No, writing’s not dead. (But the real thing is getting a lot harder to find).
Me (Jim)
I am an independent writer, formerly based in Chicago, now living in Louisville. I write ad copy, I write articles and essays, I write social media posts and press releases. I do case studies, websites, sales force enablement pieces, company and product names, leave-behinds, packaging, trade show booths, and billboards. But the thing I do especially well — and this is why my clients mostly hire me — is distill complex thoughts into clear, impactful messages that communicate what brands are about.
CV
I have worked independently for all but three years of my career, mostly as a freelancer, sometimes as an agency subcontractor, sometimes as a member of creative collectives (sometimes all at once). I have worked for some of the world’s best known brands including McDonald’s, 3M, Fonterra, Unilever, Motorola, Eli Lilly, Trane Technologies, Molson Coors, Kerry Group, US Steel, New Belgium Brewing, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Orlando Magic, and KraftHeinz. I have also worked for some of the smallest (you haven’t heard of them). By my own count I have been inside over 300 different organizations in my career, writing in industries as diverse as technology, packaged goods, food ingredients, wine & spirits, education, healthcare, manufacturing, restaurants, sports & entertainment, and hospitality. Below are some selected samples for your reading pleasure. Or simply…
01
MASHstudios Catalog
When the hottest growth companies want to celebrate their IPOs, they call MASHstudios. Why? Because an office full of custom MASH furniture means you’ve finally made it. So long Steelcase, happy trails Herman Miller, this is a company that’s arrived. Of course to sell the world’s most striking office furniture you need an equally striking catalog. I did this in partnership with my frequent design collaborator, the excellent Jason Caldeira.
02
Trane Technologies Customer Stories
Trane Technologies is more than an HVAC company. It’s one of the leading global innovators in carbon reduction and sustainability tech for the building industry, pioneering new technologies in everything from building automation to cold chain management. Blog entries are one of the ways Trane tells their success stories, and I’ve written quite a few of them. All the pieces on the above linked page were written by me.
03
Heads & Tails Distillery
Even with a smaller client, the opportunity to fully flesh out a brand — from name and messaging to website, product naming, packaging copy and promo materials — is a rare one. Which is why every time Heads & Tails Distillery calls, I rush to pick up the phone. I rarely have the opportunity to travel to northern Idaho to see them, but the good news is they ship me a bottle whenever the newest spirit comes out. Strictly for after hours, obviously.
04
New York Healthcare Decarbonization Guide
The passage of New York City’s Local Law 97 paved the way for a wave of government-led decarbonization projects across the great state of New York. Among them was a healthcare industry collaboration called the New York Healthcare Protocol, which provides technical assistance to hospital administrators looking to lower their facility’s greenhouse gas emissions. I wrote this guide for the NYHP, front to back, and it’s still expanding.
05
Cantina Rosa
Who says a writer known for business copy can’t also help design, name, and brand Chicago’s hottest tequila and mescal bar? (That’s not just bragging, check the Press section of this website if you don’t believe me). This project was the result of a months-long collaboration with star chef Erick Williams and his ace creative team, which included master mixologist Paul McGee.
06
Card Carrying Member
This is my own Substack, launched a year ago, on the subject of community breakdown and rebuilding. The project combines personal reflections with selected interviews with the leaders of an eclectic assortment of communities including a St. Louis herbal society, a prison theater troupe, an Air Force Osprey unit, the Girl Scouts, an urban fine arts center, and the Santa Fe County Fire Department.
07
New Belgium New Concept Naming
How’s this for some fun: being a member of the creative team for New Belgium Brewing’s new product development group? One thing I learned over that year: beer naming is hard. Not because the ideas don’t come, but because, with so many small brewers out there making great beers, almost every word in the English language (and many others) has been trademarked already. Design once again by the outstanding Jason Caldeira.
08
Joe Pastry
So if at this point you’re saying to yourself: “well yeah, but can he write a lot on a complex topic — I mean a real lot — all while keeping it light and engaging enough to keep readers coming back for days, weeks even years without getting tired of it?” Then I present Joe Pastry. Joe Pastry was for a decade the world’s #1 most trafficked blog on the subject of baking & pastry techniques and science, garnering tens of thousands of unique visits per month. So authoritative is Joe Pastry that it is still used as a textbook by leading cooking schools in the United States and Europe. Oh, and Asia. So pour yourself a drink, sit back, and prepare to lose yourself in a sea of chocolate and buttercream — and love it.
Note
The majority of my writing work, because I am employed regularly as a brand consult and message strategist, is proprietary. However if you ask me I can speak in general to that work and describe the process I go through for those types of engagements. I can do the same for my many internal communications projects.
All pieces on this site are the property of my clients, and are either in the public domain or presented with permission.