News

Forbes June 9, 2012

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 01:55:25 GMT

Fifty Shades of Grey is Building Bridges Between the Imagination and the Bedroom

When a salacious media phenom like the Fifty Shades book trilogy comes along, things start happening. People think differently, act differently, say and do things they wouldn’t have said and done before.… At Babeland, an adult store in New York, sales of kinky products are up nearly 30 percent in the last few months and visits to the bondage section of their Web site have spiked 81 percent, reports the New York Post. “The book is just an explosion of permission for [people] to try something new in the bedroom,” Babeland’s co-founder, Claire Cavanah told the Post.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2012/06/09/fifty-shades-of-grey-is-building-bridges-between-the-imagination-and-the-bedroom/

Studio360 June 8, 2012

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 01:49:33 GMT

Blushing Fifty Shades of Red

The erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey, about a young woman named Anastasia and her bondage-loving boyfriend Christian, has been jumping off shelves (and into e-book download queues) since it was released by Knopf’s Vintage imprint earlier this year. Everybody’s reading it, but a book this risqué makes for some awkward conversations. What if your mom is reading it? Rebecca Lee Douglas went there. Claire Cavanah, Babeland’s Co-Founder, is interviewed. Listen online.

http://www.studio360.org/2012/jun/08/fifty-shades-red/

Business Insider June 7, 2012

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 21:15:16 GMT

Hardware Stores Are Experiencing A Boom In Rope Sales Thanks To A Certain Erotic Novel
The New York Post is reporting that hardware stores in NYC have seen an increase in rope sales over the past several months — and it's not because men are suddenly conquering their to-do lists. The novel has encouraged women to explore their kinky sides with materials used in the novel like rope, riding crops and handcuffs. NYC's Babeland has seen its sales of kinky toys increase 30 percent and an 81 percent increase in traffic to its website, the Post reports.
http://www.businessinsider.com/fifty-shades-of-grey-has-increased-rope-sales-at-hardware-stores-2012-6

Redbook online June 7, 2012

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 21:08:13 GMT

Top 40: Tips from Our 40 Steamiest Sex Articles
What I Learned in Sex School
It's all about the tongue.
When it comes to performing oral sex on him, don't focus only on porn star-style suction. You can do a lot with just your tongue, I learned at Babeland's "Oral Sex Basics: Fellatio" (Babeland's most popular class!). Flatten your tongue and pretend you are licking a delicious ice cream cone. Then try the "pointy-tongue" technique to stroke up and down and side to side. Do different strokes and touches, like flicking your tongue over the head, and see what kind of response you get.
http://www.redbookmag.com/love-sex/advice/best-sex-article-tips#slide-3

New York Post June 7, 2012

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 21:04:54 GMT

Fifty Shades of Grey spurs sales of sex accessories, bondage material

At Babeland, sales of kinky products are up nearly 30 percent in the last few months — and visits to the bondage section of their Web site have spiked 81 percent. Riding crops and handcuffs — both used in the book — are hot items. And there’s a “Fifty Shades of Grey” book and bondage kit sold online for $29 and a more extensive “Fifty Shades of Grey: Indulge Your Fantasies” kit, which includes restraints, a riding crop and “Spank Me Baby” body powder for $169. “It’s like a juggernaut,” says Babeland co-founder Claire Cavanah. “You’d be surprised to see how very ordinary these people are who are coming in. The book is just an explosion of permission for them to try something new in the bedroom.”

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/ny_gals_learning_the_ropes_at_fifty_sVWWKeksj9WKUto2ITg1KK/0

USA Today May 30, 2012

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:53:17 GMT

Many chain stores now add a toy aisle for adults
Websites that sell an array of paraphernalia designed to enhance the sexual experience include Liberator Bedroom Adventure Gear, which looks rather like a sexual Bed, Bath and Beyond. The Fifty Shades books prominently feature a sex playroom with whips, handcuffs and other sex toys, and now websites including Pure Romance and Babeland sell Fifty Shades-inspired wares. Vibrator sales are increasing, show exclusive data provided to USA TODAY by Trojan. The research is by Nielsen, which tracks UPC-coded items scanned at food, drug and mass retailers, including vibrator rings and handheld devices. First-quarter numbers for 2012 count 318,840 vibrators (all brands) sold at retail outlets, excluding Walmart. That's $4.4 million worth of vibrators sold, up about 14% over the first quarter last year, Nielsen says.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/wellness/story/2012-05-29/vibrators-and-sex-toys-sales/55289424/1

