We were lucky to catch up with Kasey Riley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kasey, appreciate you joining us today. Taking care of customers isn’t just good business – it is often one of the main reasons folks went into business in the first place. So, we’d love to get a conversation going around how to best help clients feel appreciated – maybe you can share something you’ve done or seen someone do that’s been really effective at helping a customer feel valued?

The Fat Plant Society will celebrate a decade in business in April of 2026.
Rather than extol ourselves and the work we have done, we will celebrate by highlighting the wonderful people and businesses that have inspired us, supported us, and collaborated with us.
One of the most impactful and wonderful customer stories (and experiences) we have had was with Elizabeth Rosin of Rosin Preservation (now Heritage Consulting Group), who needed to move to a new workspace. Because the new space had so many windows, Elizabeth could not bring all of the moss frames we created for her to the new space. Elizabeth asked us if we knew of an organization to which she could donate, and without hesitation, we facilitated the donation of multiple moss frames to Amethyst Place, a long-term, supportive housing program for women and their children. Amethyst Place offers a holistic model of care that includes housing, therapy, and empowerment services to break the cycle of poverty, trauma, and addiction. We played such a minor role in this generous story by simply facilitating (and delivering) the moss frames to Amethyst Place.
We applaud both Elizabeth Rosin for her generosity and Amethyst Place for their important and impactful mission.

Kasey, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Based in Kansas City, The Fat Plant Society is a biophilic design studio that bridges the gap between the rugged beauty of nature and the modern built environment.

Our Roots: How We Got Started
The Fat Plant Society was born out of a genuine obsession with the resilience and geometric beauty of plant life (hence the “Fat Plant” name) and a desire to bring the outdoors in—without the stress of maintenance.

Our founder, Morten Klinte, combined a background in design and a passion for greenery to solve a common urban problem: people love plants, but not everyone has the light, time, or “green thumb” required to keep them thriving in an office or a windowless room. We moved from selling individual succulents to designing massive, custom moss walls and architectural greenery that transformed how Kansas City businesses felt and breathed.

What We Create
We specialize in Biophilic Design. This isn’t just “decorating with plants”; it’s the practice of connecting humans to nature within the structures we inhabit. Our primary offerings include:

Preserved Moss Walls: Using real, sustainably harvested Reindeer, Pillow, and Sheet moss that has been rendered dormant to maintain its color and texture for years—with zero water, light, or soil required. Our first designs, created in 2016, are as green today as they were the day we created them.

Acoustic Solutions: Because moss is naturally porous, our installations double as beautiful sound-dampening panels. Real, dormant moss absorbs 90% of high-voice frequencies and removes echoes.

The Problem We Solve
We solve the “Gray Space” problem. Most modern offices and homes are filled with hard angles, glass, and concrete. This can lead to fatigue and decreased productivity. We provide:

Low-Maintenance Greenery: We give you the visual and psychological benefits of nature without the “plant guilt” of dying leaves.

Wellness Integration: We help businesses meet WELL Building Standards by improving the sensory experience of a room.

Space Identity: We turn a boring lobby or conference room into a landmark that people remember and talk about.

What Sets Us Apart
We aren’t a typical florist or a landscaping crew. We are artists and installers. * Customization: We don’t do “off the shelf.” Every moss wall we create is a bespoke piece of art, often incorporating brand logos, wood, or neon.

Longevity: Our preservation process is a science. We ensure that our “Fat Plants” look as vibrant in year ten as they did on day one.

KC Pride: Being based in Kansas City, we bring a Midwestern work ethic to high-end design. We are deeply connected to the local maker community.

What We Are Most Proud Of
We are most proud of our ability to change the energy of a room. There is a specific look on a client’s face when they walk into a previously sterile office and see a 20-foot vibrant green moss installation. We’ve helped local tech startups feel more human and helped healthcare facilities feel more healing.

What We Want You to Know
If there is one thing to take away from The Fat Plant Society, it’s this:
Nature is not a luxury; it’s a necessity.
We are here to make the transition to nature inside, nature always, seamless, beautiful, and permanent

How’d you meet your business partner?

The story of how I met my business partner is also the story of how I met my husband.
We met and married, having only spent a couple of weeks together.
I was living in Beijing, China, and Morten was living in his home city of Copenhagen, Denmark. We were both the “friends of friends” and met on Tioman Island, Malaysia. Morten asked me to marry him after just 24 hours. I laughed. Then I visited him in Copenhagen, and at the end of that week, he asked me to marry him again.
Again, I laughed. But on the plane ride back to Beijing, it hit me that if I did not say yes, I would risk a lifetime regret.
I said yes, and we were married in Clear Lake, Iowa, that summer.

We then had the pleasure of working together and/or collaborating on projects for three different organizations before we founded The Fat Plant Society together.

We will celebrate 10 years of business ownership in April.

We will celebrate 29 years of marriage in July.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

We are both avid readers and lifelong learners and when we founded The Fat Plant Society, there was not a lot of information on biophilic design so we sought out the founders of the movement and highly recommend the books and essays of E.O. Wilson, Stephen Kellert, and Bill Browning all of whom have written volumes about the human need for and connection to nature and how our environments impact our wellbeing, every day, wherever we are.

We also recommend the work of Robin Wall Kimmerer (:Braiding Sweetgrass”, “Gathering Moss”, et. al.), Zoë Schlanger’s 2024 book, “The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth,” and Marc G. Berman’s 2025 book, “Nature and the Mind: The Science of How Nature Improves Cognitive, Physical, and Social Well-Being.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://fatplantsociety.com
• Instagram: @thefatplantsociety
• Facebook: @thefatplantsociety
• Linkedin: @thefatplantsociety
• Youtube: @thefatplantsociety

Image Credits

Photo of Kasey L Riley in downtown Kansas City with moss in hand is credited to Kyle Gammon of PeaceOneLovePhoto.

All other photos were taken by Kasey L Riley or Morten Klinte, owners of The Fat Plant Society and Fat Plant Society moss walls and designs. All of the featured photos are from the Kansas City area (though we have installations across the United States and Canada).