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November 2005: PAUL SMITH’S DEVIANT’S DIARY - Skin Two Expo-sé.
I asked a man on the Clapham omnibus what he knew about the world of fetish. When he didn't speak English, I kept asking the question until I found someone who did. "Wot, like Skin Two ya mean?", he replied, and I knew I'd got the answer I'd wanted. Perhaps in a more contrived way than I wanted it, but let's not dwell. Thanks both to many years in the industry, and their magazines that grace most newsagents' shelves, public awareness of the Skin Two brand is probably the best in the latex-lovin' arena. I'd never been to any of their events, but when I begged for a pass to their Skin Two Expo at the Barbican Exhibition Hall in London and got one, it seemed rude not to go. Mind you, thanks to Marylebone being closed for descaling, the northern line's signals being eaten by troglodytes and some other stations (including Barbican) bunged up with scheduled maintenance, actually getting there proved to be worthy of a Ray Mears documentary. I even ended up saaaff of the river at one point!
The Expo was just one of several Skin Two events held over the October 7th to 9th weekend this year. The Cocktail Party kicked it off at 7.30 on Friday night, overlapping the Torture Garden weekend special club event, with TG finishing at 6am on Saturday. The Saturday Expo followed this, from 1 to 9pm. Then came the Rubber Ball club event (10pm 'til 6am Sunday) and more Expo from 1 to 7pm on the Sunday. And to finish things (and probably some people) off, 'The Club RUB finale' happening of dance and play, from 6pm 'til 2am on Monday. And then back to work at 9, having managed a few hours sleep over a punishing (haha) weekend. You'd also be £119 worse off, had you been lucky enough to be able to buy tickets on the door to every event. And that's before getting a hotel room you'd barely see, filling a few bags at the Expo and downing a few drinks at the club nights. A packet of Walkers crisps at the Expo was a pound. I survived Saturday on chocolates from stands, mostly. Special thanks to Jed of Falconberg Films (.com) for keeping my sugar levels up.
Inadvertently I've started this review on a downbeat. This is daft because I had a wonderful time. I've been to a few adult retail events over the last few years. Several Eroticas, the Birmingham Bizarre Bazaar and the London Fetish Fair, to name but some, but I have to say this was my favourite. A more relaxed atmosphere than Erotica, and just much bigger than the BBB and LFF -which are monthly rather than yearly events, of course. With 120ish stands it must be close to half the size of Erotica, and if it's not R18 films or sex toys you're after, far more focused. There were less (i.e. none) whirlpool bath or wire-coat-hanger head massager manufacturers too. Replacing them was a Club RUB dance area, a chill-out lounge and gallery area plus frequent rope bondage demos. On top of this there were twice-daily fashion shows by FairyGothMother, and as much rubber as you could eat. Corsets, bondage equipment, PVC and furniture. Shoes, boots, whips, paddles, crops, jewellery and lingerie. Leather, hosiery, millinery and nipple tassels…. I can't say I missed the spa baths.
Upstairs was the art area, well stocked with members of the Guild of Erotic Artists. A photographic demo was running at one end as I worked my way past paintings and sculpture to the photography of Leigh Perkins of Mighty Aphrodite. Along with Zena (no Warrior Princess comments. I made that mistake) they were showing their erotic portrait service off, and launching their new 2006 calendar, 'L'hotel Pigalle'. There were smiles all round as they'd already covered their weekend costs by 4pm on Saturday. Delighted with their first ever show -they do most of their business via their M-A.co.uk web site- talk turned to Erotica, which they'll be attending too. I took some photos of their stand for them (he, the photographer, had left his camera at home) and wished them well. Nice people.
Also on the upper deck I met someone I've become a bit of a fan of. I mentioned Nancy Farmer's Fetish Dollies (.co.uk) in ETO back in April '04 while talking about eBay. Rather than the rosy cheeked lady of a certain age I'd imagined (It's just her name, you know? It conjurors an image like Aunt Bessie, at least for me) she's a colourful-haired slip of a girl. We chatted about the joys of selling via eBay (the word Bondage is forbidden, but Fetish is ok) and she divulged the arcane secrets of giving small well-known fashion dolls nipples. It's all done with pins, apparently. Like a mixture of a plastic surgeon doing a breast reduction and a Voodooer, she just has to decide where to stick them. Her previous life as a jeweller means she has an eye for tiny detail, and she makes all the doll's outfits -and strap-on dildos- herself. Her very creative photographs of the miniature pervs sell via her web site from £3, and exhibitions like the Expo and Erotica make a good marketplace for £65 A3 framed prints.
