The Art of Flogging with Aemilia Hawk – Our Kickstarter is now live!

We have only 30 days! Go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/835910848/the-art-of-flogging to see our live Kickstarter page and make a pledge!

About this project

With the release of movies such as “50 Shades of Grey” and “The Secretary”, I have noticed a large number of newcomers to the BDSM scene over the past few years, many of whom are still finding their feet and exploring this marvellous world. The use of a flogger is usually among the first steps after discovering this alternative lifestyle and with “The Art of Flogging” DVD project, our aim is to bring the basics of practice and safety to these newcomers, and to enthusiasts all over the world, while still being able to teach advanced techniques to those who are experienced in the practice of impact play. A complete comprehensive resource for any flogging enthusiast, our DVD will be packed with tutorials and instructional videos. Here are some of the things we plan on including:

• Beginner instructionals.
• Practice techniques.
• Safety tutorials.
• Warm up techniques.
• Sensation play with floggers.
• Rest techniques.
• Flogger maintenance.
• Advanced techniques: Carouselling, Ricochet Flogging, 4-point and 6-point Florentine flogging.
• After-care advice.
• And much more!

My Background

I am the owner of Kabunza Craftwerks and have been a lifestyle practitioner of BDSM for many years. I have been in the media as a mentor in various BDSM arts and I frequent the majority of the south of England teaching workshops and demonstrations as well as doing performances of these arts. While I practice many forms of BDSM, I am mostly known for my expertise in impact play.

Where will the money go?

With having passionate people working on this project, at £1500 we are looking at the bare minimum of funding. Of course, the more we raise, the better a DVD we will be able to produce. But with that £1500 backing we will be able to pay for:

• Video recording equipment, lighting etc.
• Editing and sound.
• The required software and personnel.
• Studio space rental.
• Our first production of DVDs.

Rewards!

We are offering numerous rewards for those who give us their hearty support! From a copy of the DVD when it is complete to a huge set of custom designed BDSM impact toys, we will be working our socks off to bring you some amazing goodies. Plus, all of our rewards will include free postage worldwide! One of the special things which we are releasing for this Kickstarter is the limited editionKabunza Minipoi “Black Hawk” replica flogger. These floggers will not be available to purchase and will be made purely for those people who have selected to donate £50 or more.

Aemilia Hawk’s original “Black Hawk” poi floggers

Why Kickstarter?

People have been asking me to make tutorial videos for quite some time. I decided that if I were to do something along these lines, then I should approach doing it as I would approach building a set of Kabunza floggers; I should aim for making something ‘exceptional’, and making decent tutorials is no cheap endeavour. They require time, space and professionals, which in the end not only greatly increases the quality of the finished product but also requires a significant chunk of money. A friend of mine suggested Kickstarter as a means to achieve this goal and after some research and thought on the matter, here we are!

How can you help?

The first answer is: make a pledge! We urge you to get involved. Even a small pledge helps to get us that much closer to our goal! Secondly, let everyone know about our Kickstarter project and the DVD! In order to achieve our goal we really need to reach out into our communities and spheres of influence to get the word out there. You can post on Fetlife, Twitter, Facebook, and even email this Kickstarter link to those you think would like to know about the project. Every person you tell about “The Art of Flogging” is a huge help.

Thank you for your support!

Videography by The Kink Domain. Music by www.bensound.com. Photography by Anon101 & Kabunza Craftwerks.

Flogging workshop at Dream Visions studio – Instructional video 05/10/14

Once more, I popped along to the Gatwick Dungeon in Surrey to teach a flogging workshop. Due to the amount of new people, I found myself repeating a few techniques that were shown in the previous workshop that was hosted 6 months ago. However, in this video there is a couple of pointers on sensation play and rest techniques that I often overlook in a workshop but which tend to come in really handy.

Let me point out again that nothing compares to actually going to one of my workshops and learning from me personally, there is an insane amount of information that simply cannot be covered by watching a few videos or having me there to guide you through the steps and nuances when I finally stop talking. But for those people who are overseas or who are too nervous to attend one, I hope this helps a little.

A big thankyou to Dream Visions Studio for filming this video at the workshop and to my play partner, Jinx, who did a little bunnying for me.

And, of course, if you want to get yourself a decent pair of floggers or a Dragons tail, check out my Kabunza Etsy shop!

Kabunza: Headquarters!

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

Kabunza: Hyperlights, Tri-Layers and Whumpers. Oh my!

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 😉

Flogging workshop at Dream Visions studio – 06/04/14

I was teaching a flogging workshop yesterday at Dream Visions studio in Surrey, UK.

It does not happen very often as I have no ability to video myself, but one of the participants managed to snatch some footage on their phone.

So for anyone who would like to see a few flogging techniques (along with a few laughs), here you go.

And a big “thank you” to Mune for taking these videos and allowing me to publicise them.

 

Flogging, dragon tail and impact play workshops for 2014

Every year I tend to get many requests to do workshops where I teach people safety and techniques on various styles of BDSM play.

I do not charge anyone for doing a workshop. All I ask is that my fuel/travel expenses are covered and that I am allowed a Kabunza trade stand at the event in question.

Having a trade stand at a workshop/event allows me to earn the money for my time separately as well as allowing me to share safe knowledge as freely as possible. Essentially minimising what an event needs to charge people for having the good sense to actually do the research and learning in their BDSM interests.

My events page has been updated to include all events that I will definitely be attending in 2014.

This year seems to be filling up unusually fast and I still have several requests to consider, so I thought it might be best to publish a blog post reminding people to get their requests for workshops in as quickly as possible.

My contact details can be found: Here.

Don’t delay if you want me for a specific date or event. Once I place an event on my blog page, it is pretty much set in stone unless the event itself is cancelled.