Twenty years ago, Sarah Deysach, 28, opened a sex toy store called Early to Bed at 5044 North Clark Street in Chicago.
Unlike other sex toy store owners, Sera isn’t in a hurry to entertain customers who come in. “If I immediately greeted the guests as soon as they came in, most of them would be very nervous, and some would even glance at them and leave,” Saila said. So I usually wait a while and then ask: “Do you need help finding anything? Or do you have any questions?”
“Early to Bed” has been in business for 20 years, a symbolic milestone for a sex toy shop.
Most of the colorful adult products in the store are “indescribable” and can’t even bear to look directly at them. Sex dolls of all types of beauties, torso sex dolls of all shapes, dildos, ball gags, collars, alternative SM toys, and weird silicone massage sticks like octopus tentacles…
Why would you want to open a “sex toy” store? Many friends have asked Sierra.
“There was nothing exciting or fun in my previous experience buying sex toys,” she said. “It’s just embarrassing, uncomfortable, and disappointing. The staff in those stores made me feel ashamed that people who buy sex toys are not normal, it’s ridiculous.”
One problem in the industry was a business opportunity, so she decided to open a sex toy store.
The start-up capital for the store was given by the mother. “Twenty years ago, no one wanted to give a business loan to a sex toy store,” says Sera, who can’t advertise on Facebook or Twitter. But our shop is committed to making buying sex toys a comfortable and enjoyable experience.
Now we have couples who come to our store a lot, and they really enjoy this exciting experience, talking, exploring sex, intimate, and exciting, which is what I wanted to achieve when I opened the store. ‘ said Sierra.
But some couples are a little nervous and cramped when they come to our store for the first time. We hope to help them. We are inviting emotional and sexual psychology professionals to join our team. The sales consultants in our store also occasionally guest as emotional consultant experts.
“We’re also seeing more male customers buying sex toys for their girlfriends (or wives),” she said. “There are also not very good phenomena. Some guys are very enthusiastic about recommending that they want his female partner to use sex toys, but it can be seen that his female partner is not interested.”
Before the outbreak, Sera held a sex education salon in the store. She has also been invited to speak on college campuses and social service organizations.
Even in the 20 years of operating “Early to bed”, sex toys have been accepted by more and more people, but there is still a long way to go to popularize sex education and sexual health.
Talking about the impact of e-commerce on offline brick-and-mortar stores, Sera said: “I thought we would be rendered meaningless because of the internet,” she said. “However, two decades later, many customers are still asking us the same questions. Our goal is to be a trusted, safe place where you can ask any question that confuses you and is guaranteed not to impose any judgment.”
“The staff at Early to Bed are sex educators,” says sexologist Jennifer Litner, founder of popular science website Embrace Sexual Health, who is now Serra’s partner.
“I asked Jennifer why people often feel uncomfortable when it comes to sex.”
Litner said. “Actually, sex and self-pleasure are normal behaviors. If you fully communicate with each other in an intimate relationship, it will help your partner know what to do. But because traditional culture, religion, and values advocate restraining desire, so Sex is off-limits.”
The sudden new crown epidemic forced “Early to bed” to close its business in March 2020.
When the epidemic eases and reopens, there will be a surge in sex toy sales. Saila said: Our store had to extend working hours because there were so many customers.
Sera also noticed an interesting phenomenon. Sex toys are one of the few areas where women have more freedom than men.
“Our Puritan culture is patriarchal, advocating abstinence, and sex has historically been stigmatized. But women’s purchase of male sex dolls is considered intimate care and can be used to control desire. Men, especially straight men, Buying a sex toy is seen as depravity, shame, and failure.”
