Pictured above, Domcon exhibitors. Top, from left: Flirt4Free booth, Baroness, Liquid Red. Bottom, from left: PEPTalk booth, artist Jay Moyes and his work. For more DomCon LA photos, click here and here.
Swinging whips, sky-high stilettos, furries and latex, leather and fur, beautiful women with sharpened nails, and men who know the difference between a signal and single joined hostess Mistress Cyan at the recent DomCon, taking place at the LAX Hilton in Los Angeles, May 17-21.
DomCon is the long-running BDSM get-together for dominatrixes from around the country who are joined by others, both professionals and non-pros, who enjoy serious “playtime.”
Founded by Los Angeles-based Mistress Cyan—owner of the LAX area Sanctuary Studios and head Mistress of The Lair at the annual AVN Adult Entertainment Expo—DomCon presents dozens of workshops with a kink flavor and hosts a wide variety of vendors. The evenings are packed with BDSM parties with the Sanctuary’s own filled to capacity every night.
Mistress Cyan shared her thoughts on the success of this year’s DomCon for the 1,600 people in attendance, commenting on “the camaraderie that has grown between members of the professional community and the lifestyle BDSM community.”
Cyan noted, “We have attendees from all over the world, of all genders, race and sexual orientations, meet and learn in a positive environment that is totally non-judgmental. DomCon brings people together to celebrate their commonality while respecting the differences and diversity of one another. I have been told over and over by people from all over the globe that DomCon is like no other event they have ever attended. They come to socialize, network and learn. It is an overall positive experience that spans a full five days every May in Los Angeles.”
The parties at the nearby Sanctuary were events that were not to be missed for anyone in the BDSM scene. Both the Friday night Play Party and the Saturday night Fetish Ball were sold out with many of the attendees sampling out the wares they had bought earlier in the day. Anxious submissives wanted to play with both professional doms on every level of the gender scale and the tops were happy to oblige.
Mistress Cyan also pointed out that AVN has been a sponsor of the Play Party for the past three years and “we promote AVN/AEE prominently. Vendors such as Orchid & Serpent Stores, Whipping Stripes, Justin Sayne Leather, Leather By Danny, Ravynblood Leather, Leyland Creations and more are all longtime DomCon exhibitors who exhibit and support The Lair at AEE every January.”
Mistress Cyan didn’t hesitate to point out the similarities between the shows. “The energy and atmosphere of DomCon is also present in The Lair at AVN/AEE. The big buzz at DomCon this year: the excitement of The Lair returning to the original space upstairs in The Joint at The Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas in January.”
The vendors also had a successful DomCon as well. Las Vegas-based Liquid Red’s Megan A. said, “I like the community of DomCom: everyone is so open-minded and it makes the whole experience very enjoyable. I have a lot of friends that go to DomCon who are vendors, Doms and just attendees, so it was great to see so many familiar faces in the kink community.”
Megan continued, “My most popular items are lace and chain harness tops, but I also sell jewelry, collars, rings, bikinis and other accessories and gifts. DomCon was pretty busy!”
Well-known fetish artist Jay Moyes displayed his original artwork at DomCon, something he has been doing for years. Jay specializes in drawing fetish artwork and has moved into painting kinky artwork featuring Femdom themes, and bondage art of men and women. Based in “south porn valley,” Canoga Park, Jay noted the mix of adult industry and the BDSM scene down is a very handy combination and has been seeing more dungeons pop up in the valley.
Jay remained busy by creating commissioned work on the spot, which impressed those clients who wanted their own individualized piece of art. As for the specialized artwork he sells at the show, he offers smaller greeting cards and stickers that are more appealing to kinky collectors. Jay added, “I actually meet people who collect my greeting cards because they can't display my full-sized art at home.”
Also being a veteran of the adult industry, Jay noticed that vendors Flirt4Free picked up on something he feels is seriously missed by the adult industry. “Flirt4Free came in with recruiters from the BDSM community and signed up a lot of new broadcasters. BDSM can be a big cult of personality business,” Jay observed. “We have content creators, webmasters and e-commerce people at DomCon. A lot of adult business people at the top want to distance themselves from the sex that actually makes their business. That's a shame, and they lose out on a lot of opportunities by not being here.”
Flirt4Free’s Karly Kroft added, “DomCon was an all-around success. It was a pleasure to share our brand with the local kink community and learn about other vendors. We signed up more broadcasters than expected, so definitely profitable.”
Noting that DomCon is unlike any other industry convention, Karly felt the kink community is always so welcoming and engaging. By the end of the weekend, the neophyte Flirt4Free attendees felt like family. Flirt4Free has been plying their offerings at AVN’s AEE show for five years but this was their first kink-related show.
