Without question, one of the highlights of my year is attending the International Lingerie Show in Las Vegas. They hold it twice a year, in fall and spring, but everyone will tell you that the March show is where it's at. Not only do we find our favorite lingerie companies in attendance each year, often introducing their newest collections, but a variety of sex toy companies are out in force, showing off their own wares and building awareness for products that are sometimes not even on the market yet. It was at my first ILS that I first saw Lelo toys, when the line only consisted of the single Lia model, and to get them in the store one would have to directly import from Sweden. Later, nJoy was a new discovery, and later still I saw We-Vibe for the first time. Furthermore, the creators of these products are there themselves, granting insight into their development process and intents for their creations. This trip I spoke to the design/engineer team behind Crave, a new company that has just introduced its first product, the Duet. It is an elegant little vibrator, with two stunningly powerful motors encased in a silicone tuning fork and powered by a battery that is recharged by usb.
That will be arriving in the store in the coming weeks, as will the Fixsation, a more sophisticated spin on the classic "butterfly" style clitoral vibrators that are worn during sex with a partner. And don't let me forget Bedroom Kandi, the new line from the collaboration of Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kandi Burruss and OhMiBod, previous creator of the OhMiBod line of music vibrators.
At the International Lingerie Show one also expects to spend quite a bit of time exploring new lingerie offerings, and this year was no disappointment. We wrote orders for new corsets - beautiful steel-boned creations that continue to expand upon our offerings of high quality garments for wonderfully reasonable prices. The boxed lingerie market continues to expand, and all of our vendors are rising to the occasion with expanded offerings. We will soon have all the latest styles from Dreamgirl, Hot, Oh la la, and Baci. We will also be expanding our offerings -- significantly -- of club wear dresses. One of the most pleasing sights to me this year was the prevalence of color on display, as last year it seemed entire catalogs were almost exclusively black, with the occasional splash of red. This year we'll see lavenders, corals, limes, and other colors, which will make it a much brighter spring and summer!
Finally, anyone who has ever attended a trade show knows that one of the great pleasures of such an event is the opportunity to speak with and network with colleagues from around the country and share thoughts and insights about the work we all do. Second only to the time I spend with our guests at the store, these conversations leave me with greater understanding of the challenges at hand, and how to better serve our community going into the days ahead. It's a lot of fun, but I also always leave Vegas feeling gifted with more wisdom and passion for the work ahead at home. This is going to be another great year. I know, because I've seen the future.
