Jennylyn Mañaga is Maarte: The Toronto Floral Artist Redefining Ikebana with Intention
Jennylyn Mañaga aka Maarte teaching a private workshop in collaboration with Club Paris in Toronto, Canada
From the Philippines to Toronto: A Creative Journey Rooted in Intention
Born in the Philippines and raised across continents from Saudi Arabia to Canada, Toronto-based floral artist Jennylyn Mañaga has built Maarte Flowers into a practice that serves an impressive range of clients: from celebrity beauty brand Rare Beauty to global fintech company Adyen, and award-winning interior design firms seeking her signature approach to ikebana. Her work isn't about abundance or decoration. It's about precision with purpose, where every vessel, stem, and seasonal material is chosen with deliberate care. In Tagalog, maarte is often used as criticism for someone who's too particular, too demanding, too much. Jennylyn has reclaimed the word as her creative philosophy, translating what was once an insult into a practice rooted in intention.
What Does Maarte Mean? Reclaiming a Word Through Flowers
Her approach to Japanese flower arranging honors the principles of ikebana: negative space, asymmetry, and the deliberate placement of each element. Unlike Western floral design that emphasizes abundance, ikebana asks different questions. What is this vessel asking for? What does this season offer? Where does negative space want to live? "It was never about arranging flowers," she explains. "It was about arranging myself." That philosophy defines everything she creates, from custom installations for brands seeking mindful aesthetics to corporate wellness workshops where teams from tech and finance learn to slow down and practice intentional decision-making through flowers. Her intimate Toronto workshops guide participants through ikebana's history, intention-setting practices, and hands-on creation with seasonal botanicals.
The Ikebana Practice: Where Tradition Meets Personal Philosophy
In a world that celebrates speed and excess, Jennylyn's work offers a different path. Her practice is resistance against overproduction, carelessness, and the pressure to constantly create without pause. She doesn't chase trends or work with out-of-season imports. Every arrangement begins with questions about meaning, materiality, and presence. It's an approach informed by her training in Japanese flower arranging, her background in digital marketing and brand strategy (she currently serves as Director of Brand, Social Media, and E-Commerce Growth at Spaces By Jacflash), and her personal journey toward being unapologetically particular. The result is work that feels alive, intentional, and impossible to ignore. Maarte Flowers proves that creativity doesn't have to be fast or abundant to be meaningful. Sometimes the most powerful work comes from restraint.
Jennylyn Mañaga modeling for Maarte’s pop up at Soho House Toronto
About Jennylyn Mañaga
Jennylyn is a Toronto-based floral artist, ikebana practitioner, and creative director. She founded Maarte Flowers and currently serves as Director of Brand, Social Media, and E-Commerce Growth at Spaces By Jacflash. Her clients include Rare Beauty, Adyen, and award-winning interior design firms. She offers intimate ikebana workshops and custom arrangements across Toronto.
