Our Story: Forged by Fire, Founded on Love
Our story doesn’t start with a business plan. It starts with a moment.
Our co-founder, Mark Tripp, was rear-ended by a texting driver. He went to sleep one night with what he thought was a manageable injury. He woke up paralyzed from the arms down.
What followed was emergency surgery to rebuild his spine with titanium, months in the hospital, and years of relentless therapy. It was a journey forged in fire, a testament to resilience against impossible odds. From that fire, Mark rebuilt his life, earning four business and accounting degrees while in a wheelchair. He had found the strength and the tools to build something new.
But it was a second, profound loss that would give that new venture its soul.
Jean, Mark’s wife of 34 and a half years, the love of his life and his rock through every challenge, passed away unexpectedly from an undiagnosed liver disease. This devastating loss cemented a new, urgent purpose: to build a business that was more than just a business. It had to be a legacy. A legacy of the love they shared and a tribute to the other important women in his life—his mother, sister-in-law, and cousin—who had all bravely fought breast cancer.
Cottontail & Quail was born from these two fires.
It is a company built on two unbreakable pillars, each one honoring a different part of this journey:
1. The Pillar of Resilience (Honoring the Journey):
Mark’s own experience with disability inspired our core mission: to provide empowering, dignified employment for disabled artisans. At our studio in Pass Christian, Mississippi, our team of talented artisans crafts beautiful soaps and candles. This is our mission of empowerment.
2. The Pillar of Legacy (Honoring Jean):
In loving memory of Mark’s wife, Jean, and in honor of the women in his family, we created our “Pledge 10” commitment. We donate 10% of our net profits every quarter to charities chosen by our community, with organizations fighting liver disease and breast cancer always on the list. This is our mission of giving.
The entire enterprise—from our Virginia farm that fuels the mission to our Mississippi studio that fulfills it—is a story of turning pain into purpose, and loss into a legacy of love.
When you support our business, you become part of this story. Thank you for being here.