Local business brings more than just floral to events
Melissa whitler | Dallas Voice Intern
editor@dallasvoice.com
Keep Company has been providing clients with vibrant florals and beautiful event styling for the past six years. Crisman Liverman is the creative behind the business.
Liverman grew up around botanical artistry, as his father was a landscape designer. While attending the School of Visual Arts in New York, Liverman got their start arranging while working for a rooftop landscaper. He enjoyed growing cuttable flowers and then displaying them in clients’ homes.
When Liverman and his husband moved to Dallas, he began working for the florist Bows and Arrows, as well as in prop and set design. With a background in sculpture, Liverman says he really enjoys creating large installations that go beyond the traditional floral centerpiece. Plants are their own medium that can be used in so many unique ways. And he found that he loves facilitating the celebration and joy that comes with events and holidays.
So, in 2017, Liverman founded Keep Co. and started doing floral full time. The business is run by him, assisted by a textile artist who’s been on for the last three years. Independent creators are hired to meet the needs of specific clients. They really enjoy working with creatives who are passionate about their medium. Keep Co. specializes in artful florals, celebratory adornments and residential style designs. While most of the business comes from residential clients, who receive regular service in their houses that include plant scaping, botanicals, and holiday decorations, Liverman really enjoys doing weddings, especially for LGBTQ couples.
Crisman Liverman
Weddings provide a set of challenges all their own, Liverman says. They have to develop relationships with clients quickly in order to make the big day as special as possible. Wedding styling is much more comprehensive and has to adapt both to the couple’s style as well as the selected venue. However, Liverman has found that they love doing installations, making each one as unique as the couple it’s for. He also feels that providing services to queer couples can be extra stressful because expectations are so high. Because weddings for so long have felt inaccessible for LGBTQ couples, he wants to make each one that happens really count. And it’s all worth it for the high day of when setting things up. “It’s so great to see people interacting with the pieces and makes it hard to leave because you want to see people in the space,” Liverman said.
Much of Liverman’s inspiration and understanding comes from his own wedding to husband Fran. The two had a very large, untraditional celebration: a New Year’s Eve black tie cocktail party. The decorations were very art focused, with lots of painted flowers and blue hues. For Liverman, a wedding is about more than just a party, it is about merging together the couple’s lives. “The couple is the center of attention no matter what, but there’s so much more to a wedding,” Liverman says. It’s about connecting with new people and creating long-lasting relationships. Friends of one side get to meet friends from the other and create relationships outside of the couple. This is especially huge for the queer community, who are often bringing chosen families together. Liverman remembers how special that day was for him and wants all his clients to have that same joyful experience.
As a queer creative, Liverman feels that the industry needs to do more to diversify. While there is a growing market, he’s found that there aren’t a lot of LGBTQ people in the business. Even so, he hasn’t faced many issues or discrimination for being a queer florist.
Because they work for themself, they can be more selective about who they work with and take on as clients. “Planning a wedding is such a personal experience,” Liverman says, “that I want to make sure my clients and I really click. If we don’t, for whatever reason, then I won’t be able to provide them the best, and they’re better off working with someone else.” Because Keep Co. relies on word of mouth rather than advertisement, the people who find themselves coming to him have been amazing and include many allies.
One of Liverman’s favorite parts of the job is travel. While Keep Co. is based in Dallas, they have done a number of destination weddings. Liverman enjoys getting to see what other places have for materials and finds that they always discover something new. One of the most memorable is a wedding Liverman did for a friend in Bordeaux. They found the whole thing to be a lot of fun but a big learning experience. Bringing things together in a different country means not only doing a lot of work remotely, but having to understand the cultural norms. For this wedding, Liverman found that the planners there had different expectations, and he was left to figure out a lot of details once he finally arrived at the destination. But it all came together for a beautiful ceremony.
Keep Co. is a growing local business, as they will be moving into a larger studio later this year. Liverman hopes to host workshops and popups in the new space and is looking forward to the holidays, as that is their busiest time of year.
For more information or to set up an appointment you can email them at keepcodesign@gmail.com. Their website is keepcoservices.com and can be found on Instagram as @keep__co