One of the unique things about shopping at Lotus Blooms is that among the products we choose and curate to offer in the store, we always seek out other small businesses and independent makers (especially local and/or queer-owned) to find high-quality, body-safe products you’re not going to be able to get just anywhere (*cough*Amazon*cough*). It’s important to us to support the people whose passion and knowledge drives them to create beautiful, handcrafted items that meet the needs they’ve identified in their own sex-positive communities.

That’s why we’re so thrilled to be able to announce that we’ve partnered with new local artisans Creamed and Sugared to carry some of their handmade hardwood toys! You can see some examples of their work in the featured image on this post, but to really appreciate the pieces– and to buy them– you’ll need to come visit us in person.

We sat down this week with co-founder Steven Danger to find out more about Creamed and Sugared’s origins, their work, and the processes they use to ensure body-safety and longevity. Enjoy!

Who’s on the team behind Creamed and Sugared, and how did you all come together?

We are Brittany Danger, Steven Danger, Austin Caution, and Joe Jeopardy. Originally, Brittany, Austin, and I had met via the local poly, kinky scene here in the area and we talked off and on about our shared love of woodworking and beautiful design. One night we were sitting around the house chatting and we were bemoaning the lack of truly personal, artisanal set-pieces that are widely available. So we had that literal “eureka” moment. Brittany and I have owned a custom furniture company for years and have been building things as long as we can remember. Austin has crafted ornate pieces from kitchen knives, to hammers, to suspension rigs, and all manner of other things. We realized that if we couldn’t find what we wanted for sale, why not design and make our own? Joe, who has been friends with Austin for years, was brought in a few months into the project and has come up with some of our most iconic pieces like the Rose and Thorn currently carried at Lotus Blooms.

Can you take us through your process, from the initial idea through creation?

The process of designing a piece can vary from piece to piece in the conceptual phase. Sometimes it involves a lot of sketching in our design book or building a piece in our favorite 3D modeling program. Other times, we’re all sitting around the kitchen table having a drink at the end of the day and next thing you know we’re scribbling concept designs on a napkin or a stray envelope from today’s mail.

Once we have created the basic concept, we typically start with a inexpensive material like pine to make an initial template so we can make sure the edges are tight and tidy and the piece is going to take the basic shape we want. Then we can use this template on all manner of material and gives us a consistent design with minor changes from piece to piece. The longest part of the process is typically our sanding and shaping process. Every piece we make goes through a 4 – 5 stage finishing process that starts with a very harsh grit sandpaper and ends with us polishing the piece with steel wool. In doing so we make sure that every piece is completely safe to use and is only going to do the damage the user wishes.

The final process to make these pieces body-safe and sanitary has us taking them to the finishing room, which is separate from the shop to prevent dust or other particulates from ruining the finish.  There, they’re sealed with one of our two finishes that seals the pores of the wood and keeps them safe to use around bodily fluids. Most people would assume the design process ends there, but the pieces are inspected and tested and then the design is tweaked, refined, or even flat out redesigned to meet our standards.

Will you tell us a little more about your sealing materials and methods and how they’re body-safe? We know you make insertables in addition to the paddles and practice knives we carry, and most people wouldn’t know how a wooden toy could be truly safe for sex play.

All of our impact toys are sealed with a body-safe, kid-safe (because kids get into things they shouldn’t…), hypoallergenic, zero-VOC [Ed. note: “volatile organic compounds”] shellac or a beeswax-based butcher block sealer. We tested multiple materials, called for Material Data Safety Sheets from various companies, and did a lot of research before landing on the products we use to finish our toys. The shellac we use on our impact toys is the same finishing product we use on our insertables as well, though I do caution that unless we recommend a impact toy for insertion, to use your own discretion. It was incredibly important for us to find a product that we felt comfortable using on our products because safe sex is sexy sex. Plus, we have made versions of each of these toys for our own personal collection and use them on ourselves and our respective partners. We didn’t want to use something we would not use on our loved ones.

Is it difficult to care for a wooden toy? What’s the best way to keep them clean between uses– and what happens if the finish gets damaged?

The two most important things anyone can do with their C + S toys is to 1) clean them after every use using only the cleaners we recommend to protect the integrity of the finish, and 2) to inspect their toys before AND after use. Toys finished with the shellac can be cleaned using mild dish soap (we prefer Dawn personally) and warm water or with your favorite sex toy cleaner like the ones sold at Lotus Blooms. The pieces finished with the butcher block oil should be cleaned only with mild dish soap and warm water. Abrasive sponges and other such implements should be avoided.

As for inspecting the piece, the finish is what keeps the pores of the wood sealed and insures that when you’re cleaning them, all manner of dirt, sweat, bacteria, fluid, etc is gone. And that’s how you can keep yourself and your partner(s) safe. The nice thing is that if for whatever reason if there is a break or issue with the finish, we offer a refinishing a service for a small fee for all C + S customers. They can send us their toy and we’re happy to strip and reseal the piece. We want our all of our customers to be safe and able to continue using our toys. Many of them can last a lifetime if properly cared for.

Anything else you’d like to tell us about Creamed and Sugared? Plans for the future?

C + S started because of our passion for our craft. We love being artists and exploring our creativity. The feedback we’ve received thus far is incredibly humbling and amazing. We’re continuing to design and build prettier, kinkier, crazier pieces and to create unique sex-positive furniture. We have a lot of concepts we’re excited to reveal in the coming months. But we don’t want to limit ourselves to our own creativity. We also take on custom work as well. If you have a concept for a toy or a set-piece or kinky furniture, email me directly at steven@creamedandsugared.com and we would love to talk to you about it. There are so many diverse people and tastes in the world and we would love to make something for everyone.

Do you own a Creamed and Sugared piece? Tell us what you think of it in the comments!

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