Huntsville, Alabama… it’s the deep, Deep South. Neighbors include the Redstone Arsenal, a U.S. Army base that also encompasses NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. It’s a town of engineers and military personnel with high-level security clearances — but also, one unique store that’s reshaping the face of the industry in the conservative south.
Sultry Boutique has been in owner Tiara Trudeau-Gullotta’s charge for the past four years now. During that time, she’s used a grassroots approach to invite the local community into her store to experience its distinctive, high-end brand of customer service that champions pleasure-based sex ed and sex-positive self-exploration.
I’ve designed everything at my boutique to be able to communicate with clients and understand what they need, as opposed to just shoving them in for a sale.
“We’re not a sex shop,” affirmed Trudeau-Gullotta. “We don’t sell sex — we sell education.” Indeed, a sign posted inside Sultry Boutique assures customers and law enforcement alike that the store's products are geared towards much more than just a prurient interest in sex. That's per 1998’s Anti-Obscenity Enforcement Act, a symptom of residual conservatism that’s slowly eroding in the presence of places like Sultry Boutique, though it's still one of only three adult stores within a 26-mile radius.
Sultry, for a number of reasons, differentiates itself from the ubiquitous and stereotypical novelty shops that are stocked with gag gifts and cheeky toys.
Her staff, all of whom are certified by the local Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health, act as wells of information on everything from product ingredients to specialized topics of expertise, such as anal play or BDSM.
“Clients,” as she refers to them, run the gamut in terms of background and identity, but on the whole, consist of a more “mature” crowd, one for which she is fiercely dedicated to curating a “comfortable, safe space.”
However, what unequivocally sets Sultry apart and signals Trudeau-Gullotta’s commitment to creating sex-positive safe spaces is the implementation of private shopping sessions, by appointment only on Sundays. For a nominal minimum, clients can book the store and expert personnel for hour-long sessions that span beyond a quick shopping trip, rather delving into specific topics and catering the experience to individuals’ needs.
“I’ve designed everything at my boutique to be able to communicate with clients and understand what they need, as opposed to just shoving them in for a sale,” explained Trudeau-Gullotta. “We don’t work off of commission and I hate to upsell,” she added.
“If you’re going to start off with clients on the basis of trust — we try to educate them about the different products and start with more basic things — there’s always a way to go up.”
In that effort, she says, they’ve done “astronomically well” with regards to “Sultry Sundays,” likely because it offers a stigma-free opportunity for a still largely conservative customer base to explore without the fear of being outed.
Furthermore and notably, all of her staff members have signed NDAs to protect clients’ privacy.
“It helps clients ease into the boutique,” she said. “They’re allowed to be open for that one hour without anyone else around and then they feel more comfortable when they come back during normal hours.”
“Especially being in the South,” she continued, “there’s still that little bit of taboo associated with our industry.”
That much is clear when looking at who attends Sultry Sundays, and why. The most prevalent group happens to men over 40 seeking information on erectile dysfunction, followed by women asking about how to find their G-spot and folks looking to take advantage of Trudeau-Gullotta’s partnership with local photographers to do their very own boudoir photo shoot.
In addition to some of the more obvious curiosities, Trudeau-Gullotta has found herself servicing several more specific niches with Sultry Sundays, largely tied to a lack of similar resources and the still-prevalent stigma of “otherness.” The privacy allotted by closed-shop appointments has opened a door for clients to one-by-one reach her and explore their long-hidden desires in total confidence.
Trudeau-Gullotta, who is planning on becoming a certified sexuality educator through the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT), explained, “The majority of the time, people just want someone to talk things over with.”
“My most recent client,” she offered, “has been ‘in the closet’ for 20 years,” clarifying, “he’s not gay but he likes to dress in women’s clothing. We spent a lot of the first hour discussing what kind of woman he wanted to be before even trying a few options.
“It doesn’t happen overnight but when you see someone light up because they can finally let go of the character they play on the outside and can be who they truly are — that’s so rewarding.”
Trudeau-Gullotta has made her business positioning Sultry Boutique as an oasis of inclusivity and acceptance, in a Southern town still weighted down by the residual effects of antiquated attitudes and continued reproach of the adult industry.
“The mindset is very old-school,” she repeated.
However, armed with extensive education and unshakable optimism as her weapons of choice, Trudeau-Gullotta has set out to change the hearts and minds of those in her community who are willing to listen.
“It’s ignorance that makes people feel uncomfortable,” she said, acknowledging a time when she herself shirked novelties and was “very vanilla.”
“I used to be so ignorant,” she reminisced. “I used to be like, novelties — gosh, no!”
But after being thrust into the world of pleasure products, Trudeau-Gullotta quickly found her footing and subsequently discovered a hidden depth to a long-overlooked field.
“When I started to understand more I just fell in love with the business,” she said, approaching the industry with almost scientific creative flair, comparing finding the perfect toy/lube combo with pairing a fine wine with a nice steak.
Like her own journey towards sex toy enlightenment, she ventures the guess that all people really need are a few facts and a little cordial Southern charm to help build a cohesive social structure, one that values sexual health, wellness and freedom of expression as much as the folks at Sultry do.
“I’ve had some issues with businesses that don’t want to work with me because they don’t want to be affiliated [with the industry],” said Trudeau-Gullotta, “but they don’t know me and they don’t know Sultry. As soon as they see that we’re passionate about what we do, and that we have the knowledge and education to back it up, that begins to change.”
In fact, much of what Sultry does is provide a sexual health resource for the community.
“I’ve had people that come in with a UTI and we figure out it’s because they’re not using the right lube or they’re not cleaning their toys properly — doctors don’t ask you that.”
“We’re not just selling dildos,” she affirmed.
Trudeau-Gullotta invites her VIP clients, approximately 6,000 of them, to Sultry Boutique’s semi-regular events, the last of which welcomed a packed house for informal discussions on various topics.
She doesn’t advertise, preferring instead to keep them tight-knit affairs, although they’ve nonetheless taken off: the last event’s signups topped over 200 people, though only a lucky 45 can currently fit inside the venue.
Dedicated to giving clients the thorough, in-depth attention Sultry has come to be known for, controlled growth through word-of-mouth is Trudeau-Gullotta’s hope for the future and, judging by recent press, it would seem that steady growth is on the horizon.
“Since we’ve been featured in a few magazines, people are coming out of the woodwork wanting to work with us,” she said.
At the end of the day, best put in Trudeau-Gullotta’s own words, the boutique is truly a beacon for the community of people it serves.
“It’s a safe haven,” she offered, “it’s a nice place to go.”