Huffington Post May 25, 2012

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:06:10 GMT

Is He Toy Worthy? Looking for Mr. Goodvibe
A week ago, ready to purchase what I hoped would be a self-fulfilling prophecy, I took a field trip to Babeland, an adult toy store in SoHo. A sex educator, Pamela, schooled me on what was new in the toy market. Let's just say they're not your mama's magic wand (not that there's anything wrong with that). They were esthetically beautiful devices that look like a piece of sculpture -- something I'd comfortably leave on the nightstand even when my 80 year-old father visited.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/melani-robinson/female-sex-aids_b_1540487.html

Bloomberg BusinessWeek May 24, 2012

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:03:03 GMT

The Fifty Shades of Grey Stimulus Retailers have been quick to jump on the Fifty Shades bandwagon, sensing a rare opportunity to attract mainstream customers. Babeland, a sex toy retailer based in Seattle, has launched a mini-site “inspired by” Fifty Shades of Grey that suggests dozens of items, from a scented massage candle to a set of vibrating nipple clamps. Claire Cavanah, Babeland’s co-founder, says the books have breathed life into the moribund BDSM category, noting that sales of bondage gear jumped 375 percent in April. “Now we have an event called Fifty Shades of Hot Sex,” Cavanah says, offering practical demonstrations on spanking and bondage. “About 150 people have responded in the SoHo store [in Manhattan], maxing out capacity. We had to add another section to take overflow.”
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-24/the-fifty-shades-of-grey-stimulus

The New Yorker Page Turner Blog May 22, 2012

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 19:53:33 GMT

“Fifty Shades of Grey”: The How-To Class Over at Babeland, a New York sex shop, the best-selling trilogy Fifty Shades of Grey has shifted from erotic fiction to how-to guide. On a recent Friday, a hundred or so women, four men, and one Chihuahua crowded into the SoHo store for a class inspired by the books. “I found out about the books because people kept coming into the store and asking about specific products— floggers, restraints, paddles,” said Claire Cavanah, Babeland’s co-founder.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2012/05/fifty-shades-of-grey-the-how-to-class.html

Glamour Smitten Blog May 14, 2012

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 19:48:53 GMT

Whoa. You'll Never Believe The Vibrators Women Used to Use on Their Lady Parts! Well, here's another reason to be thankful we live in 2012 and not, say, the 1920s. Take a peek at what women used to use as vibrators. Seriously. I’m coining this week Vibrator Week. For no reason other than that I’m fairly certain it doesn’t have its own week yet, and this one might still be up for grabs. Also, there's the upcoming release of Hysteria, the movie about the invention of the vibrator, and sex toys are getting a lot of play. So, in honor of this made-up week, let's take a walk down memory lane and look at the, um, devices women once used on their naughty bits. (Thanks, friends at Babeland!)
http://www.glamour.com/sex-love-life/blogs/smitten/2012/05/whoa-youll-never-believe-the-v.html

Crushable May 12, 2012

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 19:42:21 GMT

I Attended A 50 Shades Of Grey BDSM Workshop Last night, I attended a BDSM workshop called “50 Shades of Hot Sex.” I didn’t really learn anything I didn’t know about BDSM already, but I was heartened to see a whole bunch of people who’ve gotten their ideas about BDSM from a terrible book guided by the ever-responsible hand of Babeland, New York’s premiere woman-friendly sex shop. The workshop (which was actually more of a talk) was led by a Babeland employee who’s been active in New York’s BDSM community for quite some time. Looking around, I saw an assortment of much more “regular” looking people than you’d expect at a BDSM workshop, sipping vodka cranberries and paying attention.
http://crushable.com/other-stuff/i-attended-a-50-shades-of-grey-bdsm-workshop-695/

Shine from Yahoo! May 11, 2012

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 00:49:23 GMT

The Ex Makes the Sex Spectacular
Babeland was founded by two women - in answer to the "lack of women-friendly sex shops" as they so eloquently state on their website. They specialize in high quality toys AND offer educational informational sessions to women (and men) who want to be encouraged while exploring their sexuality. Toys, (I mean friends to hang out with) include: vibrators, adult DVD's, sex books, and dildos. My personal pick is the "Babeland Pocket Rocket"; a discreet, personal vibrator that retails for $17.99. It only requires a single double a battery and is velvety soft to the touch. Let's just say that good things cum (wink, wink) in small packages…
http://shine.yahoo.com/love-sex/ex-makes-sex-spectacular-151800476.html

