profile

Justin Sayne: A Man and His Leather

It has often been said that the luckiest, happiest people in the business world are those who can turn their passions and obsessions into a living. Justin Sayne clearly has a passion for leather, and the Arizona-based leather designer (whose company, Justin Sayne Leather, is located about an hour from Phoenix) is a rising star in the world of BDSM items and fetish attire. Sayne’s reputation has been growing — and 2014, he says, has been his company’s most productive year so far.

The origins of Justin Sayne Leather (JustinSayneLeather.com) go back to 2008, when another leather specialist hired him as an apprentice and showed him all the things that go into creating high-quality leather goods. Sayne found, however, that his mentor wasn’t as BDSM-minded as he was, and eventually, Sayne ended up taking over the kinkier side of the business — which is how Justin Sayne Leather came about. And BDSM has been a major focus of the company, which designs everything from fetish attire (including corsets and collars) to whips, floggers, paddles and restraints. Custom-made items have been a high priority for Sayne, who has been including high-end alligator and buffalo designs in his leather arsenal.

Established dommes and tops have spent a lot of time and money building their collections of toys, and it is really hard to get them to reach into their wallets and pay money to acquire new toys, so the way I try to reach those established people is I hand them something they’ve never seen before.

“Alligator is kind of a new material on the market,” Sayne explains. “There was the longest time when we couldn’t even acquire that type of thing, and now, it’s all over the place. Alligator is still pretty expensive.”

Sayne notes that the BDSM world is comprised of hardcore players as well as people who are engaging in lighter BDSM play, and he is happy to cater to a seasoned dominatrix or dungeon master as well as a soccer mom who just finished reading E.L. James’ wildly popular BDSM-lite novel “50 Shades of Grey.” With disciplinary instruments, for example, Sayne might sell a single tail or a braided cat o’ nine tails to an experienced, seasoned pro-domme but will offer a soft flogger to someone who is exploring lighter BDSM activity.

“Established dommes and tops have spent a lot of time and money building their collections of toys, and it is really hard to get them to reach into their wallets and pay money to acquire new toys,” Sayne observes. “So the way I try to reach those established people is I hand them something they’ve never seen before. I try to show them something that’s cool enough that they would want to flaunt it.”

Historically, black was the official color of BDSM, from whips and floggers to corsets and thigh-high stiletto domination boots to leather bondage cuffs. But these days, a variety of colors are making their presence felt in BDSM — and Sayne finds that the more softcore BDSM players are quite receptive to blue, red, purple, pink and other colors. He also finds that they make great customers because they aren’t nearly as picky as established BDSM players can be.

“50 Shades has made BDSM so prevalent, and I have a lot of toys that are engineered to attract the housewives and newbies,” Sayne said. “These are softer, more casual toys — cuffs and collars and floggers made with bright, pretty colors. They’re suede. They’re materials that housewives or beginners can relate to: nice, bright, pretty stuff. Colors that are more dainty, yet they’re just as strong as the big, fat heavy stuff. Some people are not going to be interested in big, black, gnarly things, and I’m going to get their attention with pretty colors.”

2014 has been a year of expansion for Justin Sayne Leather, and one of the company’s strongest allies in recent months has been photographer Hew Burney. Sayne and Burney met on June 7 in Las Vegas at the reopening of the Erotic Heritage Museum, which is now called Harry Mohney’s Erotica Museum. Burney has become a strong promoter of the company, introducing Sayne to veteran erotic photographer Ken Marcus and other major figures in the adult entertainment industry.

“Our company already put a couple of pieces in the Erotic Heritage Museum, and we were really upset about it being gone,” Sayne recalls. “So when it reopened, we had to make it. And when we got there, Hew Burney came around with a camera. He took interest in our product like nobody I had ever seen before. Hew saw what I had and put us in front of all the right people. He put us in front of Ken Marcus — we made an appointment to do some photographs in Ken’s studio. I couldn’t have done that on my own. There’s just no way.”

