janiqueel explores a saucy bit of local entrepreneurship.
The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself.
Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
There’s a new store online in Singapore and it’s a racy one. Started by two entrepreneurs interested in not just selling sex products over-the-counter, THE HEDONIST STORE is dedicated to a deeper philosophy. When asked for a mission statement, Jade Amar complied.
The Hedonist store aims to allow women to become liberated by introducing sex toys and eroticism to their lifestyle while having their sexual desires met and self-pleasure to be seen as something natural, fun and sexy.
“Sex Positive” is the phrase that typifies the store and the motivation behind it. Sensing that many women were shy, afraid, inhibited, reluctant, demur, conflicted, stigmatized about their own sexuality, Jade Amar and partner, Jacqueline Kee, want to provide an empowerment portal through which women can better understand themselves and the myriad ramifications of their sexual beings. Open and confident when talking or writing about sex, they are eager to share advice and discovery with others. The toys on offer at the store are, obviously, for self-pleasure, not just a novelty to spice up the bedroom (although, that too!). To the Hedonist Store and it’s clients, attention to the needs of one’s self is a key to understanding and pleasuring others. “We believe it is an act of self-love and that self-love is the foundation of sexual empowerment.”
Breaking free of the taboos surrounding masturbation, while admitting that it is a sensitive topic in Singapore, The Hedonist Store seeks to provide a safe setting here adult women and men can engage in frank and open dialogue. To create a community based on the fulfillment that self-love can inspire. To state the obvious, that is a goal unique to Singapore, but isn’t it about time for women to jump between the sheets, – sometimes alone, sometimes not – shed their inhibitions, and strew them and their clothes, on the bedroom floor?
Launched in April 2019, The Hedonist Store, mainly via Instagram, had received a heartening amount of positive feedback from both women and men. Garnering attention with private group events and “test” runs, the hedonistas find that women may start as strangers, but soon open up to share their issues with like-minded peers. So much so, that many were reluctant to leave the discussion. In short, The Hedonist founders found that women were naturally interested to know more about sex toys and bondage. Once they have, they are not shy in updating the store on customer satisfaction.
Readers of janiqueel.com know already that I, janiqueel am not shy when it comes to topics surrounding sexuality. Oh, my goodness, no. Likewise, many men of my acquaintance, notably freelance writer JKJ, for instance, are as curious and stimulated to explore more open and healthy expressions of sexuality. The Hedonist Store welcomes dialogue from men as well as women. Its founders are on the cusp of a new approach to sexuality here in Singapore and, let’s hope, beyond.
Let’s give Jade the last word:
We believe that the aesthetic part of our business is greatly influenced by erotic culture such as boudoir photography, erotic film, erotic art, erotic literature etc. to name a few.
So if there are any artists that share the same philosophy as us, feel free reach out to us, we’re always happy to be inspired and work together in like-mindedness.
Full interview with founder of The Hedonist Store, Jade Amar.
JANIQUEEL: Have you thought of playing with the word “SHEDONIST?”
JADE: Shedonist is such a great play of words! while our focus is to embrace women’s sexuality & their erotic exploration, we were careful not to limit ourselves to only one gender when we were conceiving the concept of our brand as a sex-positive store.
Although ‘The Hedonist Store’ is a curated sex toy store by women for women, we also appreciate men! And ‘The Hedonist Store’ items are definitely not here to replace them. We’d like to keep our store inclusive of all genders and that means supporting women and their partners with the right tools to put the ‘Ooos…’ in their orgasms as couple play and also solo play!
JANIQUEEL: In addition to gifts for women, what might men find of interest in your store?
JADE: We know that the female body can be a mystery to some men, like trying to find our G(lorious)-spot. So for our fellow brothers, we’ve got your back.
Whether you’re a beginner or expert in sex toys, our easy to navigate e-store provides some of the best tools in the market to help you go from zero to hero.
We encourage men to get creative with their wildest imagination! So if they’re open for some raunchy action, they can check out our vibrating cock ring or get shackled and whipped into submission with our bondage toys.
JANIQUEEL: How pleased are you with your success so far?
JADE: Although we have recently launched in April, we have received plenty of positive feedback about our project from both men & women. In our private group events we create a safe environment where women come together to share their sexual needs or to simply talk about sex without judgement. We have conducted a few “test” events and we didn’t know how it would turn out considering some of the women were strangers to each other, but once they understood that everyone was there with the same positive intention, it naturally flowed and went so well they didn’t want to leave. They were genuinely curious and enthusiastic to know more about sex toys and bondage. And all ladies who bought our toys have been updating us about how their libido and sex life has improved. Our hearts are definitely full from knowing that we can make a positive difference.
JANIQUEEL: What motivated you to start such a store?
JADE: We’ve always been confident and open when it comes to talking about sex. We enjoy sharing advice and interesting discoveries with other women. In the process we realised that many of us were experiencing sexual frustration because of social conditioning, false belief or self limitation that was stopping us from fully enjoying our amazing body.
For example some of our friends have never experienced an orgasm because they were feeling shame and guilt about touching themselves and had never gotten the chance to understand their body well enough. Some also had the perception that toys should only be used as a novelty to spice things up in the bedroom and not to be used alone for their own pleasure as if it was something degrading. Digging deeper we found that many women in relationship were silencing their own desire, not to “hurt” or be “inconvenient” to their partners who had a lower sex drive than them or too busy, stressed out with work to be able to give them the sexual attention they needed.
This really motivated us to start a sex-positive store to help women break free from all the distortion and stigma around sex and more specifically self pleasure. We believe it is an act of self-love and self-love is the foundation of sexual empowerment.
JANIQUEEL: Please supply a mission statement for the Hedonist Store.
JADE: The Hedonist store aims to allow women to become liberated by introducing sex toys and eroticism to their lifestyle while having their sexual desires met and self pleasure to be seen as something natural, fun and sexy.
JANIQUEEL: What is unique about operating a store like yours in Singapore?
The educative and community oriented aspects of our business is what set us apart from a regular store that provides sex toys from a shelf to a consumer. We are a sexual lifestyle brand addressing the root of sexuality which we are aware is a very sensitive topic in Singapore as it is still Taboo to talk about topics such as masturbation so openly. To shift that mindset, we would like to start from the core of it all and become a platform that engages open dialogue in a safe setting. As a sex-positive store, we aim to build a community around self-love & pleasure where women feel empowered and safe to come forward and achieve the sex life they deserve.
Disclaimer : we are a sexual lifestyle brand sharing informative content and providers of safe spaces for people to express themselves.
JANIQUEEL: Explain “curated” in your context.
JADE: The website is convenient for everyone to navigate and the selected toys are the most effective euphoric and sustainable sex toys available on the market. We have personally tested and reviewed all items and ensure that every product selected is body safe, of high quality and high performance.
JANIQUEEL: Is there anything else you would like to add?
JADE: As we continue to build and grow our sexual wellness and erotic community within the region. We are not only limiting ourselves to collaborating with other corporate businesses alike. We believe that the aesthetic part of our business is greatly influenced by erotic culture such as: boudoir photography, erotic film, erotic art, erotic literature etc. to name a few.
So if there are any artists that share the same philosophy as us, feel free reach out to us, we’re always happy to be inspired and work together in like-mindedness.