Monday, April 29, 2013

My Leather Vest

I recently received my first piece of leather - a vest from International Ms. Leather 2013, Sarha Shaubach! She gave me this pretty piece the week before leaving for IMsL while I was helping her box up gay porn VHS's for the Shitty Sunday Show.

Just a little about me - I don't know a thing about Leather...in any sense of the word. I don't know how to care for it, I don't know a thing about what Leather Community is, the lifestyle, the culture, etc. This gift blew my mind and fired up my curiosity...

Lady Phryxus and SinisterWolfy
@ Celebration for IMsL2013 at The Raven
I have been asking a few members of the Leather Community I know about what Leather is and other questions. I will be sharing some of my epiphanies with you all as I come upon them.

My vest was cleaned, conditioned and thoroughly loved on by a new friend of mine, RedWarrior who was Pantheon of Leather Woman of the Year 2011, International Community Bootblack 2010, and SouthEast Community Bootblack 2010 at the Celebration for IMsL2013 at The Raven.

I have no pins or patches on my vest yet, though I am looking for an Age Play Pride patch right now. The vest was given to me with blue lacing but I wanted something a bit more...me, so I replaced them with pink ribbons printed with ballet slippers and hearts. I received lots of happy comments about the change, so I think I'll keep them for now.

I also wanted to ask you, my darling readers, what do you know about Leather that you would like to share? I'm looking for anything from knowledge of the Leather Culture to how and where to wear pins and patches on a vest.

xoxo
Lady Phryxus

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Celebrating International Ms. Leather 2013

Last night, April 27th, House Phryxus went to The Raven in Anchorage and celebrated with other members of the community our very own Sarha Shaubach winning International Ms. Leather 2013.

Photo taken by employee of The Raven
My heart is black and blue for this woman! She will be traveling all over the US, Canada, and even Berlin and Amsterdam with her title and experiencing all this kinky world has to offer all while representing Alaska and Leather Women!

The celebration included gifts being made to Sarha for her actions and leather love as well as aid for her travel fund. Gifts included a pair of leather pants worn all over the US by our own community boot black, International Community Boot Black 2010, RedWarrior. Sarha was also awarded the Golgi Apparatus "Dirty Dick" Award from Sir Phryxus who received it last at the Shitty Sunday Show.
We also all enjoyed a celebratory cake, conversation and RedWarrior's boot blacking skills.

RedWarrior was the first to condition and polish up by very first leather vest last night. The experience was luxurious and sensual and smelled soooo fucking good!
She also polished up Sir Phryxus' boots...while he was wearing a kilt...traditionally ^_~
His traditional/regimental kilt wearing also resulted in a number of celebrants 'kilt-checking' him. He said at one point he felt like the center of a jerk-off circle. I am also proud to say that a previous Mr. Alaska Leather (2001) kilt-checked my husband...thoroughly! He asked Sir what I would say if I were to walk by and see this, and Sir, knowing me so well, said I would probably giggle and keep walking.

My little sister, Devious Kitty, won the raffle taking place and her reward was a leather-covered, wooden paddle that I was honored to have the first whack's on her bottom with. It was a lot of fun, to say the least.

SinisterWolfy...
not looking so Sinister
Sir Phryxus also was able to show off a little bit of rope-work on SinisterWolfy's arms last night, which was nice to watch just as Wolfy's corseting on PunkyPup and Kaia...pictures coming soon.
PunkyPup...being herself...
I was also happy to see SinisterWolfy's Glacier Pack out in force last night.

In all, I had a ton of fun and am so proud of my community for coming out and celebrating.

Black and Blue for You
Lady Phryxus

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Zado Leather Ankle Cuffs - a review


I love that new leather smell! I was so excited to receive these beauties as they are the third set of cuffs I've reviewed and, after two bad reviews, I figured third time's a charm. I figured correctly as these were exactly what I wanted  in a pair of ankle cuffs.

Materials

The package (which was promptly eaten by my roommate's dog and thus not pictured) lists the following traits of the cuffs:

  • Restricts free movement for extra excitement!
  • Two ankle cuffs with a detachable metal chain with two karabiner hooks. 
  • Cuffs made of black leather, softly padded inside. 
  • Each approx. 6 cm wide, adjustable size with buckle between approx. 18 and 30 cm. 
  • Metal chain including karabiner approx. 60 cm long.
  • Material: split leather/metal.

About the materials, I will say that the leather is genuine and gorgeous to look and feel. It's not that bad-quality, thin crap that I often see at many adult novelty stores that frays and rips easily. This leather is thick and sturdy enough for aggressive use in bondage play.

