Have you two ever thought about opening a boutique in NYC? I myself would love to do something like that. I don't know how many others here are Manhattan-ites, but could you imagine a F&E shop run by loyal fans of the site? That's hot.

And one in he UK... I know there are humungus challenges and I am impressed you guys have done what you did
Glam

Oh man, I could add that to my list of haunts while on the island! That would be sweet!

I for one am thrilled for Freddy and Eddy and the new levels of success they are reaching. On a selfish note I miss them on the boards since they no longer have as much time to spend here. At least I can say I knew them when... Freddy was a ranting, raving proud liberal and Eddy was a gorgeous, thoughtful voice of reason. Oh wait, nothing has changed.

I have dibs on the Australian franchise

Oh, but there's so much room in between the east & west coasts....need one in the midwest also.

Of course, it's nice having an excuse to go visit the people themselves

quote:

Originally posted by Demoana:
Oh, but there's so much room in between the east & west coasts....need one in the midwest also.

On behalf of the Midwest, I'll second that motion!! You'd sell a lot of fur-lined ball warmers today, I tell ya. Brrrrr.

M (trying to coax the boys out of hiding)

quote:

(trying to coax the boys out of hiding)

You just need someone to breathe on them for you, warm them up.

Oops, got off topic there

Well Freddy and Eddy will both be soon available to entertain us all with mad ravings now that they have help in the shop and all the chores are being figured out. Once they are all taken care of then they can focus on the website, writings, and the boards... But keep up the discussions of opening retail locations worldwide, I love to think about that...

quote:

On a selfish note I miss them on the boards since they no longer have as much time to spend here. At least I can say I knew them when... Freddy was a ranting, raving proud liberal and Eddy was a gorgeous, thoughtful voice of reason. Oh wait, nothing has changed. Cool

Well, I think we've been hanging around a lot more lately. Jenn is running things, the holiday crush is over, we have two part-time gals filling orders, AVN has passed for another year, kid is back in school from his LONG winter break, and biz has stabilized enough to allow us some breathing room. You may have noticed lots more posting here in the boards (I'm having a lovely time, um, "reacquainting" with Silk in another thread - LOL) and more new content being put up on the main site almost daily. It's great to be back here, for sure.

But to the topic at hand, we actually have been approached by an investor this past week asking us to explore opening more locations. We have an idea for a store that is primarily a coffee shop (full-service, with high quality brews and dynamite pastries) and erotic library, where hundreds (thousands?) of titles would be available to check out or purchase. There would, of course, be a toy and sexy items section, but we'd make that by appointment (or walk in if no one had reserved the block of time). This would help get around any city ordinances against it being adult in nature, since the majority of square footage would be more restaurant than adult.

As for where we'd put these things, it would depend on the market being able to sustain a business like ours. Would people visit? Would couples actually come in and purchase things or would we attract the trenchcoat wearing creepy folks that sometimes frequent adult establishments. I LOVE the idea of Australia, but there's the matter of having to actually GO there and still run the one here.

Anyway, let's hear some more ideas and get this topic hopping again!

PS. I'm still that ranting, raving Liberal, Silk! It just takes the right comment to set me off (and Ranger hasn't been around to provide it lately)

Well, I can speak for one of the more well-known stores here in Manhattan - Babeland, formerly Toys in Babeland. My husband and I have visited on several occasions (before I found this site) and were both surprised and pleased to see not only were there no creepy trenchcoat guys, but people who, at least on the outside, looked classy and normal. The first time I was there I actually saw a young girl, maybe early twenty-something, shopping with her mom. That was a little creepy for me, but hey, whatever works. There were a lot of couples there, both straight and gay, and a handful of people there by themselves. Just from my inexperienced experience, I would venture a guess that a F & E shop would be welcome here - I'd work there!

As much as I would love to suggest Portland, I wonder if this area isn't already saturated. We are some kind of sex-industry percentage leader...don't remember if it's strip clubs per capita or sex biz per capita? Anyway, there are a few places here that are not "creepy" at all. In fact, I just found out that there is a sex toy superstore in town! Like right next door to Best Buy, Safeway, Barnes & Noble, and such! I had to check it out...it's big and bright and has shiny young employees. That's Portland for you!

Just a thought - what about the South Carolina area? It's got quite a few swingers and they'd probably really appreciate something like that. Or Florida, with all its clubs...

Just one pair of ideas...

~Ang

Manhattan is appealing, but we fall way short on the "hipness factor" and are not sure our decidedly California flavor would play well there. Maybe in a quieter neighborhood?

We now have a Babeland here in Los Angeles - we went to the grand opening party, in fact - and it's probably the nicest adult store we've ever visited. The decor is really nice and it's lit well. I love the way they have little cards all over the place explaining the products and offering little tidbits of advice. They also don't over saturate visitors with too many choices. I only noticed two dildo vendors, for example (Tantus and Vixen Creations). My only problem (and it was slight) is that it's kind of heavy on the femme vibe (read: lesbian), with lots of female gay literature dominating their book section and sales people who have more testosterone than me.

Portland does have a good selection of adult stores, especially given the relatively small population. That doesn't mean we wouldn't give it a try up there; I understand Ang and Ranger might be moving that way and might have a discussion with them about it after their kid is born and things settle a tad for them.

South Carolina is a nice option, but a WAY cool chain is moving into that territory (they're already in North Carolina) called The Red Door Store (http://www.thereddoorstore.com). Very sexy design, good product mix, and the owner is loaded and open to improving the place by throwing money at it. He and I have actually spoken about a hybrid of his and our shop somewhere that direction.

One thing I am curious about; is bright lighting really what you look for in a sex shop? We have a Hustler Store here and all the other stores seem to be following their example by glamming their stores up and increasing the wattage on their light fixtures. The problem for me is that the product selections, pricing, lousy staffs, and odd layouts aren't improved any. It's just window dressing and I kind of laugh that the number one product they sell at Hustler Store, for example, is their t-shirt.

Thoughts?

I think bright lighting is too often confused with good lighting. There's a definite difference. Shoot, most adult bookstores, bachelor shops, etc have bright lighting, but I doubt you'd ever call it good. Even the latest place to open around here has the same old overhead 2x4 floursecent tube fixture in the dropped ceiling lighting that we've all come to know and expect. It might be worth the bucks to actually talk to a lighting designer and see what would showcase the products in the most appealing light. Some cool and unique fixtures that are product driven design would be very cool as well especially with built in lighting and then you're getting into the territory of the things we build at my work.

For the personality of the store, I think a relaxed atmosphere would be the best rather than stark, shiny, and glittering. Clean is always a plus, but it doesn't have to feel like you're walking into the doctors waiting room. I think the latest trend of the overstuffed comfy seating and some niche areas to peruse items would be pretty cool.