I should let GP answer, but Lemur and I were looking at the Tinker goodness just now, and so, since we wrote the tell which GP is doing such a wonderful job of bringing to life, we'll jump in.
The widow is endowed with the FHCO's creation of the Silent Voice of Yelping, and is quite powerful and talented with it. She can work metal and minerals as well as stone, so she earns a nice bit of coin endowing the things she repairs or makes with special properties, like never dull shears, never snap plows and so on,,,,,or that is how it goes in the FHCO realm. Originally it was so the FHCO could improve their stuff and learn about cost and value,,,,as in understand coin in Snap and relate it to the real world,,,namely when I take them shopping. And to show that women are also important parts of society who can fill non traditional roles (as it were said by one FHCO that "makin thins is for guys, cookin thins is for girls")
She does it under the radar of the Seven Families, mostly for the opposing group , the basically good folk, or Good Sorts, who are in Snap to counter the influence of the Seven Families. Hebbie sends a good bit of work and coin her way, as does Cagil and Nope, when they need something extra special.
(I really got to finish transcribing the tell, and polish their pdf)
She is also known to be the one to turn too if the plow you bought off of the back of a Carter's Wagon late one night, after a few, or six, too many Ales, breaks the first time you cut turf with it.
Leaving you plowed, plowless, and penniless, with your four Cask Belly Hammers which pull your plow, fat, happy, and headed down the rode to Threeways,,,,
As she is quite the charitable sort. Or that is where she found herself appearing in the tale of the Mid Harvest Fest....(which is typed, ooh wee), and grew from there.
She takes in work, closes the door to the shop, does her yelping, and then makes a racket to have it sound like she does it in the traditional manner....
That's basically it. In the world of Snap, if you were a good sort, had some coin, you could upgrade the old sword that fits your hand so well just by visiting the Tinker's Widow...
Ohh yes, Lemur says it's very pretty, verrry, verrry pretty.
SeerBlue and Lemur