SEATTLE—Passionate Playground is dedicating and renaming its Joyboxx + Playtray color combination, Purple and Black, in honor of adult retail and pleasure product pioneer Phyllis Heppenstall. The purple sex toy cleaning and storage system will now be called "The Phyllis."
In 2006, Seattle P.I. reporter D. Parvaz wrote a glowing profile of Heppenstall, "'Country girl' succeeds in the business of pleasure," which posited, "In a Life-vs.-Phyllis Heppenstall title match, you almost have to feel sorry for Life and all it has to toss at someone because it's no match for Heppenstall.”
Passionate Playground’s founder and Joyboxx inventor Deborah Semer recently discovered that Heppenstall passed away in mid-2021 after a battle with cancer.
Heppenstall was one of Passionate Playground’s angel investors who helped bring the world’s first patented, recyclable, non-toxic storage system to life. She was an enthusiastic promoter of sexual health and wellness, and in 2014 for the Joyboxx industry launch, she stated, “We must address the cleanliness of our adult ‘toys’ with the same passion that we use them. Finally here’s the product that all consumers need to address this void!”
“Purple was Phyllis’s favorite color and her Lover’s store logo color. I was thrilled when she held the first Joyboxx in her hands in 2014 at Starbucks in Auburn, Washington,” Semer said.
She continued, “Phyllis was my business mentor and fairy Godmother. I’m so grateful I got to honor her directly in her 80th birthday video message. That was April 2021, then we spoke in May, and that’s when she said she was fighting a battle with cancer, but felt positive about treatment. I’m gutted by this news and finding out a year and a half later, and really sad the industry she founded doesn’t know.”
In 1981, Heppenstall, along with Kris Butt, founded the first relationship-based retail boutiques to make sex toy shopping a pleasurable experience for couples. Peekay Boutiques Inc. grew to 45 retail stores in six states under the Lover’s Package, Condom Revolution, A Touch of Romance, and Christal’s brands. They sold the empire in 2012.
Ironically, Joyboxx has never been available for sale at her retail stores. After Heppenstall’s departure, the veteran buying staff followed, then bankruptcy, IPO, and acquisitions and now the Auburn, Washington Lover's chain has begun a new chapter as part of PLBY Group, which owns other brands such as Playboy, Yandy and Honey Birdette.
Joyboxx + Playtray is made in Washington State and celebrates its 10th year on Aug. 8, 2023.
“I’m happy that Phyllis’s legacy is still alive and hope that Joyboxx + Lover’s stores will finally come together,” Semer stated.
"The Phyllis" and other limited edition Joyboxx + Playtray color combinations are available for sale at select adult retail stores globally and directly at joyboxx.com. Wholesale inquiries can be sent to [email protected] or wholesalers can apply directly at joyboxx.com/holesale.
