Nicole Klein, the awesome photographer from The Hourglass, has just started up a sister company concentrating on a much darker image.
After a request to revisit the ‘Demonic Cheesecake’ collection, I feel honoured to be among the first of her retouched images in Eerie Beauty.
Check out her new facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/eeriebeauty
Photos courtesy of Eerie Beauty.
Photography by Nicole Klein.
All images are copyright © The Hourglass 2006-2014
Continued from Tease & Cake, Vintage inspired Pin Up Magazine 14/01/14.
These photos are a sneak peek at some of the images that were taken during the course of the photo shoot that have not been published the magazine. So, all of you should still go to their website and grab a copy!
You can get your copy of Tease & Cake at : www.teaseandcake.co.uk
Check out the Tease and Cake facebook page at: www.facebook.com/TeaseandCake
And if you fancy having your own Pin-Up photo shoot, check out The Hourglass photography studio at: www.thehourglass.eu
Photos courtesy of The Hourglass.
Photography by Nicole Klein.
All images are copyright © Tease and Cake Ltd
The first item of the year sent to me by Uberkinky for a blog review ended up being a Kink Industries Intense Impact Cane.
To date, I have only ever needed one cane due to the fact that “Sasha” is incredibly awesome. However, I thought that the Kink Industries Intense Impact Cane appeared marginally different to the canes I have been accustomed to and decided to see just how different the styles can be in comparison.
The first thing I noticed when unwrapping it from its packaging was the size and weight. This cane was incredibly lighter than what I would normally use and just over half the length of Sasha. It is also made from synthetic materials which, while being light and durable, gives a very unique and smooth sensation. Immediately I could see huge differences in its style.
I decided to go for the all black option. Naturally. However, there are other colour options available.
The shorter length and lighter weight makes it perfect for bedroom BDSM where the room to swing such an implement is limited. The sound it makes as it cuts through the air is very light and I can see this toy causing a considerable sting when used correctly. Additionally, bending this cane back to cause a stinging and pinpoint accurate flick poses less problems than attempts to do so with a smoked dragon cane would (you can damage a smoked dragon cane by doing this kind of thing, but being as this cane is made from synthetics, it poses significantly less problems). Personally, I think one of the best things about this cane is the handle; a leather wrist loop, indentations for your fingers along with a matt finish rubber coating guarantee a very comfortable and brilliantly steadfast grip.
I have had a lot of experience with canes and their use. In my opinion, The Kink Industries Intense Impact Cane is a perfect starter cane for people new to BDSM and wanting to experiment with something that is easy to handle, difficult to cause long-term damage with, hard to break through proper use and not overly intimidating.
As some of you may have noticed; My blog has been lacking in posts this month. There have been several reasons for this and I am going to attempt something of an explanation before rebooting my regular posting.
If you look back over what I have written here this past couple of years, you will see the changes in my writing. When I started my blog it was primarily from a professional Dominatrix point of view; Ergo, it comes across as such. As time progressed, I started to include more and more personal experiences and opinions. I started to include more of my lifestyle and less of the profession. But I have never really posted anything more than things that borderline on ‘feelings’. This is because I closely guard and control those aspects. People will only ever see what I allow them to see, only know what I allow them to know, and I let only a precious few people see the whole picture.
This past few months I have been in deep reflection and meditation. Cracks in my usually steel-like exterior have been apparent to me, comments and actions from people closest to me and unfortunate circumstances of play space or funds have been heavily influential and I have been asking myself questions. Many of which I still do not have answers for. I have been questioning things like my self worth, skill, dynamic, orientation, profession; the list is rather extensive and I have been frustrated and confused by a lot of what has been popping into my head. To say this process is causing me stress is quite an understatement. Hence the silence of my blog.
Inevitably, I have reached an impasse and I am still trying to decide my next direction.
One direction leads down a road that would mean virtually giving up professional Domination, concentrating on Kabunza and on my own BDSM whims and desires. Part of my conflict is that I am feeling a desire to relinquish being the dominant and playing on the other side of the fence (if only for a while). It takes two to play and one of the conundrums is that I am not sure which side I would prefer to play on at the moment. My mindset has apparently reflected this (hence the reasoning for some of the aforementioned questioning). Activities where I have been taking a dominant role have been lacking coordination, despite a complete confidence in myself that I am doing nothing differently. I have experienced similar in the past and have noticed a recurrence of these ‘feelings’ every 3-4 years; I have found that taking a break to get it out of my system by switching helps somewhat (before my Dominant instincts kick back in with a vengeance). Trust me when I say: this is not an easy thing for me to explain, especially on my blog.
