First they bought Rockefeller Center. Then they consumed MGM. Now, the masters of Ikebana recently stopped at Jason-Richards on West Chicago Avenue to learn a bit about the fine art of flower arranging, American style.
”Japan is internationally known for its floral arranging, and they`re traveling how many thousand miles?” asks a flattered but befuddled Richard Cyrnek, partner at Jason-Richards, who played host to the owner and two employees of Hanahiro Florist, a third-generation business in Tokyo.
Two years ago, Hanahiro`s owner, Hiroyoshi Hosonuma, bumped into Jason-Richards` artistry while staying in a downtown hotel. Impressed, he and his companions ambled over to the shop.
”They spent about an hour here then,” Cyrnek explains of the East-meets-West encounter. ”They`ve since started referring to us as their sister stores.”
It wasn`t all business, however. Cyrnek took his visitors to White Castle for sliders.
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”Everyone expected me to take them to a sushi bar. That`s like us going to the McDonald`s on Via Veneto.”