Geek Musings
From Blacksmithing to Wordsmithing And Back Again
For our 15th wedding anniversary this year my wonderful wife and partner bought us a day-class at a local blacksmiths’ shop. We got to spend the day learning about metal, heat treatment, annealing, and what real smithing should sound like (hint: it’s not the “Plink! Plink! Plink! commonly heard in most fantasy-themed movies, it should be more of a “Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!”). The best part was that it was a hands-on class, which meant we got to heat up our own steel rods and pound the Hell out of them in the hopes that we would come away at the end of the class with something more or less recognizable and if we were lucky, useful.
The first project was making a twisted nail hook to spike into a wall or timber to hang stuff on. I did well on that one. Nailed it, in fact (see what I did there?). The second project was supposed to be a large meat fork for grilling. I was super stoked about that one but unfortunately, I bit off more than I could chew, or in this case, picked a thicker bar than I could feasibly work with. In all fairness the instructor did challenge me to try it and I did. I just couldn’t finish the project in time before the class ended–but it was an excellent experience that I would both do again readily and highly recommend to anyone looking for a fun life experience.
As I was writing out the product descriptions of the products on the site I thought a lot about that class, the lessons I learned there, and how they could be applied. Much like working hot metal all day, coming up with fun stories about each product was both enjoyable and exhausting. Choosing which words to use to describe a product in a fun, effective way was like choosing the piece of steel I was going to shape; they have to be malleable and be something that will work with you to produce the best effect and showcase the end-product in the best possible light.
I’ve always loved the J. Peterman approach to product descriptions. They tell you a little story about each product–a story that lets you see in your mind’s eye that Leonardo-inspired timepiece sitting on the Florentine merchant’s credenza behind their large oak desk haphazardly cluttered with weights, scales, and coins of various denominations. Through those words you can see what kind of thought, care, and work went into each product offering, much the way a finished wrought-iron work will reveal its secrets to you the closer you look at it.
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