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
Kabunza has finally moved into it’s own headquarters!
We moved in last month and aside from putting up some room dividers (which I am hoping to do as soon as possible to section off our areas), we have pretty much settled in and made ourselves at home.
Our workshop and office is located in the heart of Swindon (the address can be seen on the Kabunza Facebook page, or you can message me and I will relay it to you) and is open most weekdays (depending on what events we will be attending) for visitors to come along and browse our current stock or even have a look through our leathers to order something custom to be made. I am also willing to give tuition at this location for anyone wishing to learn techniques from me privately.
Because we share a building with a kink friendly publishing firm, we have access to a lot of space, so with a little luck we will also be hosting a few workshops and events here (I have even been thinking about hosting a small but regular peer rope event). I will keep people posted about these through my Kabunza page on this blog as and when we plan them.
Of course, you will still be able to purchase our items through our Etsy shop, but now everyone has the added option of popping by the place where everything is made, having a look at our construction process and browsing through it all in person!
Officially open to the public! Come along and check us out!
Photos courtesy of Dark Desires photography.
Photography by Dark Desires photography.
All images are copyright © Dark Desires photography
During the process of designing the improvements that I have recently been introducing into all of our standard Kabunza floggers, I have also been working on optional variations of flogger styles. I am happy to introduce the Kabunza “Tri-Layer” Floggers and Kabunza “Whumper” floggers to bolster our ranks of impact toy options.
Our flogger selection now consists of the following variations:
Hyperlight:
Hyperlight floggers are incredibly light and perfect for tickling or gently dragging across areas of sensitive skin. 48 luxuriously gentle 14 inch falls created only from silk suede or nappa. These floggers are super soft and intended to be used for sensation play rather than serious impact play. We normally create these floggers singly with a wrist loop and short 3 inch string of chainmail unless otherwise requested.
Minipoi:
To put it as simply as possible, Minipoi are essentially miniature versions of our standard poi floggers. 24 falls (16 inches in length) that are half the width of our standard and a 3 inch string of chainmail with lighter hardware and rings. Due to the thin width of the flogger falls (half a centimeter), these very light and quick variants tend to pack more of a sting than a thud. We normally make these floggers available for purchase singly unless otherwise requested.
Standard:
Our standard floggers are what I consider the best medium. During a process of over 3 years of testing, I have found that this weight and fall count to be the best average for general use. Not too light and not too heavy. Good for prolonged play and packing a decent impact at the same time. 24 falls, each at 1cm in width and with a length of between 16-18 inches depending on the style of flogger. We normally create this type of flogger in Nunchaku (16 inch falls) or Poi (18 inch falls) and are purchasable in pairs unless otherwise requested.
Whumper:
Our Whumper floggers consist of a larger fall width of 1.5cm and include wider and heavier hardware and rings. These floggers pack significantly more weight and wallop with each impact. In the hands of a strong arm and sadistic nature, expect severe bruising when used. With 24 falls, we normally create this type of flogger in Nunchaku (16 inch falls) or Poi (18 inch falls) and are purchasable in pairs unless otherwise requested.
Tri-Layer:
Our Tri-Layer floggers are a little different in that they consist of 36 falls instead of our standard 24 and are made from 3 separate hides, usually one leather, one suede and one nappa. Offering a veritable plethora of sensation options. The falls have a width of 1cm, are usually created in the Nunchaku (16 inch falls) or Poi (18 inch falls) styles and are purchasable in pairs unless otherwise requested.
And, of course, our current style types consist of:
Poi (as seen above):
Designed with some of the more creative or aesthetic styles of play in mind (including Florentine), our standard poi floggers consist of 18 inch falls, a 5 inch string of chainmail that has been created with 8mm rings in metals of stainless steel, blackened steel, brass, bronze or a mixture of the aforementioned metals and ending in a pair of leather or suede finger loops. This style of flogger is usually created in matching pairs.
Nunchaku (as seen above):
Each of our Nunchaku are built with efficiency in mind and some techniques (such as ricochet flogging) can only be done effectively with this style of flogger. Well balanced with 16 inch falls, a solid red oak handle, a 3 inch string of chainmail that has been created with 10mm rings in metals of stainless steel, blackened steel, brass, bronze or a mixture of the aforementioned metals and a plated steel ball bearing swivel connection. The falls of these floggers will never tangle and are easy to keep spinning for prolonged play.
