Who doesn't love the sound of porch screens creaking open? That little wooden groan before someone steps into your orbit. It's like someone saying, "I've got a minute." It's not a text message. It's not a calendar invite. It's just kind of… I don't know... "neighborly."

That's kind of what we hope The Southwind Porchlight will be. A little moment — familiar, useful, and (hopefully) not annoying. The idea is simple: shine a soft light on some of the work we're doing, share a few tools or tricks that might help your own, and maybe leave you with something to think about on your way to your next thing.

I'll be honest: starting something new is always a little awkward. You second-guess the format, the name, the tone, the fonts (so many fonts). But you launch anyway, because waiting until it's perfect is a good way to never begin.

So here we are — issue #1. Thanks for opening the screen door.

More soon,
—Tim

Earlier this year, I worked with a group in Neodesha, Kansas — a small town with a big heart for renewal. They'd launched a project called Love Neody to tackle housing, community pride, and opportunity for young people. They weren't looking for sweeping top-down fixes — so we started with something more powerful: questions.

Focusing on why families might move from their hometown to larger cities like Wichita, or even Independence, we started by asking: "What do you love about your small town? What do you miss? What would bring you back?"

Our brainstorm and casual survey responses were thoughtful, funny, and sometimes raw. But it highlighted some of the draws of a big city and led us down a path to revitalize Neodesha.

Logo design for the Love Neody campaign · Neodesha, Kansas

That was one of my first projects of that type and I learned a lot. It started with a graphic — a logo — that then turned into a marketing vehicle and then a multiple page press release for their kick off event.

Design and strategy are great — we do a lot of both. But what makes a project special is when we start by listening. When a community decides to make a change, it's important that they hear something worth investing in.

Those are the kind of projects we're proud to be part of. Porch to porch.