Shanghai

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Aug 29, 2008

Girl Uninterrupted

CW checks out the new bloomnine adult toy showroom
In Shanghai's sex toy market, quantity definitely triumphs over quality. We've all walked past a seedy looking corner store, peered inside and had a giggle at both the store's patrons and the objects themselves. Apart from the whispering tourists to one side, generally there are just some bored looking shop assistants and some obvious looking apparatuses. Not the most discreet or enticing of venues when looking to spice up your life.

This is where bloomnine, purveyor of high-end erotic toys, comes in. Originally looking for Chinese sex toys to import back to Holland, Teun Overeem, bloomnine's founder, discovered a lack of quality within the market here and decided to do just the reverse-Copen a showroom featuring the latest in erotic wares from around the world. This business caters to women who like a little discreet excitement in their lives. The showroom instantly puts the visitors at ease, and in the elegant, shall we say, grown-up settings, it would be embarrassing to so much as blush when looking at the wares. "This environment was created to make women feel comfortable," says Overeem. "I noticed that it was mostly men coming in to buy presents for their girlfriends. I wanted somewhere where women could come, relax, and buy toys suited to them." Set in an apartment, this cozy space has display shelves on each wall, mood lighting, muted tones and even a small chandelier adding a touch of class. "It has a really feminine feel to it," remarks Helen, a bloomnine visitor.

All toys have been designed with discretion in mind and wouldn't look out of place lying around your apartment (although you may not want your roommate manhandling them). Gone are the pornstar moulds of old, no rubbery truncheons will be wielded here. Grace Lu, marketing director of LELO, says, "I'm simply attracted by the classy LELO designs and am overwhelmed by the high-end sex toy concepts from Europe." The Swedish company's elegant products provide bloomnine with their best-selling items which appear more like the collectible variety than the intimate. Lu continues, "I'm from an open-minded generation and we wanted to create something for like-minded women." If, after all of this, it's still too daunting to enter the show room, call Overeem, get a group of girlfriends together and set up the latest in Tupperware parties--the sex toy party. Aside from the obvious, what's in it for you? With a cheeky smile, Overeem adds, "Any City Weekend readers who mention this article will get a 10 percent discount on our products." Ladies, start dialing.

Krisha Bartlem