With hard work and determination, Kabunza has been improving in leaps and bounds over this past year and once again we are almost ready to jump up to the next level. But I will announce the news as we progress. All I will say for now is that new designs are constantly being imagined, expect more BDSM and impact play creations to fill our ranks in the very near future, we will be expanding into new areas of creativity and, with a bit of luck, new literal areas as well.
If you do not see something you would like to purchase already up for sale in our Etsy shop, do not hesitate to contact us with a custom order request.
Until the next update, happy shopping!
And don’t forget to join our Facebook page for the chance to win free goodies 😉
Recently, I have been spending a little more time on Facebook. Mainly due to running my fan page and the Kabunza fan page, but I have often found myself taking 15 minutes or so a day to scroll through the feed once I have finished updating my pages and even making a personal post or two about random things.
But there have been many things I have noticed about Facebook that can be severely damaging. I would appreciate anyone proving my current theories wrong, but these are my views on some of them to date:
WARNING: If you currently partake in the social media site known as “Facebook” and are easily offended, I would suggest you stop reading now, disregard this blog post entirely and go back to your blissfully ignorant life.
As long as you do not take things too seriously, you should be fine continuing.
There are numerous other things about Facebook that I could rant on about, but you get the idea.
So, Why do I love Facebook?
Because it is my constant reminder that I am not a sheep that follows the herd and that I exercise enough intelligence to see past the majority of what pollutes the minds and beliefs of this age.
And if you have read up to this point, be aware that I am not calling anyone stupid. I understand that some people have more time on their hands than sense. But doing multiples of the above, and spending hours a day doing it, is questionable to say the least.
What I am saying is that people only need to sit back, watch and wait for those who genuinely are stupid to prove it themselves.
Patience is a virtue.
Don’t be a sheep.
Now go and change your Facebook profile photo to that of a shaved orangutan.
Continuing the quotations of the year posts, here is the selection for 2013.
You can see the ‘Quotations 2011’ post: Here
You can see the ‘Quotations 2012’ post: Here
Favorite quotations of the past year (including some that I have not been able or bothered to ‘tweet‘) in a single blog post purely for fun.
As usual, no names will be mentioned (with the exception of my own) and people will be referred to in an anonymous fashion or title. Of course, you will all know who you are from being present when I had said the quote in question. Try also to bear in mind that almost all of these quotes have been said in the heat of the moment and are not meant to offend any readers of my blog.
Enjoy.
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Aemilia Hawk: “You know something is seriously wrong with your karma when you manage to poke yourself in the eye with a duvet while searching for a chainmail earring that somehow managed to get stuck down the back of the living room radiator.”
Aemilia Hawk: “People may not realise this, but I have difficulty navigating certain aspects of daily life. You know, feigning interest in others, not being able to talk about BDSM as much as I want, putting up with everyday mundane stupidity. It is incredibly exhausting.”
Aemilia Hawk: “There is something about forcing a man up against a wall, shackling his arms and legs wide and forcing cold metal rods down his manhood that I find very erotic.”
Aemilia Hawk: “Ribbed for his pleasure.” (In reference to a sounding rod)
Aemilia Hawk: “If you are going to be a smart-ass, first you have to be smart. Otherwise you are just an ass.”
Aemilia Hawk: “You can tell a lot about my mood if you watch my extremities. For example; If my claws are pressed against your throat in a threatening fashion; I am probably annoyed… Or aroused… Or both.”
Aemilia Hawk: “I have made it through the entire morning and only managed to insult two mundanes. I think my people skills are improving.”
Aemilia Hawk: “Quit being so facetious.”
Friend: “I do not know what ‘facetious’ means.”
Aemilia Hawk: “Do you know what ‘Google’ means?”
Aemilia Hawk: “I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off your hips. Please don’t take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots.”
Dentist: “You may feel a little discomfort.”
Aemilia Hawk: “I am a sadomasochist, Sir. I think I have a pretty good idea of when something will inevitably ‘hurt like hell’.”
Aemilia Hawk: “You would be surprised at how fast people can run when they hear the crack of a Longeing Whip a few inches behind their head.”
Aemilia Hawk: “Appreciate what you have, because basically; I am awesome.”
Aemilia Hawk: “Pretty Pooky pleasantly pacificates pectorals, pandemian pallesethesia permitting.”
Aemilia Hawk: “Darth Vader hole invader?”
Aemilia Hawk: “Kin chasa du Jedi!”
