decorative strip - changing border liquid
  • Man riding a unicycle through a graveyard, black-and-white foreground with blue sky and rainbow background.
    formative years
  • Man standing barefoot on a porch’s top step around Halloween, wearing lederhosen and a fedora, legs confidently apart. A black dog sits between his legs. He holds a small child dressed in a red cape in his left arm. Halloween decorations include a skeleton hanging at the top right, a brown skull on a stand to the left, and two pumpkins on opposite steps. The man looks directly at the camera with a slight smirk.
    the team
  • A man dressed in 18th-century colonial aristocratic attire with a navy blue hat, coat, and gold-scrollwork vest stands indoors surrounded by paintings. He holds an oil lamp in one hand while the other is poised as if reaching out, wearing a whimsical expression and gazing past the lamp at something extraordinary just beyond the frame.
    lately

I’m Richard — the head, heart, and tail behind Fox & Thistle Studio — a tangle of curiosity, creativity, and compulsion. I design graphics, upcycle discarded objects, collect vintage oddities, and write in an ongoing attempt to weave it all together.

decorative strip - changing border liquid

About Fox & Thistle Studio

Hampton Roads, Virginia

Fox & Thistle Studio is a celebration of art, history, and storytelling. These elements are woven into our graphic designs, upcycled creations, and vintage treasures. We believe objects, images, and words carry echoes of the past—and we seek to weave those impressions into something new.

Banner collage image showcasing some of the graphic design and artwork from Fox & Thistle Studio. Featuring a Fortnight Calendar, Europa and the bull, Fertility statuettes, Some who Wander are Lost, a series of 9 foxes, skeleton print, and a collage of upcycled goods.

Graphic Design as Storytelling

Our graphic designs draw inspiration from history, literature, and the shared visual language that has shaped human culture over ages. Cave paintings, root words, medieval marginalia... we have a deep appreciation for what came before. We enjoy drawing words and imagery from the public domain—from the collective memory—and remixing it into fresh designs. We delight in new combinations of old things.

Reclaimed & Upcycled Goods

Our passion for vintage extends beyond collecting—we actively repurpose, reuse, and upcycle. Sourcing second-hand from auctions and estate sales, we curate treasures that already have stories woven in. Some are sold as they are, while others are transformed into functional art. Tables emerge from bourbon barrels, shipping pallets become wine bars, musical instruments transform into lamps... each piece has a story.

A Cohesive Mess of Creativity

Fox & Thistle Studio is, at its heart, a hodgepodge of creative pursuits: flipping vintage, rebuilding furniture, designing apparel, writing poetry, and then tying loose threads together. It’s a space where sustainability, craftsmanship, and curiosity trade secrets. For a more complete picture of our interests, please see the first issue of our newsletter, The Liminal.

Looking Forward: Blockchain & the Future of Art

We are deeply interested in blockchain technology and its potential to reshape the art world. The advent of NFTs and decentralized platforms presents new ways for artists to ensure that their work continues to generate value over time. Just as we preserve and repurpose reclaimed materials, we see blockchain as a way to preserve digital creativity—ensuring that artists can earn a living wage tomorrow, from work created today.

In Spirit…

Creativity, for us, is about nurturing something, letting it grow, and finding joy in the process. Fox & Thistle Studio is our way of capturing that spirit and sharing it with the world.

-Richard W. Saunders

Fox & Thistle Studio seamlessly blends curiosity, creativity, and sustainability. Rooted in the idea that simplicity speaks volumes, our essence is embodied in the paradoxical, insightful, and endlessly playful nature of finding and creating.