As many in the adult industry know, Flirt4Free not only provides a “general” webcam but also hosts Flirt4Free Fetish, which is a kinky live-cams community connecting niche fetish and BDSM models with the users who love them. Karly added, “We are the only live-cams company with an established fetish community including a Fetish education section, over 50 specific fetish categories, and fetish-specific model contests. We are proudly based out of Los Angeles.”
As for the future, Karly said, “We couldn’t be happier with our success at DomCon. Looking forward to next year!”
Karen, from the world famous Sybian and Venus for Men, also attended DomCon for the first time. Karen exclaimed, “DomCon was fantastic for us! We had a steady stream of interested clients and buyers. We gave out special DomCon Discount cards and created a special DomCon Package for our Venus for Men, which has been very popular.” She continued, “We loved the clients at the show. People were able to touch and feel our product lines and that really helped them see our quality and dedication to client satisfaction.”
Sybian and Venus for Men, based in central Illinois, specializes in high-end pleasure (masturbation) machines for men and women. At DomCon, they showcased some new, 100 percent silicone parts for the Sybian as well as a fluid-proof cover in collaboration with Sheets of San Francisco. The Venus for Men display allowed participants to feel the inside of the lubed Receivers and see how custom sizing makes for an enhanced experience, also freeing up hands for other things.
Regarding their impressions of the company’s first time at DomCon, Karen noted, “We were very impressed with the sheer number of events, classes and shows they were able to pack into three short days: there was truly something for everyone! We loved the vibe of the crowd and people seemed to let their hair down and had some fun. We’ll definitely be back!”
New Mexico-based PEPTalk, a phone sex service for the BDSM community, had a booth and sponsored the Pro-Domme Social at DomCon.
PEP CEO Sera Miles enthusiastically shared, “We love connecting with colleagues at DomCon! We hire phone Ladies from all over—we serve the whole world! PEP offers intimate conversation, specializing in kink, fetish, and BDSM. Our Ladies are authentic lifestyle women—the real deal. At PEP, we believe everyone has an inherent right to a shame-free life. Our Ladies provide phone sex plus vulnerable, honest, life-changing conversation, and DomCon is the best place to meet those who would like to use our service and those who want to provide it.”
Kink Factory trekked from New Mexico for the second time to vend at DomCon. Their custom spanking paddles, high-quality insertables, tail butt plugs and unique and heavy-hitting impact toys all fit right in to the niche market that DomCon supports.
Boston-based Leather By Danny displayed his many hand-crafted tools of the trade and his clever Split Thumper was a big seller at DomCon. Created by Danny himself, the Split Thumper is a magnetically connected slapper made in a variety of leathers. Danny’s Grip Cuffs, his most popular invention, are comfortable restraints attached to a foam grip allowing the captive to regain circulation in their hands when held in bondage. Danny’s representative shared, “Between the popularity of our Split Thumpers and the demand for Grip Cuffs, we were busy the entire time!” For information, visit LeatherByDanny.com.
Sharing the booth with Leather By Danny was an innovative adult product sanitizer, UVee. Using ultra violet light, the scientifically proven UVee sanitizes anything within the sleek, two-sized units. A UVee representative stated how UVee even neutralizes blood-borne pathogens, a point that is not lost on the BDSM community. “For those kinksters who enjoy this type of play, UVee will safely sanitize any bodily fluid on just about every surface, including blood. Our lab happens to be Harvard Medical School, because we wanted only the best researchers for our product.” Sales of UVee were brisk among those in attendance at DomCon. Visit UVeeclean.com.
The Frugal Domme from Santa Rosa, California, presented her variety of canes, floggers, paddles and straps at DomCon. With her specialty vegan toys, sales were steady. She opined, “Apparently, there are very few vendors who have anything vegan, so they were great sellers.”
Whipping Stripes’ Dhaene Dailey vended at DomCon for the past few years. “I love everything about DomCon. We always have such a great time there and it’s very profitable for us.” Specializing in floggers and single tail whips, the Whipping Stripes booth was busy during the entire show. “We were also at the AEE show and will be attending next year, too!”
NYC-based Baroness was in the room, vending for the first time at DomCon. “Elegant, provocative latex fashions are my specialty for both men and women and available from my website Baroness.com,” shared the Baroness herself. “I also provide custom designs, off the rack, queen sizes and bizarre rubber,” many of which were on display and for sale at DomCon.
If you can’t wait ’til the next DomCon in May 2018, you can get your fix at the Southern version of DomCon. held in New Orleans this October. You don’t want to get tied up and not go … maybe just tied up.
