This week I released Fox Ranch, a retro western font on Creative Market!

Fox Ranch is one of my first typefaces I’ve ever designed and definitely the one I’ve spent the most time on. This font is really special to me, and I want to share more about where the name came from!

Why This Retro Western Typeface is Called Fox Ranch

About seven months before my husband and I moved to Montana, we spent the first week of July 2021 on a road trip from Minneapolis to Whitefish, Montana, where we were finally going to get married with our friends and family in attendance (technically our second wedding—we originally eloped in 2020).

On July 4, we woke up camping in Crazy Woman Canyon near Buffalo, WY. The rest of the day we drove to Montana—starting at the Beartooth Highway, entering Yellowstone National Park, and finally spending the night in Gardiner. While we were in the Beartooths, I spotted the cutest fox on the road and it was one of my first times ever seeing one. It felt like a happy sign that we were on the right path.

The next day, we woke up and stopped in Bozeman, as we had strongly been considering moving there for several years. We wandered up and down Main Street and popped into a bookstore—we both adore finding a book as a “souvenir” on vacation—and I picked up a book called The Fox and I: An Uncommon Friendship by Catherine Raven. It had just been released that day and was a signed copy so I felt pulled to buy it.

The rest of our trip flew by as we got married, went whitewater rafting with 60 of our closest friends and family, spent time hiking in Glacier National Park, and eventually drove home.

For the next few weeks, I was so sad to be back in the Midwest. I had grown up in Minnesota and had a big community there, but for the past four years my husband and I had been saving up to move out west. He had a great job in the Twin Cities, so we had tentatively planned to move in 2023 so he could get all of his retirement match benefits. I’ve never felt such a pull to do something before but I *needed* to move. I don’t know if you’ve ever felt a gut feeling that feels more like a shout rather than a whisper before, but it was all I could think about.

One weekend I finished The Fox and I. In the book, Raven details her life story and friendship with a fox that she befriended near her home in Paradise Valley. Reading her descriptions of her home in Montana made me feel so many things—but jealousy really prickled through.

My husband noticed how sad I was feeling, and I explained that I was struggling to wait for something that we so desperately wanted to do. We were already spending all of our vacation time flying or (usually) driving 15+ hours to be in the mountains. We both loved skiing, hiking, and camping. He suggested we change our plans and move a year early, and within a week he found a job listing that was perfect for him in Bozeman. He was offered the job and we left Minnesota in February 2022.

So TLDR; because of foxes, albeit maybe indirectly, I was able to get the courage to follow my gut and move out west. I love living in Montana so much and have never felt more at home than here. So, thank you, to foxes for setting me on the right path. Whenever I spot a fox hiking or skiing I see it as my sign. I’m more than happy to honor them with this little typeface of mine.

If you’d like to check out Fox Ranch, you can find it here. If you end up using this typeface in any of your designs, please tag me on Instagram at @luckybeecreative as I would love to see your work!