“How do you start your very first blog post?”
This is the big question I’m hopelessly asking myself right now.
To set the scene, I’ve just got home after walking Fiver (my rescue greyhound companion - for those who may not be aware) and I think the frosty temperatures have frozen my thoughts. I’ve got a huge blanket wrapped around me and I’m sitting beside the fire as I write this - neither are doing much to help defrost my mind though. I’ve even put my playlist on with the hope that my favourite songs will inspire me somehow… but I’ve accidentally given my brain an easy gateway to the land of procrastination instead. Fiver is fast asleep beside me; there’s not a single thought in his brain and he doesn’t need to worry about sounding articulate and intelligent enough to make a good first impression. He doesn’t know how lucky he is…
I guess I should introduce myself and talk a bit about my art, so if you’re somehow still invested in reading this…
Hello! My name is Merlyn and I’m the - rather frozen - brains behind this website, artwork and Fox & Fiver itself!
Fox & Fiver is my passion project of sorts, something I’ve been doing for a few years as a means of giving myself some sort of purpose in life. You may actually remember Fox & Fiver by its previous two names - “Agaric Rabbit Design” and “Bezillustration”. I’ve changed my business name (and logo) more times than I’d like to admit. What can I say? I’m an incredibly self-critical person and I always seem to dislike my decisions at some point down the line! Having said that, I think (and I most certainly hope) I’ve officially settled on “Fox & Fiver”, and overall I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished in the last five and a half years, even if some of those years were under completely different business names.
Speaking of which, five and a half years! How has the time flown so fast? I actually started my art business during the first lockdown of 2020. My A-Levels had just been cut short and I didn’t have a clue what to do with all the free time I’d suddenly been given. A year prior, I’d been set on going to the University of Sheffield with the intention of studying zoology and I was putting so much pressure on myself to do well in my exams. One year on, and the entire world felt like it had come to a standstill; I’m sure I wasn’t the only one left feeling confused and hopeless. However, the pandemic wasn’t the only thing to blame for my aspirations crumbling, my dreams had also naturally followed in the footsteps of my withering mental health. I was in a really bad place at the time - the word “burnout” comes to mind - and my university plans were over before they could even begin, admittedly long before coronavirus was even a concern. As I’ve always done in difficult times, I turned my focus towards my art; I find it’s the best way to keep my mind occupied, after all.
Some examples of my older work (illustrated in 2021)
Initially, I designed several illustrations, all of which were animal themed, and sold them in the form of prints and greetings cards. After about a year or so of illustrating and selling random animal designs, I discovered my passion for animal rights and this soon became the main niche of my artwork. I was familiar with a lot of animal rights based issues already, but I quickly realised there’s far more to animal welfare than what you may think. Unfortunately, there’s far too many instances where humans treat animals as something beneath us. It wasn’t only a turning point in my artwork, but a turning point in my own actual mind - at one point, I too had once been one of those humans who’d begrudgingly overlooked a lot of animal welfare issues, simply because it was easier to remain ignorant than think too much about it - even despite claiming to be an animal lover for my entire life!
I decided that I couldn’t be a hypocrite anymore - if I claim to love animals, then I ought to prove it - and now I use my artwork as a means of educating others on animal welfare issues, many of which a lot of people aren’t aware of. This niche has given me a purpose in life, for without humans to speak up on their behalf, animals will continue to be exploited for human benefit, greed, gain and profit. I want to live in a world where animals are loved and protected - so that is what I use my work to fight for.
Examples of my first ever animal rights designs (2021)
Being an animal rights artist and activist has given me a lot of incredible opportunities over the last few years - showcasing and selling my artwork at various vegan fairs (including Vegan Camp Out’s first ever art gallery in 2024!), meeting so many amazing like-minded people, and not to forget rescuing my wonderful greyhound companion… which has somehow led to me being asked to illustrate a book about greyhounds (more on that in the near future)! Just to name a few examples.
About a year ago, I decided to take a break from selling my work. Sometimes when you mix your hobbies with consumerism, it leaves you completely unmotivated and it can easily steal away all your enjoyment of it. At the time, I just didn’t have the drive to create anymore and I missed illustrating for my own enjoyment. I decided to temporarily close my shop, focus on my other hobbies for a short while because I needed a complete break from art, reset my passion for illustration and continue creating if and when I felt up to it, and only consider selling my art again when I felt ready to.
Well, here we go… Fox & Fiver, rising from the ashes of burnout and art-block!
Over the last few weeks, I’ve worked incredibly hard to get this website set up; it’s been a rather complex achievement and while I was given lots of advice, support and help from others (which I’m super grateful for!), I had to physically do it all on my own, which definitely isn’t easy. Having said that, I think I’m proud of what I’ve managed to create, bearing in mind I knew nothing of website designing and building beforehand.
Admittedly, I’m a very tiny art business - so tiny that I can’t even say I make a proper living off what I do (although that is the dream one day). Building a website takes a lot of resources, whether it be finances, energy, motivation and/or care. My main goal for setting up this website was to have somewhere to document my art and a place to write blogs, such as this very one. Selling my work along this is a bonus, although I really am so very grateful for every single purchase, no matter how small. Either way, I really hope this is the start of something positive and purposeful for me, and I really hope you’ll be able to follow me along on the journey!
So, that’s all I’ve got for today. I hope you’ve enjoyed my little (or rather lengthy) blogging introduction. I’ll leave you with a little photo of the two introverts behind Fox & Fiver - the brains and the heart!
Thank you so much for reading!
-Merlyn (Fox & Fiver) :)
Next Blog: “Celebrating Fiver’s 2nd Gotcha Day!” - 28th November 2025