At the very border of Tallinn, fifteen minutes from the center, stands a two-story wooden house of unpretentious architecture and, at first glance, an indefinite destination. Taiwo School - as it is called by everyone who has heard of it or has ever been there. The ground floor windows, frosty in any weather, and chairs from raw thick branches standing at the entrance, unobtrusively hint that something unusual is waiting for you inside. And indeed, crossing the threshold, you find yourself in the showroom of products, or rather, the beauty created by Taiwo Piller and the Norwegian florist and designer Linda Jochnsen. This is what Taiwo calls the "generator of ideas" and unconditionally gives her primacy in the creative tandem. Plastic pots and vases with "torn" edges, metal accessories, artificial flowers - all of these designer models are made according to their designs and sketches and are popular not only in the Baltic countries, but also among Russian companies that follow innovations and trends in this field. The second floor is reserved for the classroom. The legs of the tables are made from the same raw branches as the chairs at the entrance, the board tops are painted in the same color as the floor. And suddenly a light shock: in the corner a very solidly made and even pretty, but still a coffin. “Ah, this is a tutorial - we have the theme“ Mourning Floristics ”in the timetable,” explains Taivo with an unabashed smile and characteristic Estonian accent, and the presence of such a gloomy subject begins to seem quite common. moments of my creative biography. ”For the first time I consciously looked at flowers at the age of fourteen. We always grew them in the garden, and I wanted to make a bouquet to put in the house. Now it’s hard to remember how it looked, but since then to the flowers I have not stopped. - And your first steps to the profession, because when you were studying, such “was not on the lists”? What were your landmarks? - After the eighth grade, I entered the agricultural technical school and studied as an agronomist. There we had a flower circle, so we called it, and at first I began to participate in internal competitions, then in district ones, and always was somewhere in the top three. In the third year I decided to get a specialty as a graphic artist, then I met a teacher of ikebana, which, I believe, gave me a lot for the future. And, oddly enough, I was lucky in the army. I served in Vladimir, was a photographer and led a circle on the arrangement for the wives of officers. - So you have been professionally trained in the army for two years. Did you ever hold a weapon in your hands? - Yes, yes, I went on a tank, I'm a tanker ... Even six months before the end of the service I received a letter from my teacher of ikebana. She wrote that there is an opportunity to go to study floristics in Finland. Then, already in the army, I began to learn Finnish. - How much time did you study in Finland? - First, one year in a highly specialized school of florists, where a lot of time was devoted to learning how to organize your business. Then I stayed in Finland for two years, while attending various courses, workshops of European and Scandinavian florists. When I returned to Estonia, I immediately organized a school and began teaching myself. - And which of the florists do you consider the most authoritative? - The most important and most important for me was studying with Linda Jochnsen. And now, but in my opinion, there are two of the most powerful florists in the world - she and Daniel Ost. - Do you see the difference between the Scandinavian and European schools of floristics? - Basically, no. The only difference is that different countries have different cultures and climates. Small people are always more modest, hence the minimalism in the choice of material, and the modesty of the color scale, conciseness in the works. Plus a calm northern temperament. - I was told that you built the building with your own hands, walked all in cement, in paint ... Is that true? - Yes. It is not so difficult. The design of the house is just a big Lego. Of course, at first there wasn’t even thought about building. My companion, Martha Haber, and I chose a ready-made building, but none of them fit us by area, light, or location. Then they chose this path. - Artificial flowers - for you business or creativity? - Both. I never thought it was so interesting to work with artificial flowers. Many florists are biased towards them, compared to live ones, but this is a completely different material. But of course, they should be used skillfully, at the right time and in the right place. And it is desirable to combine with natural (dry) to add life. - And what is more important for you: to teach, to design accessories or to do floristic works? - and the one and the other, and the third, I am glad about everything that I have to do. - After the fifth place at the European Cup in Austria in 1999, would you like to participate somewhere else or was it the top? - I don’t really like to participate in contests. I prefer exhibitions, because you are not limited by time, size and themes. I love such laconic works, but for the competition they are not complex and large enough. They do not fit the criteria by which the jury evaluates. And first of all it is important for me to express my feelings, character, emotions in the works, to show them to the audience, and the main thing is that these works please me myself. I love to do that.
Passing the gallery 
