Newsletter No. 59: FALL 2012

Prioritizing Your Pleasure, Not Profits.

One of our favourite vibrator makers dropped by our Queen West shop recently to check out our new digs - we moved last year, but they still feel new to us! He was trying to figure out how to make his vibes sell better in our shop and asked if we’d implemented the staff commissions and SPIFFs he’d suggested - we hadn’t, and honestly, we didn’t even read the e-mail he’d sent about it.

Here’s why: When Come As You Are was founded, we were incorporated as a co-operative specifically to keep our interactions with you honest and untainted by com- mercial concerns. We exist purely to provide you with ideas, options, a space where you can feel good about (and not marginalized by) your sexuality, and tools to help you realize your sexual potential.

We can only do this because we have no ulterior motive in our interactions with you - we have no incentive to ‘sell you’ one product over another, and aside from our collective desire to keep our shop alive year after year, our only goal is to assist you on your journey wherever it takes you. We just want to help you find a path that works for you.

There was a particular irony in our interaction with this particular manufacturer: their high-end vibes are currently outselling everyone else’s. They make high-quality, well- designed vibrators and because we review all of the prod- ucts we carry, everyone who works at Come As You Are can (and does) recommend their vibes without hesitation. So, to all of the sex toy makers out there wondering how to make their sex toys ‘sell better’ at Come As You Are: just make better sex toys.  

Stepping Into The Scene Workshop with Andrea Zanin Navigating Kinky Sex Communities Monday, September 10, 2012. 7:30 9:30PM Some BDSM 101 workshops teach the basics of kinky play. But let’s say you know whether you’re a top or a bottom (or both!), you’ve figured out which end of the flogger is which, and you get why it’s best to use leather or cloth restraints in- stead of handcuffs. Now, you want to explore the wide, and sometimes bewildering, world of the public BDSM scene. $30

Female Ejaculation And The G-Spot Workshop with Shannon Bell Sunday, September 16, 2012. 5:30-8:00PM Unique among female ejaculation pioneers, is Shannon Bell’s focus on demonstrating the extreme power and tech- nique of female ejaculation in a safe and fun atmosphere. This popular workshop begins with a live demonstration fol- lowed by a fast female ejaculation genealogy. Join us for an enlightening and inspiring tour that finally contextualizes both personal and historical g-spot knowledge. $30

Prostate Pleasure Workshop With Jon Pressick Wednesday, September 19, 2012. 7:30-9:30PM What sexual practice has noted health benefits? If you guessed prostate massage then you’re spot-on... p-spot that is! This workshop covers anatomy, techniques, toys and health benefits - while at the same time showcasing the incredible pleasure and intimacy of prostate massage. Anyone who is interested in maximizing pleasure, whether they have a prostate or not, is welcome to attend. $25