Entertainment Weekly April 6, 2012

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 00:44:08 GMT

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!
E.L. James’ erotic debut novel, Fifty Shades of Grey, began as Twilight fan fiction. But now it’s a phenom—and just sparked a rich movie deal. The Brit author talks to EW about bondage and best-sellers.
But the phenomenon behind the glib description, “Mommy Porn”, makes sense when explained by Anne Semans, marketing director at the sex-toy emporium Babeland: “Sexual desire is something that really ebbs and flows in a woman’s life…and one of the ways you give your sex life a boost is through your erotic imagination.”

Women’s Health April 2012

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 00:40:20 GMT

Buzz Worthy
Catch a buzz while going green: The Solar Bullet vibrator ($34, babeland.com) nixes batteries. Eight hours of sun exposure will power an hour of fun.

The Frisky March 29, 2012

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 00:37:54 GMT

Babeland’s Bipartisan Bunny Vibrator: Come Together Right Now Over Me!
Abortion. Marriage equality. Health care reform. There are oh-so-many things that Democrats and Republicans do not agree on. But one thing we can all agree on is that every lady needs a little battery-operated something-something. That’s where Toys In Babeland’s newest toy, the Bipartisan Bunny vibrator, comes in.
http://www.thefrisky.com/2012-03-29/babelands-bipartisan-bunny-vibrator-come-together-right-now-over-me/

Smitten: Daily Blog About Sex & Relationships on Glamour.com March 23, 2012

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 01:28:26 GMT

Ask An Expert: "Help! My (Engaged) Best Friend Has Never Had an Orgasm!" Smitten: Say your best friend is engaged to a really great guy you totally approve of... but, despite effort on both sides (and multiple trips to Babeland), she's just never been able to "finish" either solo or with her boyfriend. Read More

The Frisky March 8, 2012

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 01:18:05 GMT

Flowchart: What Kind Of Vibrator Do You Need?
One of the perks of my job at The Frisky is I get sent a lot of vibrators. This is great, as I avidly practice self-love and think every woman needs to have a vibrator. But with so many vibes on the market — seriously, there are tonssssss – how’s a gal to choose? This flowchart should help! Each of these has been tried and tested by yours truly so get ready to get your buzz on! Details on each model and where to buy, after the jump!
We-Vibe 3, Crave Duet, Form 2, OMB Club Vibe, Hitachi, and Rabbit Habit featured.

Bust February 2012

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 01:16:01 GMT

By the Book
Ever wonder if those sex-advice manuals work? Our fearless carnal voyager gave them a try and discovered that sometimes, reading really is fun-damental.
The first two books I chose focus on female orgasm: I Love Female Orgasm: An Extraordinary Orgasm Guide by Dorian Solot and Marshall Miller and Moregasm: Babeland’s Guide to Mind-Blowing Sex by Claire Cavanah and Rachel Venning.

Jezebel February 14, 2012

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 00:59:45 GMT

Dildos for Dudes: In Defense of Boy Toys
When I visited the Babeland in SoHo, sex educator Leah pointed out the many couples shopping together. "Men are really excited to find out that if they want toys that don't look like vaginas, it's an option," she said. "It's a lot less threatening for women."
She was hopeful men's toys would be mainstreamed into society, given enough time.
"The world is still adjusting to sex toys being okay," she said. "At the end of the day, if it's on the bedside table, it's offering you a new sensation, a new experience. Ultimately it doesn't matter if people think it's strange, because it feels really good."
http://jezebel.com/5884727/dildos-for-dudes-in-defense-of-boy-toys

Redbook January 2012

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 00:57:24 GMT

The Best Two Things to Keep in Your Bedside Table
“Every couple needs a toy they can share—it practically guarantees orgasm,” says Redbook columnist Hilda Hutcherson, MD, an ob/gyn and a professor at Columbia University. She recommends a finger vibrator like the Ipo Finger Vibe from Picobong ($44, babeland.com) because it feels much more natural than a bulky vibrator.