Wearing latex is an experience within itself. For me, it provides for the most intense sensual of experiences. Latex is designed to be tight-fit; making it a form of bondage on its own. Gripping itself around every single curve, latex clothing leaves nothing to the imagination. I am confident and powerful in latex though it is thin and delicate to the touch. I am fully clothed, yet I feel completely exposed within this enigma.

Slipping into a latex garment is no easy feat. You have to work hard in order to glide your limbs through each component; yet the dynamic of rubber is also defined by its durability.  No other garment, in my opinion, is as challenging yet fulfilling to wear. I had the pleasure of wearing the Syren Latex Full Catsuit to a play party recently and found the ritual of sliding into the latex to be quite a transformation for me as I physically and mentally prepared myself to embrace a new skin. I happen to have a mild sensitivity to latex - not quite an allergy yet, but for direct contact there is a dedication to wear it, and it is certainly was worth the experience.

Coating my skin first with a layer of silicone lubricant, I began with my legs and slid into the legs of the catsuit one by one, then carefully smoothed the latex over my skin inch by inch. As I reached the top of my thighs, I could feel my body temperature rising, but not because of the miniscule beads of sweat which were slowly accumulating between my skin and the material. This inexplicable exhilaration also happens every time I put myself in rope bondage as well. My body is awake, my senses heightened. This strong, sleek texture is now reflected on the outside of my body, and the tactile encounter has transformed me into a self-assured Goddess.  After the Catsuit inched its way up and over my curves, I wrapped The Stockroom’s Locking Hasp Corset around my waist, slipped into a pair of very high stilettos and felt indestructible as ever as I stepped out of the house.

Hours later, well into the party, I walked to my car and removed my shoes and corset, assuming I would be leaving shortly. However, standing outside in my bare feet feeling the wind through the latex reawakened my core and I knew I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. Something animalistic occurred when there was nothing between myself and nature, aside from the thin caress of the latex. Invigorated, I stifled the urge to howl. I turned around and returned to the party, clad only in this second skin, feeling the ground beneath my soles and the air stroking my latex with every step. I was simply empowered riding on that adrenaline rush. Though I wasn’t scheduled to perform at the party, I knew the night was mine and decided to embrace the carnal voice screaming inside of me, demanding that I create art. I proceeded to perform a double-rope suspension that evening, a full suspension between another man and myself, to the same suspension point simultaneously. Twirling around in midair, the full-body latex experience only increased my body’s awareness of the ropes wrapped tightly around me. It was at that moment I knew nothing was going to get between me and my newly discovered love affair with latex.

…Nothing except, perhaps, a few layers of silicone lube.

My First Bondage Experience, by Ms Nikki Nefarious

Many people ask me about my first bondage experience, so I’ve decided to share. Sometimes when people think of BDSM play, they invoke a vision of leather cuffs, bondage rope, and/or a blindfold in a dim dungeon where the bound victim lays helpless to the powerful bondage master standing over them. This is not my story, well at least not this instance.

This story might seem controversial to some because it touches on themes of religion, youth, and sexuality; however it is my story and I will tell it from my experience. Today I consider myself a bondage artist (I excel in many areas, such as Shibari, etc) and in truth I’ve always been interested in tying people up, but my first bondage experience in regards to intimacy happened long before I even knew what BDSM was. I’ve learned a million things since then, but it really shaped how I view bondage play today.

Years and years ago, when I was younger, I had been dating a guy for quite some time and we were getting very serious especially for our age. We loved each other very much and wanted to take our physical relationship to the next level. However, we were good Christians and were saving ourselves for marriage so sex was out of the question. I had an interest in bondage from my childhood plays at “cowboys and indians” that sort of always stuck in the back of my mind. One evening when my boyfriend and I were making out I took off his belt and used it to tie his hands to the bed post; the ties he wore to church I used to secure his legs to the bottom of the bed. From here we continued to make out, nothing more, yet we didn’t need anything more.

Somehow this gave us the intimate connection we were searching for. Personally it made me feel safer to explore him without the risk of him trying to do more than what we were ready for. Later he told me it made him feel safer because he didn’t have to worry about keeping up his willpower since he couldn’t move to try anything hasty and for the first time he could actually enjoy the feelings without having to turn on internal dialogue to keep himself in check.

