such beautiful flowers. So, in future, I would like to meet more breeders. I met a lot of people doing promotion and sales, but I rarely meet the breeders. I think it will be very interesting to talk with them and know how they think. I believe that this will broaden my view. Japanese growers do not have direct access to the latest developments in breeding and I think it is a pity to see many new varieties disappear before growers and florists even had the chance to know them! Therefore I make a point of visiting breeders, collecting information on new varieties and updating our domestic growers with the information that I receive. Of course breeders usually have their own agents in Japan to promote their varieties; but I am trying to provide the growers with different ideas from the points of view of the users and/or retailers. For this newsletter we asked Mrs. Kazuyo Asayama to tell us about her work and interests.
For more information about Mrs. Asayama visit www.floramor.co.jp