Discover Our History
Where It All Began
If Hawthorn & Hare has a heartbeat, it is one little rabbit named Bingo.
Bingo is a Mini Rex with a curious spirit, a gentle nature, and an unmistakable personality. He is also the reason Hawthorn & Hare exists.
Before Bingo came into my life, I could never have fully understood how deeply a rabbit could shape a home, change a heart, and transform the way someone sees an entire species. Through loving him, caring for him, and learning to recognize his individual ways, I discovered that rabbits are far more intelligent, sensitive, expressive, and emotionally significant than they are so often given credit for.
Bingo taught me to slow down and pay attention.
He showed me that some of life’s most meaningful memories are created in the quietest moments: the sound of little feet approaching, the familiar place chosen for an afternoon nap, the unmistakable excitement over a favorite treat, and the look that can communicate an entire thought without a single word.
These moments may appear ordinary while they are happening, but over time, they become part of the irreplaceable story of a shared life.
Through Bingo, I came to understand that advocacy often begins with one rabbit whose life changes someone’s perspective forever. His life changed mine, and from that change came the belief at the heart of everything we create:
“No life is too small to be remembered.”
The Beginning of Hawthorn & Hare
Hawthorn & Hare grew from a desire to help others see rabbits differently.
In many communities—including my own—rabbits are still commonly regarded as livestock, outdoor animals, temporary pets, or quiet creatures content to spend their lives confined to small cages. Their intelligence is underestimated, their emotional lives are overlooked, and their need for companionship, enrichment, safety, and freedom is not always understood.
I wanted to create something that could gently challenge those misconceptions while offering rabbit parents thoughtful, beautiful, and approachable guidance.
Hawthorn & Hare initially began as part of a broader exploration of how I might contribute to the rabbit community. As the vision developed, however, its true purpose became increasingly clear. This was not meant to become a rabbitry or rescue endeavor. Its heart belonged entirely to house rabbit advocacy, compassionate education, and the celebration of rabbits as cherished members of the family.
The name itself carries a deeply personal connection. “Hawthorn” is the town where I grew up, grounding the brand in a sense of home, heritage, and belonging. “Hare” connects that history to the animals who inspired this work without feeling overly literal. Together, the words became a name that felt warm, rooted, and enduring—perfectly suited to the English-countryside character of the world I hoped to create.
What We Believe
At Hawthorn & Hare, we believe rabbits belong indoors, protected from the elements and included in the daily rhythms of family life.
We believe they deserve safe and generous living spaces, freedom to move, opportunities to explore, meaningful enrichment, informed veterinary care, and the ability to express their natural behaviors. We believe their emotional well-being matters just as much as their physical health.
We believe caring for a rabbit is not a temporary responsibility. It is a lifelong commitment to learning, observing, adapting, and advocating for an animal who depends upon us to understand their needs.
We believe rabbits should never be treated as decorations, impulse purchases, disposable pets, or animals meant to spend their lives forgotten in small enclosures.
Above all, we believe rabbits are family.
Every rabbit has an identity entirely their own. They have preferences and aversions, habits and routines, fears and comforts, ways of communicating, and wonderfully individual expressions of trust and affection. Our purpose is not simply to tell people how to care for a rabbit, but to help them truly understand the life in front of them.
Through compassionate advocacy, beautiful education, and a welcoming community, we hope to help rabbit parents care with greater knowledge, recognize the dignity of their companions, and build homes where rabbits have the freedom and security to flourish.
The Heirloom Library
As Hawthorn & Hare continued to grow, another purpose emerged: preserving the stories of these extraordinary little lives.
The idea for the Heirloom Library began with a simple realization. A rabbit’s life is composed of countless moments that may feel ordinary while they are unfolding, yet become immeasurably precious with time.
Their beginnings, personality, favorite things, care journey, milestones, familiar routines, changing seasons, photographs, and the quiet memories shared at home all become part of a story worthy of being kept.
Our heirloom volumes were created to give rabbit parents a beautiful and lasting place to preserve those stories. They are not intended to be ordinary journals or clinical record books. They are designed to become part of a family archive—meaningful keepsakes to be filled slowly, returned to often, held close, and treasured for years to come.
A Life Well Loved preserves a rabbit’s beginnings, individuality, care, milestones, and memories.
The Legacy They Leave offers a tender place for remembrance, bereavement, lasting bonds, and the many ways a beloved rabbit’s life continues to leave its mark.
The Seasons We Share gathers the changing rhythms, familiar traditions, quiet observations, and meaningful moments shared throughout the years.
Each volume reflects the belief that a rabbit’s life deserves to be noticed while it is unfolding, celebrated for what it is, and remembered long after their time beside us has passed.
No two rabbits leave the same story. Through the Heirloom Library, we hope to help every family preserve theirs.
A Family-Supported Journey
Hawthorn & Hare has also been made possible by the encouragement and support of my family.
They have stood beside me as my love for Bingo grew into a deeper journey through house rabbit guardianship and advocacy. They have listened as ideas developed, encouraged me as the vision expanded, and supported the many hours spent thoughtfully shaping these heirloom volumes for other rabbit parents.
Their patience, enthusiasm, and belief in what Hawthorn & Hare could become have given me the confidence to continue building something so close to my heart. Although Bingo inspired the beginning, my family’s support has helped make the journey possible.
Our Hope for the Future
What began with my love for one rabbit has grown into a much larger hope: that Hawthorn & Hare will help create a world in which more rabbits are welcomed indoors, understood as individuals, cared for with knowledge and intention, and cherished as true members of the family.
We hope to provide rabbit parents with more than beautiful books. We hope to offer education, reassurance, encouragement, and a deeper appreciation for the life unfolding beside them.
We hope our work inspires people to notice more, learn more, advocate more confidently, and love more intentionally.
We hope to preserve the special milestones as well as the ordinary moments—the quiet experiences that may pass almost unnoticed until they become the memories we would give anything to hold again.
Hawthorn & Hare exists because one little rabbit forever changed the way I viewed all rabbits.
Everything we create is rooted in the promise his life inspired:
“No life is too small to be remembered. Every rabbit’s story matters, and every ordinary moment shared with them is worthy of being preserved.”
Madalyn H. Smith
Founder
"Our companions may tread lightly on this earth, but the imprint they leave on our hearts deserves to be preserved."
Our Founder
Madalyn Smith is the founder of Hawthorn & Hare, a house rabbit advocate, storyteller, and the creator of the Hawthorn & Hare Heirloom Collection.