Shop Talk

(Note: This story appears in the August 2023 issue of SE Magazine)  Noir Leather’s Bijou Fatale explains how being your most authenitc, weird, rowdy self could be the fastest route to helping people. Noir Leather GM Bijou Fatale is definitely a small-town girl who has done well in causing a pleasant ruckus in the bigger city. Fatale grew up in the...

(Note: This story appears in the August 2023 issue of SE Magazine)  Arbor Laclave went around the world but didn’t find a “home” until he purchased the Noir Leather store just outside of Detroit. Now it’s his goal to serve his community by providing them with a safe, welcoming retail space to explore their most intimate sexual desires. Arbor Laclave, the...

(Note: This story appears in the June 2023 issue of SE Magazine)  Gail’s Lingerie, an adult store operating out of the Deep South for nearly three decades, is both a site of sex education and of Christian ministry for sole founder and owner, the devout Gail Tymes. G ail’s Lingerie first opened nearly 30 years ago, in 1997, with great ambitions for...

(Note: This story appears in the June 2023 issue of SE Magazine)  Specializing both in the curious and the adventurous, the glamorous and the underground, Minneapolis-based home of Rubber Ball USA, Bondesque, is a noteworthy and positive space for kink exploration. ondesque is a woman-owned BDSM store in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which specializes in all things kinky: designer fetish fashion (including latex,...

Joan Jones of the Lovin Mood store in Pensacola, Florida, discusses how she and the store have successfully navigated their “bible belt” location over the past four decades. (Note: This story appears in the April 2023 issue of SE Magazine)  "I  guess they’re embarrassed,” Joan Jones says as her customers giggle — “full-grown men” who can’t handle a dildo in an adult...

The gay adult store has weathered its share of political pressures and has helped the LGBTQIA+ community thrive in Southern California. (Note: This story appears in the April 2023 issue of SE Magazine) Founded in 1960 on the cusp of the sexual revolution, Circus of Books is the longest-standing gay adult store in Los Angeles. Its institutional status is thanks to no...

Feelmore’s LGBTQIA+ Founder and Owner Nenna Joiner edifies their approach to Pride. (Note: This story appears in the April 2023 issue of SE Magazine) The world is not a mirror, an exact reflection of; it isn’t glass, transparently pure, and it isn’t opaque, as in isolation. The world is a prism: light moves through the world, each of us dispersing that...

How support for the LGBTQIA+ community could involve more than just a “gay” section. (Note: This story appears in the April 2023 issue of SE Magazine) F airvilla, an adult megastore throughout Florida, is one of the many across the country which has expanded their outreach to the LGBTQ+ community over the years. Purchasing Coordinator, Debra Peterson, says that Fairvilla has expanded...

(Note: This story appears in the February 2023 issue of SE Magazine) Nalpac has acquired boutique distributor ENTRENUE in a move that boosts the overall profile for both brands. T-Mobile and Sprint. The Walt Disney Company and 21st Century Fox. Heinz and Kraft. Elon Musk and Twitter. AT&T and Time Warner. All of the above are examples of seismic industry-specific acquisitions. Mergers...