Daniel Santamaria

Flower designer

©Mika Lin

©Marcin Chrusciel

Creating contrasts

Daniel has been working with flowers for over 32 years
He draws inspiration from architecture and nature
He’s the creative director of the prestigious Barcelona floral art school

They say you never forget your first: that’s certainly true for Daniel Santamaría, well-known floral artisan from Spain and creative director at the Escola Disseny Floral I Paisatgisme de Barcelona, the floral art and landscaping school of the city. He started working with flowers aged 14 as an errand boy in a florist’s shop where he helped selling Christmas trees. But he still remembers the turning points of his career: "My first course as a teacher, my first competition, my first demonstration, my first international trip, my first book, my first shop, especially my silver medal in the 2003 European Cup. And of course my first arrangement: it was a bouquet of 35 red tulips and it looked really... bad!"

Interview

©Mika Lin

What’s your background and training?: My vocation for floristry dates back to my childhood, when I used to help my grandmother to tend her garden. At 16, I entered the Escuela de Diseño Floral for three years, then I attended several courses with Spanish and international teachers – which I still do nowadays, from time to time.
Is teaching an important part of your job?: It’s my passion. I love transmitting my knowledge, explaining about my creative process and giving the students the necessary tools to solve the problems they may encounter when creating a piece. Teaching also gives me motivation to develop my floral design.
What’s the source of inspiration for your art?: I have many, the most important is architecture, followed by nature, art history, interior design, cinema and fashion. Knowledge across different fields is crucial. On the other hand, floristry is also emotional. That’s why, even if I have favourite flowers and materials, I choose them day by day.
How would you define your style?: Being influenced by all the cultures I’ve been fortunate enough to know, I work with contrasts: I bring together architectural forms with a lot of visual strength and very elegant, light, romantic and ethereal elements. The fusion of these worlds results in unique floral pieces.

Daniel Santamaria is a master artisan: he began his career in 1992 and he started teaching in 1997