June 19, 2023 · By Tatiana McCrea

Community Interview: Tiger 'n' Foxx

Hello there, and welcome to another community interview!

My name is Tatiana, and I am the owner of DevilsMilk! I pride myself on being a part of the MOST kickass communities out there!

Let’s get to the good part!

"Today, I welcome Ashley from 'Tiger 'n' Foxx'! We met through a mutual art group a while back, and I’m excited to get to know her better too!

Hey, thanks for letting me interview you today Ashley! Could you please introduce yourself to the lovely audience?"

"Of course!

Hey everyone, I'm Ashley- the 'Tiger' of Tiger 'n' Foxx! I specialize in all of the creative processes and the artsy side of the business.

Art has always been a big passion of mine that has not only gotten me through some pretty rough patches in life, but inspired quite a bit of my work as well."

"Thank you Ashley, great to have you on here!

What piece would you say was the most effected by something happening in your life and why?"

"In all honesty, (also probably what I would consider my most adventurous piece) my Bella Bear plushie!

It was quite the feat from start to finish, and it took a long few months just to get it finalized and sampled. But, it was a piece that was purely self indulgent based on everything I could never have growing up.

A lot of my life (when I was younger) was under pretty extreme control from my now-estranged dad. I was never able to lean into my aesthetics and all of the cute things that I enjoyed.

Moving on and away from having him in my life is what spawned Bella, and with the encouragement of people around me, she became something I am truly happy to have created."

"It’s really beautiful how you were at least able to create something so lovely through all that trauma. It can be hard to move away from people sometimes, but sometimes it is for the better.

I know what you mean about shifting, though! I was an angsty emo kid for the longest- (I still kind of am, but everything is coated in pastels now hahaha).

You mentioned that you were ‘Tiger’ in Tiger 'n' Foxx- So who is ‘Foxx’?"

"'Foxx' is actually my partner, Nick!

He specializes in the more "business" side of the company. I can't buy anything business related without promising him a receipt for taxes (haha)! He keeps track of every single sale at the markets I attend, as well as the store- that way we know what product is moving, and what we may need to reorder. It's also helpful because I can leave a market knowing exactly what my costs were (so all of the numbers don't have to jumble around my head)!

The namesakes we have are based on our favorite animals- With mine being tigers and his being foxes. The reason he's 'Foxx' and not "Fox" is because of his dog, whose names sports the extra X!"

"That’s super sweet!!

My husband and I ran our previous company (BeetleMilk) together, and you could say that I was/is the foundation of our relationship.

Has Nick ever thought about doing his own designs? Or is he creative in any other ways?"

"He's definitely thought about starting before, but he's found that the image in his head and what comes out on paper is personally disappointing.

He's pursued other creative outlets, especially ones that he's been doing since long before he's met me. Things like poetry, novellas, (and more recently- creating film works) and sound design."

"Wouldn’t it be so awesome if one day y’all collaborated on something?

I love doing collaborations! I know how frustrating it must be though- like... your hands not doing what the brain says. You brought up markets earlier, do you go to a lot of conventions? If so, where was your favorite?"

"A full collaboration would be fun as heck in my opinion, but I'd have to see if he'd be up for it haha!

He's actually one of the main brains behind some of my works. He's actually the first person who suggested creating the little tiger and fox mascots you see today!!

Actually, I do at least two markets / conventions per month! Picking a favorite is really hard, though. If I'm talking outright favorite... It took place in Las Vegas, Nevada and was probably my biggest yet!

It was an absolute blast, (even if I only made back what I spent on the trip), but getting a free almost week-long vacation? And to Vegas? What could be better!!"

"That’s amazing that you do that many, you must have met some awesome people along the way.

That was always my favorite part about conventions. A tougher question now— What do you think your next evolutionary step as an artist will be? Do you see yourself gravitating towards one medium more than the other?"

"I've met a ton of amazing people, and made some incredible friends along the way. I actually discovered that one market friend lives only ten minutes away from me, so we hang out quite a bit when we both have the free time!

It's definitely one of my favorite parts too, and I'm excited to see who else I can meet and befriend in the future.

That's actually a really great question (about where I see myself) because I have the perfect answer for it. I'm actually working to develop a video game! It's barely in the first steps, but I've been working on character sheets and promotional art for it over the last week and a half, and I'm having so much fun with it.

It won't be too complex, just a simple light novel style game with a few additional mechanics. It will also have the capacity to be a dating sim in a world filled with cute animal characters. I already have a few concepts: a dog baker, a moth witch, and a florist skunk.

There will also be a lot of hidden secrets that I'm excited to put out for people to find. It's the first step I'm taking to fully commit to what I want to do in life- Really make 'Tiger 'n' Foxx' my commitment and full time job!"

"Wow, small world am I right?? That’s awesome that you all can hang out so regularly though!

That game sounds like the perfect cozy game! I can’t wait to play it. Do you predict that it will be exclusive to Steam? It sounds like it would be perfect for Switch."

"I haven't gotten quite that far yet, mostly because I'm not sure where to begin in that regard!

It's such a daunting task, but it's actually something I'm really driven to do and accomplish. I think that the best audience would definitely be through Switch, so I definitely would love to have it on both platforms if possible (rather than just a Steam exclusive)!"

"Perfect!!

You will get there, I know it. So we’re getting close to wrapping it up- but I like to end on a weird question haha. What is your favorite Pokémon?"

"Aww, this was a lot of fun!

And weird questions will always be the best questions, no matter the occasion!

Inhale... BEWEAR!!!!