Aemilia Hawk: “I suddenly have images in my head from the “Queen of the Damned” movie. Except with floggers and more blood.”
Aemilia Hawk: “Give a man a fire and he is warm for a day, but set fire to him and he is warm for the rest of his life.”
Aemilia Hawk: “When I was a mundane, I spoke as a mundane, I understood as a mundane, I thought as a mundane: but when I became a kinkster, I put away ‘mundanish’ things.”
Aemilia Hawk: “I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed person!”
Aemilia Hawk: “Must you leave so soon? I was just about to poison the tea.”
Aemilia Hawk: “Clearly you are not yourself today. I noticed the improvement almost immediately.”
Aemilia Hawk: “Is the vegetarian option 100% real vegetarian? Why are you laughing?”
Aemilia Hawk: “Forged in the fires of Mount Kabunza, there were made rings of power! Fashioned with a secret formula now known only to the makers of hitty things, these fabulous rings gave their users untold powers! Originally, there were twenty in all: six for mastery of the female orgasm, five for rule over erection dysfunction, three for dominion over anyone shorter than 1ft (length, not height), two for the conquering of bad breath, one was lost down the back of a radiator and we can’t get it out, two were recalled for factory defects because they tended to short-circuit in the rain, and THE ONE RING… Which didn’t really do anything, but we kinda liked the way it looked. So they are now mass produced for our floggers.”
Aemilia Hawk: “I still get horrible flashbacks of a tall, grey, bearded guy, pointing a cane and what looks like a BD10 violet wand to the heavens and shouting “YOU SHALL NOT FLOG!” at me.”
Aemilia Hawk: “There are onesies in M&S. Society has finally crumbled.”
Aemilia Hawk: “I absolutely did NOT threaten to punch him. I threatened to spank him.”
Aemilia Hawk: “You need to laugh. Everyone does. What is life if you cannot moon it with a wink and a slightly crooked grin?”
Aemilia Hawk: “Don’t fuck with my chi.”
Aemilia Hawk: “I am not saying that you are stupid. I am simply saying that you have extremely bad luck when it comes to thinking.”
Aemilia Hawk: “Of course your opinion matters. Not to me, but I am sure we could find someone suitably empathetic. Have you tried posting it on Facebook?”
Aemilia Hawk: “I would like to apologise in advance for my behavior tonight.”
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For the past couple of months I have been adding dragon tails to our complete impact play sets and (finally) I have managed to get around to procuring myself a set of twins.
The thought of florantining dragon tails sent pleasurable shivers down my spine, so I decided it was mandatory to build a matching pair. They fly, wrap, roll, flick and flow as fully intended and I have hardly been able to put them down since creating them.
We have now started taking custom orders for individual dragon tails to be created. So if you fancy getting your hands on one (or a matching pair) created just for you, feel free to contact us through our online Kabunza Etsy shop.
If you would like to see more photos of our Dragon tails and other products that we have made in the past (perhaps to give you ideas for your own custom creation), check out our Kabunza blog at: http://kabunza.wordpress.com/, our fetlife profile at: https://fetlife.com/users/1764274 or our facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/Kabunza
I love nearly all forms of music, from classical to heavy punk rock, from new age to apocalyptic industrial; for me, it is usually a case of having a simple preference over their content and overall atmosphere.
In my opinion, music should play a large part of decent BDSM play. It is by no means mandatory, but it can spark emotion, mood and can heavily effect the direction of a scenario or of play as a whole.
My first of what will hopefully be many music reviews pertains to a Steampunk band hailing from Paris, France.
It was late one evening when my partner handed to me a copy of Victor Sierra‘s album ‘Yesterday’s Tomorrow‘ and said “This would be good to flog to. You should write a review on them.”
She was right. A pleasant mix of Steampunk and Dieselpunk with a bass that will keep your strikes going at length; Victor Sierra has quickly become one of my current favourites for multiple forms of BDSM play; primarily flogging.
While the music is multilingual, including English, French, Spanish and even Yiddish, the style and aesthetics of each musical masterpiece is more than enough to keep you listening and moving to the beat regardless of understanding the lyrics.
Of course, it goes without saying that, for me, the fact that they are a distinctly Steampunk/Dieselpunk style band is an excellent added bonus. They have delicious ‘WWII era’ undertones and atmosphere.
There is one song which I particularly enjoy: ‘Imbéciles’ (Track number 9). However it is vocalised in french, so here are the original lyrics along with a rough translation into English (because I am helpful like that).
