Anodyne isn’t a word you just hear on the street most days. At least, I haven’t heard it on any streets lately. So why am I calling this blog (and my Etsy shop) Anodyne Design? For one, it rhymes nicely, although I could have come up with plenty of other rhyming names if that was my goal.

Mostly, I was looking for a name that captured in itself the type of feeling I wanted my shop to convey. Anodyne Design rolls off the tongue, and at least for me, it’s a very soothing and beautiful word. I have a friend who says it’s her favorite word, and I can see why. Perhaps as a bonus, anodyne actually means “soothing.” It also means to relieve pain and to comfort. All things most people would like to have. Although I’m sure the things I create can’t possibly compete with Ibuprofen in the pain-relief department, I do hope that they provide the same sense of comfort and peace to their owners that I have when I’m making them.

I guess it’s sort of like onomatopoeia (another lovely word), in that the sound of the word gives the sense of its meaning.