Safety, Sayne stresses, should be a top priority for anyone involved in BDSM — and bearing that in mind, he has created a device that is intended to make erotic asphyxiation less risky. Sayne acknowledges that erotic asphyxiation is a controversial topic — even in BDSM circles — but he stresses that if people are determined to engage in that activity, they need to think long and hard about safety. Sayne explains: “I lost a friend to asphyxiation, and my product is designed to be a safety device. I created a collar that you can put on, but it’s not a belt — it’s actually made out of lambskin. So it’s a little stretchy. It’s not going to bite like a belt. This thing is soft and breakable: it’s the only toy I have that is intended to break.”

One area of leather that Sayne hasn’t ventured into so far is fetish boots, although he hasn’t ruled out the possibility. “I have the machinery to do boots,” Sayne notes. “So far, I haven’t had a call for them. But if I got a serious request for a pair of custom boots, I would make them.”

Sayne continues: “I’m a leather designer. If you want me to design an electric blue suede single tail, call me. If you want a single tail that looks like 1,000 other single tails, call me. If you want a purple cat o’ nine tails, call me. I’ll make it. I don’t want to leave anybody out. There’s something for everybody.”

Related:  

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More Articles

opinion

How History Drives Marketing Strategies Today

Thanks to the efforts of activists, sex educators and members of marginalized communities, products like sex toys, lubricants and adult films have become much less stigmatized, and much more visible and accepted in the public sphere today.

Hail Groo ·
opinion

BAFTA Nominations Highlights Importance of Gender-Neutrality

While the Brit Awards have paved the way for gender inclusivity by introducing gender-neutral award categories, it has recently been confirmed that the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards will not follow suit.

Scarlett Ward ·
opinion

How to Explain Wax Play to Shoppers

When it comes to candles in the bedroom, most folks think of them as a great way to create a sexy ambiance. For folks who enjoy wax play, however, candles are also a kinky way to heat things up. While it may sound daunting to the uninitiated — because, you know, fire and hot dripping wax — wax play can be a fun and accessible sensation-play option, as well as an excellent intro to BDSM.

Rebecca Weinberg ·
trends

An Inside Look at the Decision-Making Process of Expert Merchandisers

Buyers in the sexual wellness industry bear a weighty responsibility. They must strike the perfect balance between meeting customers’ demonstrated needs with tried-and-true products, and staying on top of the latest trends — and that is only scratching the surface.

profile

WIA Profile: Catherine Corsaro

As director of product training and information for JO parent company CC Wellness, Corsaro oversees all sexual health and product education from the company’s Valencia, California headquarters, including training new reps who may have never touched a bottle of lube until their first day on the job.

Women In Adult ·
profile

Novum Veteran Executive Team Leverages Expertise to Grow Brand

Novum Brands may be relatively new on the sex toy scene, but there’s nothing green about George Gatziaris and Vadim Daysudov, who together founded, own and helm the business.

Colleen Godin ·
opinion

Al and Michele Harrington Discuss Vision for Pleasure Brand Love Verb

Former NBA player Al Harrington has matched his success on the hardwood with equally impressive accomplishments in the business world, including creating cannabis company Viola. Now, Harrington and his wife, Michele, have expanded their business portfolio with Love Verb, a venture aimed at enhancing couples’ intimacy through a variety of pleasure products.

Quinton Bellamie ·
opinion

A Look at the Benefits of AI for Optimizing Retail Operations

In the ever-evolving landscape of retail tech, staying ahead of the curve is not just advantageous — it’s mandatory for survival. Currently, small-to-midsize retailers face an unprecedented opportunity to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) features to gain an advantage, enhance employee productivity and optimize operations.

Sean Quinn ·
opinion

Boosting Visibility for Female Sexual Dysfunction Products to Overcome Stigma

It is undeniable that sexual wellness has entered the mainstream, and the market is expected to expand. Many of those sales are driven by women, who have become more empowered than ever to buy sex toys and accessories — especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, when a significant consumer uptick made this shopping category more lucrative than ever.

Naima Karp ·
opinion

Tips for Making the Most of In-Store Marketing

When it comes to brick-and-mortar retail, getting shoppers in the door is only the beginning. Once they are inside, catching their eye and getting them to open their wallets is a whole other ballgame — both for retailers, who want shoppers to spend as much money as possible in their stores, and for manufacturers, who want that money spent on their products specifically.

Rebecca Weinberg ·
Show More