Next-door Georgie Tier was looking pleased with herself. And so she should, she'd just sold her 'Moulin Rouge' painting for £950. As well as her rudeart text service, which was recently mentioned in ETO, she was showcasing both her original paintings and the prints she sells through erotic-art-online.co.uk. Having only started her boudoir-friendly imagery business this year, she was chuffed with how things were developing. Except in some parts of the US, where it seems some of her erotica is a bit too erotic to be art and not porn. Those crazy yanks, eh?
Rob Campbell of Stig-Art seemed very familiar but it turned out I'd just seen his haircut somewhere before. He was at the show for the second time, exhibiting some of his amazing sculptural furniture. When I said £1500 sounded cheap for one iron throne, given the amount of work that had gone into it, he said it was, but the delivery charge would add a fair bit more to the price. At over 120Kg, I don't suppose he'd post it First Class.
From the lofty viewpoint I was able to watch some very exotic visitors below. I spotted Fetischiska and Suzn, who were mixing a shopping trip with helping out on the AMF Korsets stand. Then I noticed Feisty Diva and her amazing hair and went to find out what she was doing at the show. Being from the US (I noted lots of Americans at the show, to say nothing of German, Dutch, Finnish and Danish accents. Clearly an event with a huge international appeal) she buys most of her outfits online, and was delighted with her first Skin Two Expo. Being able to feel and touch items made all the difference and she'd treated herself to some rubber gloves for the Ball that evening, and her husband Tim had a new latex shirt to wear.
I was a bit more star-stuck when I approached Rubberella. I blithered a few incoherent questions and discovered she'd performed at TG the night before, arriving on stage by weather balloon and she was at the Expo for the third time, not fighting the urge to shop. Before I could embarrass myself further, I escaped onto the Dark Garden Corsets stand and spoke to Autumn Adamme. She was wearing sensible shoes, having crippled herself at last year's Expo. Visiting from San Francisco for perhaps the tenth time, it was clear their made-to-measure corsets ("It's all about the comfort and the curve", she explained) were going down very well in the UK. She described Skin Two as the Fetish Bible, which set me thinking how well a rubber-bound copy of the testaments would be received in Utah. Humm.
Around the corner I met up with the two Andys, Smith and Crawley, of ElectraStim. I'd seen their Sensavox box at the ETO Show and they were kind enough to give me a seat and water while a customer explained that the best track to run into the box's audio-in (zap to the beat) was Crazy Frog. It has just the right contrast of high and low frequencies to make an electrical butt-plug your best friend apparently. Coincidentally, I've often wanted to stick the Crazy Frog up my arse. Andy pointed at gaps in their display, saying he was delighted to be selling out of some of their products - stuff was flying off the shelves, while Andy was showing the box and demo hand-grip off. "It gets painful over about 20, and the record's 81", he said, demonstrating the adjustable power knob. Now, for some reason the macho part of my brain suddenly thought it'd be a good idea to take that challenge. I can report above 20 it does get rather painful, and once you get it up into the 90's your whole arm is buzzing, your teeth are locked in a rictus of death and your ego is swollen, but slightly smoking.
Marquis de Sade furniture, who I also knew from the ETO Show in July, had expanded their range. As well as their own equipment, they were selling Brazilian-made Fetisso rubberwear and Japanese rope bondage supplies - both launched at the Expo. It was their first year there and they were very impressed by the atmosphere and looking forward to the club night. Sadly Vibrafun's Jason Regler was kept less busy on his stand. Perhaps it just wasn't the right show for his vibrating wares and he was looking forward to a more hectic Erotica. On the other side of the hall I chatted to Richard Thomas of Every Bottom Draw about their bondage products. He showed me a nicely powder-coated spreader-bar while explaining he was a Hot Rod (the cars, not the film company) fan and I instantly saw the connection. The presentation of metalwork as erotic art applies equally. He and his wife Katie (of What Katie Did. Think fabulous 50's underwear with cups like Zeppelin noses) were regulars. Customers were more inclined towards their sorts of products here than they are at Erotica, and the Expo wasn't clashing with the London Fetish Fair this year either.
Photographer Bex, of Ardent Images, was another familiar face, and then I noticed Princess Amalthea, one of the twins I'd photographed and interviewed for the August issue of ETO, looking stunning in a Bondinage dress. Fraser McDonald from the firm was promoting their new latex lines. Rubber pencil skirts, Amalthea told me, are very in at the moment. Fraser had been to the Expo with Ectomorph clothing before, but this was his first year with Bondinage and they were very happy with the reception.
