On my jewelry site I have a product called Custom Project, with a value of $1.00. It has a text input attribute where the customer can add notes about the specific project. You could use something like this, and fill in the text with the item description/name. Put the product in a separate category, and turn the category off, then go into the product page and turn the product back on. I don't have the mod to test with, but you should be able to add it while the category does not show up in the shop.