The other direction is to do what I do best: Bottle up my emotions, swallow hard, give myself a slap on the face and shout to the heavens “What am I thinking!”, before crushing said whims and forcing myself back into doing what I have always enjoyed; hurting people (with skill, flair and style). Cold to the feelings currently raging, probably fracturing a few heart strings, reverting back to the evil bitch that seems to be known, loved and desired, and basically caring little about the opinions of others because “I am the Mistress and I bloody well know what I am doing!”
Of course, I am unaccustomed to venting randomly or ‘sharing’ thoughts of this nature. I am summing all of this up as simply as possible in order to put it into a blog post. There are hundreds of factors and nuances which I am not going into or which I refuse to share because they are personal or would take too long to explain; But I hope I am portraying a decent enough idea of my current meanderings.
Regardless of what I decide to do; my blog will be undergoing some alterations. I plan on putting a section in here which is dedicated to Kabunza, compressing my galleries back into a single collection of photos, drastically reducing the amount of information in my ‘bookings & sessions‘ section in order to make things incredibly simple for those requiring it (because for some reason the people who go to that section cannot seem to read past my phone number) as well as numerous other changes which I will elaborate on as the decisions are made.
For the moment; We will resume our regular broadcasting schedule…
Over the weekend, Benjamin, my partner and I attended the DV8 fetish festival in Kent. The Kabunza trade stand did well, we met many kinksters and even had a dip in the pool (nudity was mandatory).
As soon as darkness descended, I started messing around with my fire poi; I tried attempting some slower spinning and single poi spinning. However, I failed miserably at the slow single poi spinning near the end. I just get too excited.
But it attracted quite a crowd and a couple of videos were recorded of one of the burns.
So, enjoy.
Whenever I am asked to host a workshop, give tuition or give a demonstration, I always leap at the chance. It is incredibly rewarding and I truly believe that one of the best things anyone with a well practiced skill can do for the BDSM community is to pass on their knowledge to willing students safely. There are a lot of people out there who are reckless (even dangerous) but teach their activities anyway, (often simply to stroke their own egos) despite how unsafe it may be. It can sometimes be very confusing or even scary enough to put people off trying or learning new things. My recommendation to anyone taking advice from anyone on any BDSM activity is to do a little research into the competence of the person(s) giving out their information and also briefly on the subject matter in question (be it flogging, whips, shibari or any BDSM skill) using that magical tool: The internet. Trust me, for the safety of both yourself and those you play with, it never hurts to do a little research and anyone with real knowledge or skill will be apparent from the tat.
I tend to be very hands-on and interactive in my workshops; I like people to ask questions, I like people to talk to me about their own experiences so that I can explain or perhaps even learn something new myself (nobody ever stops learning) and I always try to get people out of their seats to physically practice anything I am trying to teach. Actual practice of any skill makes perfect and I think being able to actively talk people through and demonstrate safely as they are attempting new skills tends to alleviate a very large portion of simple first-time learning hiccups.
Having said that; I am happy to say that the flogging workshop at the Birmingham Bizarre Bazaar received some wonderful feedback and comments. It seemed as though everyone had a wonderful time and I cannot express how rewarding it is to watch people putting their new-found teachings into practice over the course of an event (having a room full of flying florantining floggers can be an incredibly fun thing to watch).
Even the lovely Mistress Victoria from Uberkinky (who was a pleasure to finally meet face to face) wrote a sparkling review of the experience, which you can read on her website blog: Here.
In response to the many people who have asked me to do some Youtube videos and tutorials: I do hope to get some made eventually, but it is finding someone who would be willing to film me and has decent enough equipment and software to do so. It will be done, it is just a question of time and expense (anyone wishing to participate in this kind of project, please feel free to contact me).
And to answer the question that so many people directed at me about my collection of floggers at the workshop: The straight handled floggers were from Jack’s Floggers, The ball handled floggers were from Jack’s floggers and Edgeplay and the majority of the floggers that you saw that evening (the poi floggers) were from our very own Kabunza Craftwerks (we do accept custom orders if you would like a personalised set made).
As well as the workshop, it was also Kabunza‘s first ever trade stand at the BBB. We received some wonderful feedback on our products and many people walked home with shiny new Kabunza collars, jewellery and floggers. We are gleefully looking forward to any possibilities of trading there again. The atmosphere and people at this event are simply awesome.