SM-Factory is from Germany, and they were visiting the famous event for the second time to show off the quality of their made to measure metal collars and cuffs. Marco kindly locked his wife up for me to photograph on an internally lit adjustable Perspex cross. Elsewhere, Ian Gibson also posed for me, on his Herta Gummi stand. They are seasoned exhibitors here, especially since Erotica got too expensive for them to bother with. Their latex gloves were selling well, and they'd even sold a £70 Big John rubber dildo - at 20" long by 14" in circumference, it's as far round as some corsets I saw at the show.
The Libedex.com/Liberation stand was one of the larger ones and I got chatting to a Sanna about the tiny top hats she makes. Not least because she was wearing one and I felt she deserved some sort of a 'Lady with the smallest hat' prize. She steered me to Simon Rose who spoke enthusiastically about their new stitched rubber range of streetwear, which you could wear in front of your mum without there being questions about your sexuality. With the possible exception of the chaps. He was delighted with the speed they were selling. I also picked up a copy of the Fetish Map of London here, which I felt was a great idea. An out-of-towner after traditional thrills could find fun in Soho, but if their tastes were rather more - how should I put it? Refined? - then they might have to wander further-a-field. For just £2 cover price, the map could save them a lot of time and shoe leather. Simon pointed me towards Alan of Coffee, Cake and Kink, the man behind the map. On his book and gift item bedecked stand Alan showed me their "Home Baking" ad that's been on MTV and UK Living. Very proud to be at the creative end of the adult industry, I could see he regards the map as much as a public service and PR as a money-maker.
As well as stallholders, I wanted to speak to visitors to the show. As luck would have it, I recognised a face from The Boat - the floating BDSM club I'd visited last year for the magazine. I reminded Leanne of our prior meeting while admiring her latex maid's uniform and asked a series of quick-fire questions: "Have you been to this show before?" "Yes, every one. Which makes this my tenth, maybe?" "You must enjoy it then. What keeps bringing you back?" "The vibe. I can dress up and be myself while being like a kid in a sweatshop" - Well, that's what my notes say. I'm actually fairly sure she said 'sweetshop' and I just wrote it down wrong. I don't suppose too many people enjoy working 14 hours for 38p while pretending to be an Indonesian 12 year-old. But if there are, I'm not going to be judgmental… Anyway, I asked if she'd bought anything. "Some black and white stockings", she replied, "and Sophie here bought this lovely jacket". I turned to Sophie (a.k.a. Madam P.P.) who was, indeed, sporting a lovely new white latex jacket. I assumed she was a regular too, but it turns out she was an Expo virgin, and joked that the show was really bad. As my eyebrows went up in question she added, "for the purse! I really like the social atmosphere. It's very friendly here". I would have asked for a photo, but since Leanne isn't always Leanne if you see what I mean, I felt I'd imposed enough.
Smiley-faced Helen Durance on the ID Lubes stand was nice to see, as were her thigh-length silver boots. She'd attended several other shows but this was her first Expo. She said visitors seemed very informed about lube products, and their Millennium variety was proving especially popular, as it's silicon-based and ideal to help you slip into rubber as well as a lover. Not far away was the Kinky Boot Factory stand. Inspiration for the recent 'Kinky Boots' film as well as a subject of the BBC's Trouble at the Top series, it was good to see them at the event.
One distraction I frequently had to contend with was nipple tassels. I'd be minding my own business and suddenly they'd come towards me, working their way through the crowds, swinging seductively. "I'm mesmerised", I said as one lady passed. She took the time to swing them for me while I muttered, "Look at the nipples. Not around the nipples, at the nipples. Three, two, one, you're back in the womb". Sorry I didn't get a photo. I'm not sure I could have held the camera steady anyway.
As I walked stiffly out into darkness and drizzle, knowing full well I had an evil tube, train and bicycle journey home ahead, I still had a smile on my face. As a concept, you'd have to work hard to beat what Skin Two are doing with their frantic weekend of club nights, augmented with a retail event tailor-made to supply fetish clubbers with something new, tight and shiny to wear to them. Genius.
For those of you wondering what happened to my adult market research results feature, that's now been bumped to the December issue. So you still have time to send your pertinent questions to ETOMagazine@aol.com!
Paul Smith is still free to a good home. Kinky Job offers to info@snapsandbytes.co.uk please.
2700ish words on Sex(shopping) in the City, Dale. I hope you have room for them.
Paul.
FEEDBACK!
Hi Paul
I know that you have spoken to Paul (my husband) today but I just wanted to add my thanks re the Expo review in ETO. You begged me for a press pass and I pulled some strings to get you one – thank goodness I did! Next year it will be a doddle!!!
It was a really great review and it was fantastic to know that the effort we put in is worth it
Cathy