Looking back I really was lucky. I didn’t know about consent and I didn’t know what a safeword was. We didn’t discuss this before hand, there was no communication, and I just sort of did it in the moment. Luckily he didn’t freak out on me! It turns out this was exactly right for us, we were happy on a more physically intimate connection yet we were committing no sins and were still pure in the eyes of the Lord, which was very important to us both.

My first bondage experience was not specifically about domination or bondage play. We didn’t even know things like that existed. It came about innocently, just two people wanting to explore their bodies without having sex or committing a sin. So there you have it, no sex, no hot-n-heavy domination dungeon scene, just innocent exploration resulting in me rediscovering an innate passion which led me to this place.

The Bolero Straitjacket is one of the hottest BDSM innovations brought to you by Stockroom.com. Straight Jacket bondage play is very popular in the fetish scene, but the Bolero offers so many other options thanks to its sexy design. Easy access to breasts and genitals gives the option for sex while wearing the straitjacket. J Mysterio, a 29 year old chief designer at Stockroom.com, is responsible for this design with a naughty twist! After he graduated from LATTC in LA he began his career at JT’s Stockroom and spends 1 week out of the month in LA and the rest of the time in SF. It was my pleasure to interview him for SandM.com

Ms Nikki Nefarious: I find the Bolero Straitjacket to be a must-have for fetish play as it draws in the feel of leather against bare skin, the binding sensation of bondage, and of course the thrill of medical play. Was it your intention to create a piece specifically to cross multiple types of fetish play in one, or is this just a happy result of great design?

J Mysterio: Of course I’d love to take all the credit, but really this design was the result of trying to create something new through re-inventing existing designs. When I first joined Stockroom as an Assistant Designer I was a still in design school and was a bit intimidated of the industry as a whole, so rather than try to create new designs for fetish arenas I wasn’t familiar with, I pulled the best elements of some of our top selling items and molded them into one within a new form – and thus the bolero was born.

MNN: Not only does the Bolero offer access to the breasts and torso but it also eliminates the crotch strap, making sex play readily available without removing the straitjacket. The traditional straitjacket has been used in the fetish world for a very long time and has become somewhat of a staple in medical play. What made you decide to change up the design? What was your inspiration?

J M: I’ve always found straightjackets fascinating but impossible to make sexy. It was a personal design challenge of mine to make the bolero appeal to the female demographic, so my focuses for the piece became a snug fit, a sexy silhouette, and above all functionality. All in all it took about 4 months to complete the bolero design feeling confident we had met all those goals.

MNN: As a Domme the comfort of my submissive is very important to me, as one misplaced knot or buckle can distract from the controlled stimulation I provide and can take them out of headspace. The Bolero is extremely comfortable to wear for long periods of time and provides for great ease of motion and positioning. What measures did you take to ensure such comfort from such a binding garment?

J M: This would definitely be one of the top ten reasons on why I love designing for the Stockroom – staff fittings! We test all of our designs, and by that I mean we had employees nap on the top of our design tables while strapped into prototype samples of the bolero to ensure comfort. True story. Our philosophy is if you can sleep in it, you can definitely play in it!

MNN: Many popular fetish implements began in the medical field before they found their way into the BDSM scene. However the Bolero was created for fetish use before being introduced to the medical profession. What affect, if any, do you think this will have on bridging the gap between main stream and the fetish world?

J M: Well…I think main stream is still far off from exploring with the bolero in the bedroom. But it’s definitely a step closer than where the straitjacket is.

MNN: Your designs, along with the exceptional quality of leather, have put Stockroom’s leather merchandise in a class of its own. How did you get your start in leather crafting? Did you always want to be a designer?

J M: I always knew I wanted to be a designer having been an artist since birth. But it was really in design school where leather intrigued me. The craft was so specialized since it’s such a unique material. And I loved the rich history and uses leather offered. Leather will always exude a level of luxury and I don’t think I’ll ever see a day when I don’t appreciate a fine hide.

MNN: The adult industry has seen new designs and enhancements in sex toys to stay competitive. The same can be seen with fetish wear and lingerie. Stockroom has been in the fore front by offering top of the line fetish gear with cutting edge design, such as the Bolero Straitjacket. What other innovations do you foresee for Stockroom’s leather and bondage gear?

