BATH, England—Lovehoney, the UK-based manufacturer and seller of adult pleasure products, has launched a contest to find the next big sex toy.
The contest is similar to one the company conducted in 2009, when Trevor Murphy of Toronto, who designed the oral sex simulator the Sqweel.
Hundreds of thousands of Sqweels have been sold worldwide and the designer Trevor Murphy has earned more than $150,000 in royalties. It was even featured on Jay Leno's hit The Tonight Show in the U.S.
“I’ve been squealing with delight every since I won,” Murphy said. “It has been wonderful seeing my design sold all over the world and even featured in movies and on the Jay Leno show in America. The team at Lovehoney is wonderful to work with. They are fantastic at bringing innovative designs to the market.”
For the most recent competition, Fifty Shades of Grey author E.L. James is on the judging panel, along with LELO and Toyfriend founder Eric Kalén. Lovehoney has worked with James previously to produce the official collections of Fifty Shades sex toys and pharmacy products.
“Designing the Fifty Shades of Grey Official Pleasure Collection and Sensual Care Collection has been a great experience,” James said. “Seeing your ideas come to life is hugely rewarding and I'd recommend entering Lovehoney's Design a Sex Toy competition to anyone."
Lovehoney is offering a $1,500 prize in three categories: best sex toy for women, men and couples. A further $3,000 will go to the overall winning design which has the chance to go into production like Murphy’s Sqweel.
“If we get a design which brings something completely new to the market there is no reason why the designer cannot enjoy the same kind of pay day as Trevor,” Lovehoney co-founder Neal Slateford said. "You don't need to be engineer or a designer to enter—all we need is a great idea and a rough sketch so that our designers can make your sex toy become a reality."
Entrants need to provide a drawing of their design, a product name, plus an explanation of how it works, whom it is for and what makes it different. For more details and where to email entries, go to http://www.lovehoney.com/design-a-sex-toy/. Entries can also be mailed to D.A.S.T, LH Trading, 100 Locksbrook Road, Bath, BA1 3EN, United Kingdom.
For more information, visit Lovehoney.co.uk.
