Fox and the Forest started in December of 2015 as a vehicle to sell a skin serum - a "potion" that I'd been making and using for myself after receiving lots of compliments when giving it as a gift to friends and family. I decided to market it, and sell it to support my small little woodland farm of misfit rescue animals. From there I created a few key skincare staples for sensitive skin, that used fair trade, sustainable ingredients. The next year, I saw an opportunity to help other women makers achieve exposure through this website, and partnered with various other women to make this site a virtual marketplace for their goods as well. It was a pretty successful little virtual community of women supporting each other and I made a bit of extra money and lots of new friends across the nation. It started as a fun side hustle that helped me support the animal non-profits I volunteered with. 

When the spring of 2020 came around it changed everything. Small businesses suffered everywhere. A lot of the businesses I partnered with either went on hiatus or closed altogether, so things slowed down here a good bit and in late 2021, I abruptly lost my primary form of income - a professional management job I held for over 20 years. This job funded and paid for the house and the farm. I had no choice but to hit the ground running, and I needed to figure out a way to hustle for myself, all the animals, and not lose everything. 
I dove deep into my roots and back in time to my high school days of thrifting and finding wearable treasures to resale that also support a sustainable lifestyle by recycling clothing. 

Then, with more time on my hands and the need for more money for daily animal needs and farm maintenance, I dove into an old pastime - photography. A few weddings here and there and some marketing photoshoots helped keep the farm afloat. For Christmas gifts in 2021 (and zero dollars to spend on them), I started experimenting with sheet metal and wood, and decided to create small mounted prints of my own photos. Some were of other people's pets. Some were of people. Some were just beautiful scenes from the farm. I posted these little projects on social media, explaining how I did them, and after lots of compliments and requests for sales, I took a leap of faith and decided to go all in and start selling these in June 2022. 


The things sold on this website keep this farm and her residents happy and healthy. Vintage clothing, fair trade, and handmade small-batch skincare, and these images of things from the farm that I put so much love into…..


100% of every single purchase directly benefits lots of creatures, either here on the farm, or at the local county pound where I volunteer and give dogs respite with days out of the shelter and on the serene farm with experiences some have never had. 
Many thanks for your support! I am forever grateful for it! 


xo,
Sandice 

aka the Frugal Fashionable Farmer

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