J M: We are always trying to make our designs better – more functional, higher quality. So I think in terms of innovation we may not re-invent the classics, but rather create hybrids of the best elements of the classics such as the bolero straitjacket. But that’s certainly not to say we don’t design out of the box and have the potential to create an entirely new category all together!

MNN: So we all know about your talents as a designer. Do you have any other talents you care to share? Are there any other hobbies that you turn to in order to get those creative juices flowing?

J M: If you consider it a talent, I would say I’m an expert trend researcher. Basically hitting up the local bookstore for hours on end, sifting through magazines and spotting anything that’s translatable to the bondage arena. And you’d be surprised – sometimes the most inspiration stems from interior design. As for hobbies, I’m no good at creating it, but I definitely consider myself a music enthusiast.

Alex Valich is the co-creator of redstr/collective in 2003. His experience from studying at Parsons School of Design and his work in fashion imaging can be seen in the designs at redstr/collective, in fact he and his partner Christine consider themselves “the DJs of design.” Here he tells us more about his Shibari themed teapot, Slave Betty, where he combines a common household item and mixes it with traditional Japanese rope bondage.

Ms. Nikki Nefarious: How did you get your start in design?

Alex Valich: Christine and I started redstr/collective in 2003 after we had both worked for different companies. I worked as an art director/creative director for fashion imaging firms as well as some of the early Silicon Alley companies. Christine mostly worked as a product designer for Boym Partners. After a while we got sick of dealing with client services and just thought it might be a good idea to put all the different ideas we had sketches for into action. So at that time we met with the owner of The Future Perfect, and influential design boutique in NYC and started to develop pieces for his store, and the rest is history.

MNN: What drew you to combine design with Shibari rope bondage?

AV: As displayed in all of our projects we really like to look at varying influences and how they meet cross-culturally. We were called into an exhibit to design some whereable technology pieces. After looking at holsters and belts, we were drawn to bondage. Naturally we wanted to do the most organic form of bondage and found Shibari as a perfect fit. Later on we were doing research on traditional tea ceremonies in Eastern as well as British culture and noted that there was some potential with the Shibari crossover. So we decided to go with it.

MNN: The Black Betty teapot is one of my favorite designs, it features a teapot tied with a harness similar to the Karada. For those that aren’t familiar with the Slave Betty piece, could you paint us a picture with words?

AV: The Slave Betty, a traditional British Teapot captured and harnessed in the ancient art of Japanese Shibari (rope bondage). This East-meets-West teapot is suspended for its master and made available for all to enjoy. It is made with one piece of bondage rope and based on traditional Shibari techniques.

MNN: Why did you choose a teapot specifically?

AV: We wanted to do a very East-meets-West piece. So we chose the most traditional British Teapot we could find, the Brown Betty. We also wanted it to encompass a very simple and feminine shape without any additions of ornament to be representative of a nude form.

MNN: I understand you exhibited a piece in a gallery in NYC. This piece combined themes of Shibari bondage and technology. Can you please give us more details about the design you chose for the exhibit?

AV: The piece was to get across the point of how we as a society have become bound to our technology. So we created a chest and waist harness for a cellphone and ipod. The Piece essentially showcased how the device holder could become not only a conceptual statement but a fashion accessory as well.

MNN: Can we expect more designs combining Shibari with everyday objects?

AV: We might not do another Shibari/bondage piece but we are very interested in exploring the meeting ground of human sexual practices and home living. I can see us doing more multi-functional pieces that combine and cross those lines in furniture and home accessories.

MNN: Where can we find more of your work?

AV: Our work can be found in select design boutiques around the country. Most notable are Show in Los Angeles, Propeller in San Francisco, and The Future Perfect in NYC.

MNN: What are your plans for the future?

AV: We are working on a few pieces for the ICFF (annual springtime design fair in NYC). One of which is using rope in the traditional construction of an eco-friendly furniture piece. We are also working on a jewelry line right now having to do with basic survival elements. In general we are just trying to push avant garde design in America to the next stage.

MNN: You are a man of many talents. Would you care to give us some insight into other projects?

AV: Currently I am going to be concentrating more on my social culture blog at fafp.wordpress.com. I find blog culture very interesting. I am also in the initial stages of starting a liquor business with my mom and trying to put the ground works of a cafe/tattoo shop in Brooklyn. I just need a zillion things to work on if not I find myself so bored.