 Babeland logo | |
 Babeland in Seattle (2023) | |
| Industry | Specialty Retail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1993 in Seattle, Washington, US |
| Founders | Claire Cavanah, Rachel Venning |
| Headquarters | , USA |
| Parent | Good Vibrations |
| Website | www |
Babeland, until 2005 known as Toys in Babeland, is a sex toy boutique offering erotic toys, books and pornographic films. LGBTQ-owned [1] Babeland has an online store and four retail stores (in Seattle, Brooklyn, and two in Manhattan).
Claire Cavanah and Rachel Venning founded Toys in Babeland in 1993, in response to the lack of women-friendly sex shops in Seattle. The store's name is a spoonerism of Babes in Toyland, a feminist riot grrrl punk band and Babes in Toyland , the title of a 1934 Laurel & Hardy film. Committed to offering information and encouragement to women who wanted to explore their sexuality, the owners focused on selling quality sex toys in a boutique-like setting. [2]
In 1995, Toys in Babeland started its mail order business with a small print catalog based out of their Seattle store. Shortly thereafter, in 1996, the Toys in Babeland website followed. In 1998, the owners opened their second Toys in Babeland store in New York City, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. In 2003, they opened another New York store, in SoHo. In 2005, Babeland debuted its fourth store in Los Angeles, which has since closed. In 2008, Babeland opened a new location in Park Slope, Brooklyn, [3] making a total of three stores in New York City.
In 2003, Venning and Cavanah published Sex Toys 101: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing and Using Sex Toys. [4]
In 2008, Babeland ran a promotion in which they gave away a free sex toy to anyone who voted in that November's election. [5]
In January 2010, Venning and Cavanah, in association with Jessica Vitkus, published a second book: Moregasm: Babeland's Guide to Mind-Blowing Sex [6]
In May 2016, the Babeland stores in New York City voted to be represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, becoming the first U.S. sex shops to be unionized. [7]
In August 2017, Babeland was sold to rival sex shop Good Vibrations. [8] [9] Babeland continues to operate as a separate brand.
Queer erotica author Dena Hankins worked at Babeland as Web Operations Manager from 1998 to 2006. [10]
Babeland has received numerous awards over the years, including a 2006 Zagat's Survey award as "the best shopping experience in New York."[ citation needed ] In 2014, it was voted "Best Place to Buy Sex Toys" by The Village Voice , [11] Voted "Best Sex Shop" of 2016 & 2017 by the Best of Seattle 2016 Reader Poll in Seattle Weekly [12] [13]
A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate sexual pleasure, such as a dildo, artificial vagina or vibrator. Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals, and may be vibrating or non-vibrating. The term sex toy can also include BDSM apparatus and sex furniture such as sex swings; however, it is not applied to items such as birth control, pornography, or condoms. Alternative terms for sex toy include adult toy and the dated euphemism marital aid. Marital aid also has a broader meaning and is applied to drugs and herbs marketed to enhance or prolong sex.
FAO Schwarz is an American toy brand and retail chain. The company is known for its high-end toys, life-sized stuffed animals, interactive experiences, brand integrations, and games.
A sex shop is a retailer that sells products related to adult sexual or erotic entertainment, such as sex toys, lingerie, pornography, and other related products.
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In BDSM terms, a zipper is a string of clothespins or other clips, held together loosely by a cord or light chain.
Fred Meyer, Inc. is an American chain of hypermarket superstores and subsidiary of Kroger based in Portland, Oregon. The stores operate in the northwestern United States, with locations in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. The company was founded in 1922 by Fred G. Meyer in Portland. The chain was one of the first in the country to promote one-stop shopping, eventually combining a complete grocery supermarket with a drugstore, bank, clothing, jewelry, home decor, home improvement, garden, electronics, restaurant, shoes, sporting goods, and toys. Fred Meyer was acquired by Kroger in 1998, but the stores retained the Fred Meyer name.
A toy store or toy shop is a type of retail business specializing in selling toys.
Good Vibrations is a sex-positive San Francisco-based corporation selling sex toys and other erotic products. It operates nine retail stores: seven in the San Francisco Bay Area, one in Brookline, Massachusetts, and one in Harvard Square; a mail-order business; an e-commerce website; a wholesale arm; and an erotic-video production company, Good Releasing. Formerly, it operated three publishing companies: Down There Press, Passion Press and Sexpositive Productions.
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