Group portrait taken at DomCon; photo courtesy DomCon Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES—DomCon, the bi-annual gathering of BDSM enthusiasts from around the world hosted by Mistress Cyan from Sanctuary LAX, was held recently at the LAX Hilton. Now in its 16th year, DomCon has always drawn prominent Dominas along with a strong presence of submissives, switches, the curious and the all-important newbies—and this year’s participants did not disappoint.
First-time attendee George, from Huntington Beach, shared, “I wanted to check it out because I’ve always wanted to see what the scene was like here in L.A. I’ve always been turned on by getting spanked and knew I could connect with people here who shared the same interest that I have. I didn’t want to meet people online because I really want to experience spanking and not just fantasize about it. I’m looking forward to learning a lot and meeting new people and am excited to be here for the first time.”
The packed workshops geared for professional dominas included presentations regarding the business practices of pro-domination, legal issues, safety issues, aftercare, establishing contracts with clients, marketing in the digital world, and many other timely and important topics. Presented by experienced and knowledgeable members of the scene, each workshop provided plenty of information sharing and Q&As for those already in the business and those just beginning to explore the profession.
Perhaps the most important and well-attended workshop dealt with bringing a particular topic out of the shadows: “Working Through Mental Illness and Anxiety in the Pro Domination Community.” When approached about having a workshop like this at DomCon, Mistress Cyan embraced the idea and felt that it was important to present such an in-depth program. “I know we all have, in some point in our lives, experienced some level of mental issues and this workshop presented the challenges in a non-judgmental and extremely informative way. Considering all the stigmas society places on anyone doing pro domme work, I’m so proud to offer the safe space that DomCon is to allow deep diving into the topic. I am grateful and honored to have offered this workshop.”
Many of the workshops were also geared for new participants in the scene and included experienced players who shared their knowledge about skills, safe words, physical limits, verbal communication and the like. “I always feel it’s important to offer classes for new people because we all had to start somewhere,” Mistress Cyan explained. “It opens the community for both doms and submissives to explore what works for them on so many levels.”
Classes and workshops are just the beginning of the offerings at DomCon. Besides the stellar networking opportunities, the show also attracts diverse exhibitors from around the country. Many producers of high-quality and hard-to-find equipment attend the show, selling their wares and offering suggestions on how to get the most out of the products. Vendor booths also promoted new venues, experiences and clubs to further expand the kink community in Southern California.
Photos courtesy DomCon Los Angeles
“We had 15 new booths this year!” Mistress Cyan boasted. “We had 70 vendors and sold out the spaces pretty quickly. We are known to be one of the best events for vending and I am glad we got the chance to expand our booth count instead of decreasing it.”
There was much interest in the announcement that the world’s largest fetish club, Torture Garden, based in London, will be hosting an event in downtown Los Angeles in September. Taking over the historic Globe Theatre, the event will include countless performances by globally well-known kinksters, non-stop DJs and, most impressively, Mistress Cyan and Sanctuary Studios will host the play space. “We are so excited to be back in L.A. after 17 years!” exclaimed Paul Faust, the event’s producer. “With the support of Mistress Cyan, this will be an amazing evening the likes that L.A. has never seen before!”
Vendors far and wide stocked their booths with the very best for the attendees of DomCon. Frequent vendors Passionale from Philadephia, The Baroness and Baby Loves Latex from New York City reported sales of brighter colors and flashier styles, including military-inspired jackets, fuller latex skirts, and plenty of latex bustiers.
Platinum sponsor Sybian presented a wide variety of silicone attachments for its classic masturbating saddle. With plenty of product demos that showed the Sybian in action, it easily appealed to both the kink and vanilla crowds. Joining the Sybian is the automatic men’s stroking machine, Venus for Men, which is ideal for Doms to keep their submissive men occupied during sessions.
Boston’s Leather By Danny offered his wide selection of his versatile Split Thumpers, his trademarked Grip Cuffs, heel locks, his distinctive Back Binders, custom-made paddles and many other handcrafted items. Danny mentioned that sales were steady and was kept busy with shoppers adding to their collection of his well-made products.