The metal chain was also a surprise. When seeing metal and not getting an in-depth description of the type of metal, I usually assume cheap aluminum and/or nickle. Instead, the chain is made of the same sturdy material used to make high end dog leashes for large and aggressive dogs (found this out through a friend of mine who has a large, aggressive breed of dog). I was impressed and do not have many worries about wearing these cuffs out any time soon.

Wear and Tear

I received these cuffs the day before the Anchorage Fetish Ball at Mad Myrnas. What a perfect event to try them out!
The cuffs were comfortable enough to wear the whole evening walking around the club and standing to watch various play scenes. I showed the cuffs off to friends and fellow kinksters at the event and everyone who saw them was impressed and wanting to know where to purchase a set of their own.

I have since Fetish Ball also worn them to a couple of smaller meet-up events that leather-gear was welcome at. They received the same interest and praise there as at the large event.
I have also worn them to sleep in. Their comfort and easy wear allowed me to sleep in them all night with no problems and woke without discomfort or any scratches to the leather from movement in my sleep.

Cleaning and Care

Since these cuffs are genuine leather, they can be cared for, conditioned and cleaned like any other leather gear. My first recommendation is to have them cleaned by your local boot black at an event. If you've never had this done, it is an experience that is sensual, instructional, and beneficial to the leather gear.

If there is no bootblack near you, then you can clean and condition your leather just as you would leather boots. In many cases all that is necessary to clean leather is a damp cloth or a store bought leather cleaner. For a deeper cleaning a leather soap or saddle soap can be used. This is followed by polishing with a good leather polish/conditioner.

The metal pieces will be fine when cleaning the leather. Simply make sure they are dried and wiped-down completely before storing.


I give these cuffs a 5 out of 5! They're comfortable enough all night, sturdy enough for intense play, and beautiful to behold!




Monday, April 22, 2013

Call for Reviewers: Erotic Toy Town

EroticToyTown is offering free sex toys to qualified bloggers and product reviewers!

Please email blogging@EroticToyTown.com for approval. Tell 'em Lady Phryxus sent you ^_~


ETT is looking for reviewers that provide the following information:



  • Product URL or SKU that you would like to review from this selection or other similar priced product from the store or something you would like to review but they do not yet carry. Reach out and ETT will see if they can accommodate your desires.
  • URL of your blog, forum or review site with traffic statistics, social media presence, and other relevant information. The blog must be related in some way to either sex toys, or have erotic content or be related to health and beauty in some way.
  • Turn around time - i.e. how long will it take for a review to be completed and live after you receive an item. Please take into account your personal and professional time and any other possible situations like moving, medical and other issues.


There is also a Sex Toys for Bloggers YouTube clip from ETT.

EroticToyTown cooperates ONLY with responsible bloggers. The store maintains and shares with the industry a black list of bloggers who request items and disappear or do not produce them within a promised turn around time.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Black Rose Mouth Bit

by Doc Johnson 
from The Adult Toy Shop


As my first toy from The Adult Toy Shop, I was very impressed by their online store and shipping process. The shipping was super fast and discreet (the mailer was labeled from Shipping Dept).

The Mouth Bit advertises comfort for long wear as well as beauty. I definitely got both of these things from this toy.

I wore the Mouth Bit to the Alaska Fetish Ball on March 30th after receiving it in the mail the morning of the event. It matched by purple and black outfit perfectly, looked beautiful with the purple silk ties and vinyl black roses, and could relax around my neck or fit comfortably in my mouth for the evening.

I have temporomandibular joint disorder or TMD/TMJ. This causes me to have difficulties in using gags that force my mouth open for an extended period of time as my jaw will lock up and become painful. Bit gags like the Black Rose Mouth Bit are perfect for me in that they don't force my mouth into an uncomfortable position but still perform the task of muffling speech.

As for the look of this Mouth Bit, I really love the style and the purple silk ribbons. They create the perfect comfort fit for the gag and I think that if the Bit had been made with leather or nylon straps, the comfort and beauty of this toy would have been lost.

The black rose detail of this Mouth Bit is adorable. I did have to work with the gag to place them properly as the plastic bit moves along the ribbon between the two roses.

As for the pthalates-free plastic bit, I was at first worried about the material not because of chemicals or comfort but because of durability. I have sharp little teeth. Sir has often whacked m for biting him because my teeth have been sharp enough to inflict marks and bring up blood. I was worried that my teeth would be able to tear the plastic but after biting on it hard and chewing on it, I found it to be both durable and without indentation from my front teeth.

After passing all the tests of aesthetics, comfort and durability, I give the Black Rose Mouth Bit a 5 out of 5 stars! I love this gag recommend it heartily.