When
you're a perv in San Francisco, there are a lot of local
legends -- but chief among them is the incomparable Mister
S. When word spread five years ago that Mister S was
opening a boutique for women and couples, local scenesters
stirred themselves into a frenzy. With unique designs
and a lovely retail space right across the street from
the renowned Mister S store, Madame S quickly took a place
of honor in SF Bay Area fetish circles. Hosting book signings,
educational events, and meet-and-greets in addition to
its retail offerings, Madame S has been a centerpiece
of the local scene.
But such pervy goodness couldn't be contained in the small storefront where Madame S resided for five years. This past year, the opportunity arose for both Madame S and her big bad leather daddy Mister S to take over a phenomenal new space at 385 8th Street, just a hop, skip and a jump from the old location -- and still in the heart of SF's South of Market district, the epicenter of the leather revolution. Opening its doors at 2005's Folsom Street Fair, this breathtaking new location sent tremors through the local scene. "Have you seen it?" one player said to me with awe in her voice. "It's fucking amazing."
And "fucking amazing" doesn't even begin to describe it -- with a retail floor of well over 15,000 square feet, the new location is now, bar none, the biggest bondage and fetish showroom in the world.
In their new digs, Mister S and Madame S occupy the same suite, separated only by the thinnest of veils -- well, actually, a rack of sex toys. The combined retail floor allows full play for the fine custom and off-the-rack corset designs of Madame S as well as a stunning array of BDSM equipment, art books, erotic DVDs, and other delights. As if that weren't enough, simply ease your way into the main Mister S retail floor for all the male-oriented, testosterone-pumped eroticism that makes that store a mainstay of the gay community. "We see a whole lot of male-female couples," says Paige White, proprietrix, with Tchukon Hunter, of Madame S. "They can shop for her over on this side of the store, and then make their way over to find something for him. It's really quite a diverse group of people -- just about everyone you can imagine comes here."
Employees on the retail side, in fact, mention the frequent arrival of fetish celebrities at the showroom -- from locals like Kumi and Midori to it-girls and guys from Europe, Australia and Asia. Without a doubt, this is the place to come when you're visiting San Francisco, whether you like your misbehavior just a little naughty -- or you're a full-on fetish slut.
The new space offers a wide variety of improvements -- in addition to the sexy jail-cell bars gracing the store's entrance, there's an alcove for erotic books and DVDs, offering just about everything a perv could want, including the delicious releases of Slave Labor Productions, White and Hunter's own DVD label. But it gets better from there -- there's an entire room devoted to dildos, letting you choose from shelf after shelf after shelf of silicone specialties in an amazing array of styles, shapes and -- longtime Mister S shoppers will no doubt grin -- sizes.
The dildo room also offers one of the world's only retail sex machine showrooms, with finely-tuned instruments that'll give you a humpy-pump like you never friggin' dreamed of. That's right -- whether you dream of fulfilling your sci-fi fantasies or just want to get done past the limits of human endurance, Mister S can help you out. A variety of machines are fully assembled for your inspection, and floor models can be purchased on the spot -- or you can get a freshly-oiled fuck-machine right off the assembly line shipped to your pervy door within a couple of weeks. In a plain brown wrapper, of course.
But sexy corsets, dirty toys, DVDs, sex robots, restraints, whips, fetish clothes and about a zillion other fetish items aren't enough for this crew of creative thinkers. White and Hunter are also the force behind the San Francisco Fetish Ball, which they're holding on the weekend -- and a very long weekend it is -- of March 18, 2006. This year's ball, we're promised, will rival the celebrated fetish events of Europe, bringing a world of debauchery to our humble, hilly burg.
"Most of the people who come to the ball come from out of state," says White. "They come from New York, Europe, Africa -- we have people from all over the world attending. In fact, the official hotel is halfway sold out already. They don't book anything other than the fetish ball -- and it's already halfway sold out."
The excitement gets started on Thursday, March 16th with a gallery opening at the DNA Lounge, showcasing a wide variety of fetish artists including. Aaron Hawks, Ken Marcus, Larry Utley, White herself, and more. Plan to party there from 9pm to midnight with the opportunity to meet the artists and admire their finest creations.
Club Enslaved then throws its party at Studio Z the next night, March 17. With a theme of "Fetish Freaks -- Not the Big Top You Remember," the Studio Z event, hosted by Paige White's own Enslaved.com, is one that promises to be exceptional in the annals of SF Bay Area history -- body-mod and sex-spirituality guru, teacher, and all-around legend Fakir Musafar (the father of the Modern Primitives movement) will be reunited on stage with one of his first apprentices, Allen Faulkner (the father of modern suspension). The two will perform for the first time in many years -- and if you've never seen either of them, this is, without a doubt, the time.
Additionally, the play space at Club Enslaved is furnished by Madame S, Mister S, Seriousbondage.com, and Sonny Black Dungeon Furniture. Bring your play bag and dance all night -- Club Enslaved promises a level of deviance unmatched in this hemisphere -- until, that is, the next day.
That's when the main event, the SF Fetish Ball itself, graces the Regency Grand. on Saturday, March 18 promises to be a legendary night in perv history, as Madame S celebrates its fifth anniversary. To mark this auspicious occasion, they've brought fetish luminaries from far afield. The main act is a group called Suka Off, a fetish performance ensemble from Poland. "They've never been seen in the United States," says White. "They're really phenomenal, and sexy, and scary. We also have H&W designs coming from Vienna, Austria -- they make unbelievable rubber designs. Libidex is coming from London -- they're known for their catsuit designs -- crazy, wild, wonderful designs." The tunes will be spun by DJ Dimitris Mykonos, a veritable legend on the San Francisco club circuit.
But that's not where the party ends -- after the ball itself, there's three more days of mayhem to enjoy. The "Club-O" after party gets going on Sunday, March 19th, at location undisclosed until the date of the Fetish Ball -- an added incentive to attend the main event, as if you needed one! Finally, there's a wind-down at the DNA Lounge on Monday, March 19th, allowing you one last chance to bid farewell to all those awesome out-of-town pervs you've met throughout the long weekend.
No matter where you're from, book a flight, book a hotel room, pack your latex and your floggers. Better yet, visit the Mister S or Madame S website, where they offer a full range of products through mail order. And if you're local to San Francisco, drop by the new location to experience what erotic adventure is all about.
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