Ghost of Midnight

Meet the Artist Behind the Merch

Front Porch Forum reached out to local artist, Christine Tyler Hill, to commission a piece to mark 25 years since our first neighborhood newsletter and leading up to the launch of our store. Our ask was a big one – to represent FPF in just one illustration. She was patient with us as we threw requests her way, “What about a porch with lots of activity?” and “Can you represent the urban, suburban, and rural parts of the state?”

We knew Christine’s work from her illustrations for City Market and NOFA-VT, among others. We were confident that she would capture what’s special about Front Porch Forum – neighbors connecting with other neighbors. 

While we’ve had her artwork in hand for months, we thought it was time for you to get to take a closer look at the piece (and the fun motifs from within, such as the chicken chase, plant community, and wood stackers) and also to get to know her better. 

Christine, what Forum are you in? And, what’s the conversation like there?

I’m in Burlington’s Old North End. Our classic posts: missing cat, stop-feeding-my-cat, keep-your-cat-inside, free hostas, complaint about jet noise, city council meeting recap, stolen bike, found bike… I’m here for all of it! 

Since becoming a homeowner a few years ago I’ve used FPF to borrow and procure a lot of things: a free table saw, a loaner wallpaper steamer, and a whole bunch of asters that bloom in my front garden bed late into the fall and bring me (and the bees!) a lot of joy.

What was the process of telling the story of Front Porch Forum in just one illustration?

There are as many uses of Front Porch Forum as there are users of Front Porch Forum. Illustrating the diversity of experiences people have with FPF while keeping the composition balanced, graphic, and attractive was a real challenge! I didn’t want to overwhelm the eye with detail, but the staff at Front Porch Forum shared so many beautiful stories about neighbors connecting with one another, I couldn’t help but include as many as possible.

Do you have a favorite interaction featured in the piece?

I love the raccoon with the pear! Apparently that was a multiweek saga in a forum, inspiring many “RE: Racoon with pear” subject lines, over and over. Those are my favorite kinds of events on FPF: uniting and entertaining neighbors around something silly of no consequence.

A few weeks ago a friend of mine saw the illustration and she texted me to share that last winter she brought warm rice krispies treats out to her snowplow guy, so that made me appreciate the figure serving the snowplow guy cookies even more.

What advice would you give to neighbors using FPF?

Gmail users: get that daily FPF email digest out of your Updates folder and into your main inbox! I was missing so many good posts before I moved the email into my main inbox. 

Where can we find and follow your work?

Instagram: @tenderwarriorco

Website: tenderwarriorco.com

Substack: tenderwarriorco.substack.com