Antonio Scaburri

Flower designer

©Sandro Rucli

©Antonio Scaburri

©Sandro Rucli

©Sandra De Feudis

Flowery fairytales

Antonio creates simple yet striking flower compositions
He loves tone-on-tone and uses herbs instead of greenery
Vases are a key element in his creations

Antonio Scaburri comes from a humble family, yet he grew up in a castle and sowed the seeds of his future as a flower designer thanks to a Countess. In fact, his father was the keeper and gardener of Marinella Terni de’ Gregorj’s country house, in northern Italy. “The Countess used to arrange a single dahlia in a small vase,” Antonio remembers. “To me, it was the most charming thing in the world. She definitely taught me about simplicity.” He learnt his craft when he was in his twenties, living in New York. Almost by chance, Antonio turned from being a waiter to a floral assistant in a luxury shop. There, he stood out at once for his tone-on-tone arrangements, so different from the colourful compositions in fashion at the time. His distinctive style was born in the early 1990s.

Interview

©Sandro Rucli

©Sandro Rucli

Are you completely self-taught in floristry?: I have never had any formal training, but I had some good masters. From my first boss, I learned that flowers are not 'just flowers' but interior design items that have to match with the rest of the decor. From then on, I never stopped learning from the world and the people I had the chance to work with.
Has your style changed much over the years?: It has evolved, but its core has remained the same. My arrangements are highly recognisable because I usually use just one kind of flower at a time, and never more than three. I use herbs like rosemary instead of greenery, and regarding colours, I prefer tone-on-tone to contrasts.
Are vases important to your arrangements?: They are a key feature. When I make a centrepiece, for example, I never use floral foam but put together several vases, different in shape and size, each one containing a small bouquet. The visual impact is gorgeous and guests no longer fight to take home the centrepiece, because everyone can simply have a piece of it.
Where do you get your inspiration from?: I like fairytales and pop-up books. Whenever I create an arrangement, be it for a wedding or an event, I listen to the request of my client, consider the location and then make up a whole story in my mind, that I want to tell through the flowers. As for the manual part of the arrangements, I do it myself. I love getting my hands dirty. After all I am a craftsman, am I not?

Antonio Scaburri is a master artisan: he began his career in 1992 and he started teaching in 2010