Where The Sun Does Not Shine (NSFW)

18+ please, not safe for work. A pair of “toys” projects to fill that void in your life…

(BTW, I’m not exactly an expert on sex toys, so if I get something wrong here or cheerfully quasi-endorse shoving a carcinogen somewhere with lots of chemical-absorbing tissues, my apologies, I don’t know what I’m talking about.)

I’d be curious to know if there’s been any studies done on the market for animal-shaped sex toys. On the one paw, it can’t be the world’s biggest market, with a lot of competitors (Fetish Zone, BadDragon, Zeta Paws/Zeta Creations, Exotic Erotics, German YiffyToys, come to mind, with a host of other smaller names out there. I’m sure I’m forgetting someone, but it has never been my life goal to list all animal-themed sex toy manufacturers.  An amusing side-project or hobby, perhaps.)

So, I’m looking at a pair of projects with a long road ahead of them, because it’s a packed field, and some of the players have serious name recognition.

On the other paw, it’s a field that appreciates novelty for its own sake. And not everybody has $100-$150 lying around for a detailed piece of hardware modeled after Haruki the Very Friendly Akita with frighteningly realistic coloration when Amazon has a roughly comparable piece of plastic that maybe looks more like chewing gum than Haruki, but hey, $35.

Anyway, that’s a long, rambling way to say that even with three 900-pound gorillas in the room, wherever you are on the XYZ axis of novelty, price, and style, there’s likely to be a market, though whether it can sustain a startup? That’s a hard one.

PlayBow Toys

Indiegogo ending February 25

PlayBow is a startup by Obsydian. You can see some of her work-in-progress for PlayBow on Tumblr, the PlayBow website is a bit work-in-progress (and the contrast between realistic animal dong and cheerful cartoon background is, uh, intense.)

Her current Indiegogo: startup funds toward acquiring a 3D printer, to create the sort of detailed toys we can see on her Indiegogo website, including the feline at left and…whatever the heck the “genitacle” is from. Obsydian’s not new to the toy market, she’s done work for Frisky Beast. PlayBow itself is only a few months old, a December startup. Digital printing is her ultimate goal with this IGG project, but you can see a few of her cast-from-mold projects here.

One challenge for me is that I’m really not sure how much my very own genitacle would cost. It would be a new direction for me, I haven’t had relations with cephalopods before, but the pledge points are for discounts and coupons. Now, there’s a couple of pledge points that come with an actual thing that is a thing, but they’re in the $100+ category, and at least partially custom work. Points for going with Fixed Funding (since Obsydian is aiming for a digital printer, it makes sense to stick to that price point.)

If Obsydian makes goal, though, this may be a unique opportunity to FINALLY get a model of your zorskyroo character’s junk at an attainable price, and that is not a thing to be passed up.

Alder’s Toy Chest

Indiegogo ending 3/18/14

Now, I don’t often do this–use art from a project page in fulll but really Alder’s illustration is most of the reason I’m doing this post. Look at them. So proud! Marching eastward, as if toward war. Sexy, sexy war. Anyway.

Alder’s Toy Box is a startup project by Aldereen. This one has a unique selling proposition: Custom toys at an achievable price. A tour through his FA account has a few of his projects, like the Alek plug (Alek is a mouse, which is possibly why his friend Alder stands so much taller in the crowd scene above) and the work-in-progress of, well, now you know what a demon keeps in his pants. If he wears pants.

Aldereen’s cast pieces aren’t as polished as big vendors, the lines are a little softer and less defined than the realistic stuff. But it’s custom work, and that’s an unusual thing in sex toys.  And so much more distinctive than a MaryMouse badge. Wear one to your next convention! Imagine the delightful conversation with security!

Strictly from an editorial perspective, the project itself needs some caulk and glue here and there. At this point, it’s a project focused on custom work, but there’s very little variety in the images available. Now, there needs to be some delicacy here since Indiegogo would prefer less, not more, penis on its server. But I think the lack of variety undercuts what’s the core statement here: custom work. It’s even in the header: “I make custom toys for those that have custom needs.”

That catch phrase is awesome, by the way. It’s sharp, it’s clear, it may actually be perfect.

The rewards are a little bit busy as well, a common trap for new crowdfunders–breaking up the offer into way too many sub-categories, adding too much copy to an area that should ideally be easy to scan through. But again, it’s a first-time project.

Follow @Furstarter on Twitter for dailyish updates from the world of fur-funding! Note: Images used above are included to promote the work of crowdfunding artists, and are owned by the original creator.