The third day of the 2005 AVN Adult Novelty Expo was fairly quiet compared to the busy days that preceded it. There was lots of room in the aisles, although retailers were still on the prowl checking out new products and placing orders.
In the relative calm, everybody — exhibitors and visitors alike — was feeling good. Just about the only complaint was the way the big hall heated up in the afternoon, driving buyers into the small adjoining Annex, cooled by giant fans.
“A fantastic show,” exclaimed Al Bloom of California Exotic Novelties, one of the sponsors, along with Doc Johnson, Topco Sales, Nasstoys and Pipedream. “Business-wise it was fantastic for us. We did tremendous sales.” He also was pleased with the new Pasadena location — “a busy, hustling area with a lot of nice restaurants.”
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Product-wise, Bloom was most excited about Cal Exotics’ new Berman Center Intimate Accessories line. The name is licensed from Dr. Laura Berman, a popular sexologist, who is an advisor on the project. What makes it different is that the vibrators and other sexual apparatus are packaged like cosmetics, in boxes with no explicit — or even non-explicit — sexual images.
Bloom said it has gotten a great response from retailers. The product’s chaste appearance makes it suitable even for drugstores. He said he has heard over and over again words to the effect that “finally there are sex toys that can be in the front of the store, in the lingerie department, and not in the back room.”
For retailers this year’s ANE vibes were equally positive. Kim Airs, owner of Boston’s Grand Openings and one of the nation’s high-profile erotic merchandisers (as well as a member of the Free Speech Coalition’s board of directors), said she’d placed plenty of orders.
After attending every version of the novelty expo since 1998 — “haven’t missed a one”— she was impressed by the way it has “really expanded outside of the novelty item range,” with more lingerie and lifestyle exhibitors than ever.
“The pace was less frenzied than in past years,” she added, “but all the manufacturers have been happy. It’s been a really good show. The energy is less hectic and the venue is easier to get around — two rooms and everybody’s here.”
As far as trends, Airs was struck most by vibrator shapes. The phallic shape — the literal representation of erection — is no longer as important as it once was. He point was taken in the displays of several of the larger manufacturers. The emphasis is increasingly more on neutral and abstract shapes, a result, she feels, of the strength of the growing women’s market.
Taylor Wane is one of many pornstars with their own novelty lines, but she was just about the only one still on the floor on Wednesday. The glamorous blonde held court at the booth of Nasstoys, the distributor of The Taylor Wane Signature Series. Even though the actual product won’t be ready until late fall, she is heavily into advance promotion.
Her line features six items: A vibrating pussy and ass; the Hot Pussy (flesh-feeling and hand-held); two kinds of strap-ons; and two kinds of hand-held torsos.
“I’m really into strap-ons,” she said, “but there needs to be dual stimulation.” Both of her strap-on products feature attachments that stimulate the wearer as well as the recipient.
“We’re designing all the boxes for the six items right now,” she added, “and they will be packaged and ready for the January AVN [Adult Expo] show, in the Nasstoys suite and at my own booth.”
Another star on hand was Candida Royalle, although the high-profile feminist filmmaker was wearing her novelty manufacturing hat at the booth of Adam & Eve, which distributes her Natural Contours. Created several years ago, they have been among the products that changed the shape of dildos — a major influence on vibrator design.
Royalle’s vibes could be small abstract sculptures, molded as they are to fit the natural contours of a woman’s body and, specifically, provide major g-spot stimulation. Her latest number is the Liberté, which features three-speed vibration and a pulsating mode.
One of her biggest sellers is the Energie, a Kegel exerciser. “We really have to educate about its use,” Royalle said, “about the importance of keeping your Kegel muscles strong. The stronger your vaginal muscles, the stronger your orgasm.”
She revealed that she has a new massager in development — “in a completely different shape” — to be revealed in “late fall-early winter.”
The Natural Contours influence could be seen in just about every dildo display, but especially at the Entrenue booth. For less than a year this Washington-based company has been distributing a striking European product called The Lelo.
Manufactured in Sweden, it’s a high end, hi-tech vibrator that can be held in the palm of the hand. The size of a small cellphone, it has 27 speeds and no batteries. Like a phone, it comes with a charger and the charge lasts for 90 days. The Lelo’s models retail for between $129 and $169, with two special items, in sterling silver and 18k gold-plate, going for $1300 and $1500, respectively.
At the other end of the spectrum from the sleek-tech look of Lelo and Natural Contours was the sheer fun of Big Teaze Toys, whose Rubber Duckie is one of the most popular novelties on the market.
For four years the Woodland Hills-based company has been bringing a welcome whiff of whimsy to the novelty business. According to Tony Levine, president and “Head of Tribology,” the “I Rub My Duckie Personal Massager has become essential in many households.
He’s got four new items. The daisy–shaped Flower Power is “not your garden variety vibrator.” The Travel Duckie comes in I-Pod colors of blue, green and orange. The Travel Fishie has bulging eyeballs for massage work, and “put some lube between the eyeballs and it works for guys, too.” The I Love My Penguin — nearly as cute as the Duckie — can be used as vibe or plug.
Another truly novel novelty is Make Your Own Dildo. Owner Joe Hanson proudly showed off a new vibrating version of the popular DIY dildo kit, along with a new commercial that’s running in heavy rotation on the TEN dish network. He had a great response last year when the product was featured in an episode of The Osbournes, and he’s been pursuing similar TV tie-ins.
He said the dildo kit sells well to “military guys who want to clone their dicks before going off to war,” and to all guys who travel a lot — “they can leave a little of themselves at home with their wives.”
PK Wholesalers, a Washington-based conglomerate that has internet, affiliate, wholesale and distribution facets, had some new products to promote as well. They’ve just launched a whole new line, Sutera Toys, which help to fill the shelves in the 33 retail stores they own in Washington and California. Another is The Sinulator, a wireless sex toy controller that can be operated over the Internet.
The folks from PK (or PeeKay as it’s often spelled out), along with the owners of smaller operations like Cum Kleen, Sheets Gone Wild, Nasutra, Weinie Wear, The Screaming O, Lube Shooter, Gun Oil, Get Naughty Body Accessories, and dozens of others, seemed to be tired but happy. When the booths started coming down at 3 p.m., the 2005 ANE show could be chalked up as having achieved what it set out to do: bring the novelty trade together for profit and fun.
Pictured: Taylor Wane.
