Shop Talk

Gay kink supplier Fort Troff partners with major manufacturer Doc Johnson to deliver kinkster-designed kink toys all across the US. (Note: This story appears in the October 2023 issue of SE Magazine)  For seven years, the whisper of a dimly-lit dungeon was reported across forums and between friends as a sure place gay men could meet and play. Word got out...

In partnership with Versea Health, Doc Johnson is proud to present what they believe to be an entirely new segment in adult retail. (Note: This story appears in the October 2023 issue of SE Magazine)  T oothpaste, toilet paper and a pregnancy test. Or, rather, pretzels, cigarettes and a female contraceptive. It doesn’t really make any sense, does it? Walking down a drug...

Small business owner turned store chain pioneer is honored by his industry at the July SE Awards presentation in Burbank at ANME. (Note: This story appears in the October 2023 issue of SE Magazine)  SE Awards story by Larry Kaplan In February 1971, two years after graduating from Ohio State University, Michael Moran wanted to establish a steady income and utilized one of his parents'...

(Note: This story appears in the August 2023 issue of SE Magazine)  Nixie Elixir — who began as a window model and is now the store’s Operations Manager — is a cheerleader for a new school of uber-friendly punk weirdo goth kids. Noir Leather Operations Manager Nixie Elixir was a professional dog handler, trained in differentiating dog breeds — how, for...

(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...