Ilse Beunen lived in Japan from 1989 to 2000, where she studied Japanese garden design and ikebana. After returning to Belgium, she founded her own ikebana school in Antwerp. She has served as the president of the Belgian Sogetsu Azalea study group and received the prestigious Akane Teshigahara foreign award on the occasion of the 90th anniversary. Through social media, she works diligently to teach and raise awareness of ikebana around the world.