To sum up this post, I would just like to send out a few thankyou’s :
Are they broken thus who love You best
Harried by You into minionhood
Hurts that You bestow upon the besotted wretch
That You might fasten lasting bonds
To fasten tight the balls and cock
You confiscate the will of men You kiss
Would it were Your lips that kissed
But by boot and hair in Your fist
Is Your fury and rule distilled
That You as Kali’s daughter know power
And dance upon the world
As on my back Your peerless Beauty rides
The slave labours to build Your altar.
For the past two weeks, I have been dedicating myself to the process of building floggers for the up and coming events where I will be hosting trade stands for Kabunza (see my Events page for more details). June seems to be turning out as an incredibly busy month, hence why my blog has been feeling a little neglected.
I will be hosting a flogging workshop in Birmingham on Sunday the 16th June should people wish to have lessons or see our new creations in action (see my Events page for more details).
So for the time being; Here are some photos of finished Kabunza Poi Flogger sets. Some have already been sold, however, custom orders are currently being accepted: Pick the chainmail weave, pick the materials, pick the size, let us know.
If anyone has been following Kabunza on Fetlife or Kabunza on Facebook, it would be apparent that I recently designed and built my first sets of chainmail poi floggers.
I decided to promote their introduction and release at the Bristol SWAMP on the 12th May and due to the fact that I only had enough leather to make 6 in total and the fact that I would never be getting any more of that type of leather; I released them as a limited edition.
2 days before the event, I advertised that we would only be selling them at that specific event to see how people would react to the design, look and concept.
To say that I am surprised by peoples reaction to them is an understatement. 4 of the 6 had sold within the first hour of opening our trade stand, they had all sold by the end of the market day and in case any had not; I had a backup of emails and messages from people requesting to purchase them if they did not sell at the event (so, even if all of them had not sold at the market, they would have been sold regardless).
It was also a pleasure to give one purchaser a few lessons at the afterparty on how to use them effectively.
Due to such a positive response, I have decided to look into making more and building permanent designs (as well as a few limited edition and unique floggers). I have also decided to take a month (or so) as time off from residential professional Domination to concentrate on getting this new part of Kabunza up and running (I will still be available for sessions, but it will be by appointment only or on the occasional day that I decide to visit my Bristol Dungeon. Watch my twitter feed for tweets on when those occasional days will be).
A little under two weeks ago, Benjamin and I visited the Birmingham Bizarre Bazaar and every time we visit; a look over a particular trade stand is mandatory: Jack’s Floggers.
Obviously, my collection of toys is quite vast. I have many. But, it should come as no surprise that the named items in my collection of BDSM weaponry are the items which are not only my favourites and have incredible sentimental value, but that which are also crafted to the insanely high quality which meet my exacting standards. My named items are actually quite few in number (comparatively speaking).
Jack’s Floggers created the majority of my named toys: Sasha & Tempest, Scylla & Charybdis, Pooky and now also Phobos and Deimos. He is possibly my favourite designer and creator of impact play toys.
In fact, the only named toy that I currently own that he has not created is Angele (which was originally created in 1933 by Vitalis and fully restored by Lisa from Bound2Tease.net).
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Phobos and Deimos are the latest additions to my arsenal of named beauties. Lovingly purchased for me by my Benjamin while mandatorily visiting Jack’s trade stand.
Normally I have my custom items designed from Dymondwood, this set has handles which have been created from my second favoured choice: African Blackwood. The reason for such is because they were not originally custom designed for me, I simply fell in love with them upon sight.
Phobos and Deimos are what I normally refer to as ‘detached’ floggers. Which means that the falls are detached from the handle by a short length (in this case, a 3 inch detachment of platted leather followed by 16 inches of soft but heavy, full suede falls).
Named after the mythological twin offspring of the Greek god or war (Ares) and the Greek goddess of beauty (Aphrodite), Phobos (fear) and Deimos (dread) were said to accompany their father into battle (for my geeky readers: the two moons of Mars bear the same namesake).
They pack quite a lovely thud. I am still applying treatments of moisturising cream to Benjamin‘s back to sooth the impact dehydration from that evening of public floggings (though I will admit that he received quite a lot of punishment that night).
Without a doubt: Worthy of their names. Thankyou my sweet Benjamin. I love them.
Velvet Thoughts by Aemilia Hawk 