Mistress Poubelle reports on The Lair at AEE. Attendees of the show can go tonight (January 22) at 11 p.m., to the Lair Fetish Party inside Vinyl Nightclub at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
LAS VEGAS—The AVN show rocked the world of kink by presenting The Lair during the AEE at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas. Taking over the balcony overlooking the action-packed floor of the concert venue, The Joint, vendors beyond the scope of vanilla plied their wares to the experienced, the curious, and those seeking something different than the mini-skirted, cleavage-exposing attendees of AEE.
In hosting The Lair for the second year, Mistress Cyan from the Sanctuary LAX shared, “We were busy even on Wednesday, the first day the show was open. We saw our friends that were here last year as well as a lot of new attendees. It’s fantastic that so many people came upstairs on the first day to check out The Lair. I’m so proud of AEE sponsoring it as well as industry stalwarts Kink.com and The Stockroom lending their support.”
Many familiar faces from the Los Angeles and Las Vegas kink community have made it their priority to be in The Lair during the show. Mistress Hudsy Hawn, from The Stockroom and The Dominion in Los Angeles, not only provided knowledgeable customer service to those wanting to buy equipment from their store in The Lair but also shared tricks and tips for those who wanted to learn. As director of education for Stockroom University, Hudsy feels strongly about encouraging new participants in the exciting world of kink. “Of course, the whole Fifty Shades phenomenon opened a lot of doors but it’s also a matter of keeping them open, to support newcomers with new ideas to push their boundaries and discover where they can take themselves,” she shared. “It always amazes me to be one of the first people in the scene they encounter because so many people have the misconception that those who partake in this must have something wrong with them. Once they learn and get to know us, we’re actually a really nice bunch of people who just love to play!”
Returning East Coast vendor Leather by Danny premiered many new, practical and exciting products in this year’s Lair, including custom-made wood blocks which provide instant bondage points for surfaces that are too delicate to attach them to. Danny shared “I come up with these ideas and products when I realize there is nothing out there to accommodate what I need. As they say, ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ and when I create something that I can put to good use myself, then I know it’s going to be a great product.” Other products showcased included his hand-crafted, high-quality leather “Split Thumper” which is the Leatherman tools of kink. “There’s so much you can do with this!” Danny exclaimed and whenever a curious buyer was in his booth, he gladly demonstrated the product’s versatility and use. “Along with my best selling Grip Cuffs, the Split Thumper is my other popular item here and it does well here in The Lair. I’ll definitely be coming back next year, too.”
L.A.-based Justin Sayne’s crop of real alligator floggers, whips, and other sexily textured, one of a kind devices of pleasure and pain, were again the hit in The Lair. “The extraordinary shapes and textures are what makes my whips and slappers different than anything out there,” Justin explained. “Not only can you use the textured, alligator side of the skin but the other side is a nice, softer suede. I’ve expanded the line from when I was here last year in the Lair and there’s been a lot of nice interest and sales, too. I’m happy.”
Flogger Knows Best, based in Lancaster, Pa., vended in the Lair for the fourth year and was, in fact, one of the original vendors in the Lair venue. Scott, the “father” of the company, said, “It’s been fantastic! There was a crowd for Wednesday and today has been busy, too.”
Scott continued, “The vanilla reaction has been open and they’ve been willing to experiment and try the different sensations the floggers produce. I’ve been doing a lot of education, especially that floggers can be sensual and do not have to hurt. Since we sell a little bit of everything including soft deer, elk, pig, which is sturdy and sueded on both sides, we really do have something for everyone. For the harder players, there’s bull and buffalo, too. I’m looking forward to being here next year because it gets me out of the snowy northeast in January!”
Steampunk design fabricators Kyla’s Keepsakes from Phoenix vended hand-made feather accessories, voluminous skirts with matching corsets and handmade leather goods and custom embroidery. “We’re the first steampunk designer to be here at the AEE show!” exclaimed owner Kyla Kahn. “There’s an incredible crossover with steampunk and the BDSM scene so it was a natural fit for us to be here. The reception has been great and many people are coming here for accessories for their sexy outfits they’re wearing here at the show. It’s been good for our customers and us. On another note, I’d love to see steampunk more in the porn industry. The Victorian era is sexy because it leaves something to the imagination.” Get crackin’ smut heads!
For the third year in a row, Palmdale-based Orchid and Serpent split their store with the more vanilla and intro kink products being sold on the main AEE floor and the harder core products in the Lair. “Wednesday was a little slow but considering it was the first day, it’s to be expected,” owner Philip said. “It’s been much better today with lots of friendly people looking for kinky things to do. We basically have something for everyone to hit, strike or put in!”
Leyland Craftwork repeated their vending this year with owner/creator Claire Agincourt showing off his wide collection of canes and paddles made with acrylic, Lexan, flexible carbon fiber and of course, leather. “My customers are either the starting out vanilla crowd or the most experienced player who knows exactly what they want. The vanilla crowd buys riding crops I think because they are the iconic BDSM tool,” Claire shared. “Riding crops are considered a safe toy to use because it’s difficult to accidentally injure someone with a riding crop, unless of course, you are a horse.”
Locally based The Black Room German fetish store, has presented their wares at the Lair for the past three years. The owner, Franz, sold general merchandise in the Lair which includes clothes of all shapes and styles. “We’ve had very good sales and the casual, non-scene Fifty Shades of Gray shopper tends to buy our dresses, leather harnesses, latex, patent leather, maybe some lingerie and hosiery. We sell more clothing than equipment since there are other vendors for those products. There’s also interest in our dungeon furniture, too, which we are not only showing but demoing at the Lair, too.”
Out from Phoenix, Bad Dragon showed off unique fantasy-based silicone dildos, including a Demon pointed headed dildo which has been created in association with Kink.com. According to Varka, the company CEO, “The show has been fantastic and beyond our expectations! Last year we just wandered around but to be a vendor this year has been really really good so far.” Bad Dragon’s uniquely designed and colored dildos stopped customers in their tracks with the spotlighted, glass enclosed dildo collection. “”Our toys are like nothing they’ve ever seen and we like it like that.”
And so, apparently, do all of the visitors to the 2016 edition of The Lair. After all, kink is fun and there’s much to be had here at the AEE show.