CK Underground from Mesa, Arizona, attended its second DomCon and offered 100 percent handmade replacement “crackers,” which are the tips of singletail whips that give them their distinctive “crack” when snapped. “These are often the first things to go on singletails,” CK’s spokesperson elaborated. “They’re easy to replace and can even leave different marks and give different sensations to the lucky recipient!”
Canes4Pain mentioned how great vending is at DomCon. The maker, Fran WhypDancer from Ft. Myers, Florida, asserted, “We always do really well here. The Dommes always come back to restock their collection and see what else we have to offer. We have a devoted clientele because I make them right the first time!” New this year was a Wartenburg Wheel-equipped cane with a built-in wheel in the base of the handle. WhypDancer crowed, “I come up with these and keep outdoing myself! We’re the only ones making canes like this!”
Torrid Timber, based in Eugene, Oregon, presented handcrafted wood hand restraints, stocks and a finely finished Ishidaki Board, which was initially created in the Edo era in Japan. Meant for consensual punishment, the triangular wood panels create an uneven surface for submissives to kneel upon, creating an excruciating level of pain for the sub and a great level of pleasure for the Dom!
The Crafty Hedonist, based in Sacramento, showed off its creative silicone dildos based on anime themes and designs in colors that dazzled all who checked them out. DomCon was the company's first show and sales were brisk.
Restrained Grace, based in San Diego, was vending at its third DomCon, and according to Miss Annie, “by far, this has been the best one.” Restrained Grace’s distinctive product line consists of delicate submissive collars and restraints that can easily pass for 24/7 jewelry. “Rose gold has really taken off as a color preference because it’s not quite gold and very unique. Also, we are now using nickel-free metals and locks for all of our pieces and I’m really excited about that!”
AfterCare unveiled its new BDSM-inspired products to stimulate and soothe skin before and after sessions. Available in creams, tinctures, water based or as oils, the products can reduce anxiety for nervous bottoms or stimulate the senses to fix the dreaded “top drop.” AfterCare also offers Fuck-It RAW oil based lubricant, delivering a whopping dose of 250mg of CBD, or the water based Fuck-It Aqua, with 60mg of CBD. The company’s Adam Phillips said, “DomCon is the first show we’re doing although our products have been out for some time. We are branding them for the BDSM community, which we feel is greatly underserved and can benefit the most from our formulas. I am sure as our brand gets out there among the kinksters, it will be extremely popular. All of our products have been doing great at DomCon!”
Current Pleasures offered attendees every variety of e-stim products available, including products to produce micro-currents and adapters for every system. Current Pleasures’ Miss Vixen exclaimed, “We have a huge variety of everything to support the e-stim community whether they like their stimulation inside or outside.” She added with a wink, “We always do shockingly well at DomCon.”
Dr. Susan Block taught a well-attended class about the pleasure-lovin’ bonobo chimps and the power of female dominance at the animal level. She provided many examples of how humans could learn from these mammals and promoted her book, The Bonobo Way. She also has just released an extensive magazine with her collection of art, writings and musings titled Speakeasy and she mentioned how well it is doing for her. “The best way to get a copy of that is to be in touch with me on my website. I know everyone will thoroughly enjoy it!”
Fetish photographer Douglas Cooper presented his large-format giclee prints of women in the scene and other ethereal images. “DomCon is not only a great place to sell my prints but also provides an incredible networking opportunity for meeting professional doms,” Douglas shared. “It’s been a really good show and I did a few shoots, too.”
SoCal-based Orchid and Serpent, which also has a booth in the Lair at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in January, covered all the bases with a variety of fetish gear, hats, floggers, butt plugs, clothing and more. “It’s always good for us to have a double booth at DomCon,” Orchid and Serpent’s Susan chuckled. “We have everything that attendees forgot at home, so we’re always busy!”
World-famous DeMask presented their high-quality latex wear and accessories and was graced by Mistress Isabella Sinclair, who was promoting her own line of toys made by SoCal based adult novelty company XRLLC. DeMask had recently opened its own branded retail store in downtown L.A. and attended DomCon to build on that momentum.
Corsets galore, floggers, whips and singletails of all different lengths and materials rounded out the vast selection of goods at this year’s DomCon. In case you missed this annual event here in Los Angeles, DomCon also takes place in New Orleans in September 2019.