It does lose a few details in the translation, however I am going to attempt to do it anyway:
Original Lyrics:
IMBECILES
Le sourire géné de l’indésirable
se crispe et se fige en équilibre instable
Venus des palais et des caniveaux
les hyenes se déchainent et se font écho.Aux premieres loges, observant la détresse,
le lampiste en blouse temporise et paresse.Les meneurs menent et font hurler la foule
Alors que les coups pleuvent et que le sang coule
se forme le cercle des eternels cretins
aux carrieres naissantes, au potentiel certain.Imbéciles… Un jour
Imbéciles… Le sont ils pour toujours?L’indésirable au sourire effacé
se releve et rassemble son univers brisé
se débat seul contre l’effet de masse
sous les quolibets recherchant sa placeAvec le temps les carrieres s’épanouissent
se cultivent se transmettent de peres en fils
Translation into English:
IMBECILES
The uneasy smile of the undesirable
becomes nervous and fixes into a fragile balance
Hailing from palaces and slums alike
The hyenas rage, their howls echoing each otheron the front seat, observing the distress
the blouse wearing lampist plays for time and lazes aroundthe leaders lead and make the crowd roar
while blows rain down and blood is shed
the circle of the eternal idiots closes
with new born careers and certain futuresimbeciles… one day
imbeciles…are they like this forever?the undesirable with a faded smile
gets up and gathers his broken universe
fighting alone under the influence of the masses
under the mockeries, seeking his placewith time, careers blossom
cultivated and transmitted from fathers to sons
To be honest I think my translation lacks a certain ‘cachet’ when compared to the French original.
Their latest album is available for purchase at http://victorsierra.bandcamp.com/ and you can check out their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Victor.Sierra.band
This is a great band to listen to and one that I highly recommend as an accompaniment to your BDSM activities; especially any impact play.
All media posted with permission of Victor Sierra.
All media Copyright © 2013 VictorSierra. All Rights Reserved.
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 :
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).
When I started this blog on the 22nd November 2011, I never expected much from it. I had never been much of a ‘blogger’ and most of what I was doing back then remained invisible to anyone outside of my circle.
They say “Time flies like an arrow” (and “fruit flies like a banana”) and indeed it has; this past year (and a bit) has pretty much been a whirlwind farrago of kink.
In fact, the kink has been such a distraction that I had forgotten to create this post back in the November of 2012.
So here it is! Enjoy these moments when they happen because they do not happen often and it is better late than never.
I wish to send out heartfelt thankyou’s:
Firstly to my blog followers: 161 to date and steadily growing. You people are the lifeblood of this little nook of the web. Without you all, this place would die a pitiful death rather quickly. Thankyou for helping me to realise that doing this blog is not (and has not been) a waste of effort (and if you are not a follower, Why the hell not?).
To those who have commented on this blog: Comment and critique is always welcomed and appreciated. These are the things which offer possibilities to learn, grow, feel appreciated and even meet new acquaintances. Thankyou for having the courtesy to comment or the ‘balls’ to critique.
To those who have clicked the ‘Like’ button on any of my posts: It takes a matter of a second to click that button, and every time it is clicked I know that my efforts are being enjoyed by someone, somewhere on this wretched cesspool of a planet that we live on; Which is one of the reasons for doing this blog in the first place (I also get a warm fuzzy feeling every time I get that little resounding ‘ding’ that says someone has clicked the button. Think of clicking that button as flicking a nipple; it gives a wonderful, though short lived, little buzz of sensation which is highly addictive).
To those who have signed up to my Facebook fan page or following my Twitter by using the links through this blog: I am still (very slowly) starting to realise that for a lot of people, Facebook or Twitter are the only online social networks that they will ever choose to participate in. These social network sites would probably get more of my attention if I had more of a following on them or if they were not so mundane. It is a way to follow this blog without actually ‘following’ this blog, but it is still appreciated. I will do my best to make visits to these profiles more frequently, but in the meantime; thanks for the love.
To my partner: Who convinced me to start this thing in the first place. Love you baby. x
To my Benjamin: Without his help, support and encouragement, a very large portion of what has been written this past year would not have been written. It takes two to play and I am very lucky in that respect. Thankyou my sweet sweet Benjamin.
So, in summary: I plan to make this next years allotment of postings as entertaining as the last (moreso when possible) and hopefully I will get posts out on time in the future.
Velvet Thoughts by Aemilia Hawk 