In conversation with Ojai florist Jack Crow Buckley

Ojai-based florist Jack Crow Buckley (of Crow Floral) moves easily between worlds—restaurants and weddings, friends and high-profile clients, Vogue editorials and music videos—leading floral workshops in between, with clients across LA, Montecito, Ojai, and the Santa Ynez Valley. Raised in a creative family—film, interiors, music—and growing up between New Zealand and Malibu, Jack approaches flowers with a cinematic eye, constructing arrangements like he’s building worlds or sets.

In February, we gave him full trust and no references for an installation at Jake & Jones. He built a towering piece that felt as though it had grown straight out of the California mountainside—moss at the base, twisting branches reaching upward. Sculptural, romantic, and a little wild.

Watching Jack work is mesmerizing—he’s efficient and precise, entirely at ease, and unfazed by the world around him. He makes it look easy, which I know it’s anything but. Jack is also a character—smart and unmistakably himself in his presence, his opinions, and his personal style.

I recently sat down with him in his backyard in Ojai, which doubles as his floral studio, on a warm Sunday afternoon. There, we talked Ikebana, personal style, local favorites, and even pulled a few of his favorite pieces from his closet. Enjoy!

Katie: Did you always know you wanted to be a florist? How did you get into it?

Jack: No. My dad worked in stop-motion film and TV, so I ended up in film. I worked on Robot Chicken, an Adult Swim show, doing miniatures and stop-motion design. I was pretty unhappy working in film. It was 18-hour days—really hectic and stressful. I kind of wanted to slow down again.

Then my sister’s friend Yasmin, who’s a big florist in LA, had me come do a job with her. We were on a commercial, an UGG shoot in Malibu, and I immediately was like, is this something people do for work? I couldn’t really believe it. It was so much fun.

Eventually, I just got infatuated with it. I went to France one summer, came back, and worked in a bucket shop, which is an old-school flower shop. Everything in buckets, sold by the stem. I processed roses for eight hours a day, taking all the thorns off the stems. Flowers are really physically demanding—I didn’t know that when I first started. I still love processing, it’s meditative.

I began working for my buddy Spencer (@theunlikelyflorist) and then, at some point, while I was still in LA, I started branching out on my own and met Ravi Gunewardena, an architect who worked on the Lautner Sheats-Goldstein houses and runs an incredible design firm. He’s certified in Ikebana and became a mentor to me.

That’s when I got really inspired and excited about flowers becoming my life.

What is Ikebana, and how does it shape your work?

Ikebana started in the 15th century as Buddhist altar offerings. It’s structured around three lines: heaven, man, and earth. Everything has those three angles—one to the sky, one balanced, one grounding toward the earth. Over time it became more contemporary. More avant-garde. Less altar, more art.

I studied under Ravi for two years and got certified. A lot of people claim Ikebana in the floral community, but don’t understand the history. I wanted to honor it.

Your floral work has been featured in Vogue Italy. What’s next for you creatively?

I’d like to do more large-scale production art with flowers. Building bigger environments. I just did something for World of Interiors, which was really cool.

I love editorial. I love weddings. But it would be exciting to do more immersive set design. Huge mossy builds. Making something feel like a swamp. Something like, Givenchy needing grasses down each side of the runway. Or big concerts. I have so many friends in music. Doing something big for them would be really fun.

Where are you finding inspiration right now?

To this day, my biggest inspiration color palette-wise—and honestly a huge reason I got into flowers—is Wes Anderson. Still, if I watch a Wes Anderson movie, I immediately want to make flowers. The way he puts together colors…it feels so satisfying.

How would you describe your personal style?

I’m really inspired by Robert Redford and Paul Newman. I like the idea of uniforms, something easy you can wear every day. Doing a bottom that’s kind of rugged and worn in, and then putting something super nice on top.

I could buy a $3,000 pair of Visvim boots, but instead I’ll find old Mexican cowboy rodeo boots for $60 with the soles gone, spend $100 to get them resoled, find beat-up Wranglers, and then pair that with a Bode shirt.

What are you wearing on repeat right now?

I mean, when I’m doing flowers everything gets so destroyed. I can’t always put on a Bode shirt, you know? So I think if I’m in the States, it’s cowboy-Robert Redford-adjacent: white t-shirt, good jeans, and boots. It still feels like I can be a hot boy, but get it fucking dirty. If I’m in Europe, it’s loose linen, loafers, and dress pants.

What are some of your all-time favorite pieces you own?

It’s honestly all Bode. I have a light blue and white striped Bode shirt that’s almost Sergeant Pepper-style. I love that shirt. I found these beautiful pinstripe trousers—kind of 1940s, kind of NASCAR-inspired—with a big pocket and button detail. I wear those a lot. If I’m going out, I’ll put on a dress pant and a loafer.

I have needlepoint loafers with chickens and hammerhead sharks on them. I like Olderbrother, Dehen in Portland for knits, and mostly vintage besides that.

What’s your most “out-there” piece?

One of my close friends, George Cortina, is a well-known stylist. I was doing flowers at his house one day and these cheetah print loafers were just sitting on the countertop. I was like, “What size are those?”

He goes, “I don’t know… if the shoe fits, babe.”

They did, and I took them home that day thinking, I don’t know if I could ever actually wear these. Then I thought, you know what? I’m just going to do it. So I popped out in them one night, and everyone was like, damn, these are cool.

There’s not really a casual occasion to wear cheetah slippers. But I love them.

You’ve been living in Ojai for three years. What are your favorite spots? Where can we find Jack Crow Buckley?

Rory’s Place is my friend’s restaurant, and I think it is the best restaurant in California. For me, it’s perfect. Ojai Noodle House if I want to have a cute, cozy night, like post-movie, I’ll go there and just have a bowl of ramen.

I think what’s cool about Ojai—there’s really fancy-schmancy spots that I love to go to, but there’s also Jim & Rob’s Mexican cantina, where I go probably two times a week just to get a chicken burrito and come home and be casual.

The best part of moving to Ojai, for me, was being able to actually be in nature. And with what I do, my clientele, it just makes sense. It’s my favorite place on earth.

In Santa Barbara, Elsie’s is my go-to bar spot. Merci in Montecito—that café is so fucking good. They have a chicken paillard that’s amazing.

I go to The Eddy to get a Ghia, or any kind of little snacky thing. The vibe is so good. They have a really good natty wine selection, too.

The El Encanto, and The Riviera Theater is probably my favorite theater on earth. Coming outside after a movie, smoking a cigarette, looking at that sunset…And for vintage, Thrifty Beaches on State Street. Insane coats and pieces for nothing. Hot tip.

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A big thank you to Jack for inviting us into his home and letting me poke through his closet. We are missing his florals in the shop already!