Birth of an idea.
I was flipping through a London “walking tours” guidebook. Three influences: sort researching, sort of dreaming, sort of planning. Sort of not paying attention. Sort of weak in math metaphors. I happened across an entry about Covent Gardens. It mentioned a notorious historical reference to Tom King’s Coffee House. It was, according to the book, a place where folks went after the bars closed at night – circa 17th century. Open from closing time to sun-up.
It was a place of ill-repute, as in, a reputation where gentlemen could meet prostitutes, packaged as a coffee-house, which, in the 17th century, were great social centers. The coffeehouses were social centers, I don’t know about the prostitutes. Might need to read more of the history of Covent Gardens.
I like engaging web page ideas, like a page called “Tom King’s Coffeehouse,” or maybe, just “Tom King’s Coffee,” as a brand name with a twist. Suits my humor. I looked it up. Some of the names were available.
Death:
The idea, I poked at it for a few minutes, thought about it, registering the name, getting the page set-up, doing all that needed to be done. But then, what would I fill the page with, what images and words would populate the page? Lot of work for something that would eventually get discarded. But a great idea, for a little while.
Morbid curiosity:
The other afternoon, I had a favorite T-shirt. “Raven’s Brew Coffee: served in bed, strong enough to raise the dead.”
The coffee, I’ve bought a pound or two of it before, it’s okay. Not really worth the premium price, not when compared to regular coffee that costs half as much, but it’s all about marketing and presentation. The Raven’s Brew Coffee artwork gets comments. The T-shirt usually evokes chuckles and raised eyebrows, nominally, in a slightly provocative way without being overbearing. That’s a good piece of art. Too bad the coffee doesn’t live up to the artwork. It’s not bad, it’s just not a premium blend, not to me. But the coffee company sells more than just coffee, they also sell the great t-shirts. Probably mugs and so forth, and the corporate story is an enchanting tale, in and of, its self.
Tom King’s Coffee. Great idea. Read it here first.
Conclusion:
As the saying goes, “And that’s how you bake a cake!”
Unrelated:
But still, a link to Slate.
