Babeland Turns 30!
In 90’s Seattle—1993, to be precise—two women founded a shop with a commitment to offer information and encouragement to women who want to explore their sexuality. (Though the original idea was women-focused, inclusivity to any gender who wanted this were embraced and welcomed as well.)
So, this year, we’re celebrating a milestone: Babeland’s 30th birthday - that’s three decades of sex toys (and education) for a passionate world!
It was a priority for founders Claire and Rachel to make sure the store offered top-quality products, provided an inclusive space and a supportive, fun place to shop – a place that could be a true community resource. They linked up with already-established Good Vibrations (now Good Vibes) in San Francisco, where founder Joani Blank welcomed them to the business with information that helped them launch their shop and find the vendors they wanted to include. In 1995, Toys in Babeland—that was its name back in the day—started mail order through a small print catalog that almost looked more like a zine; a website followed a year later.
In 1999, the staff formalized a mission statement: "...to promote and celebrate sexual vitality by providing an honest, open and fun environment; encouraging personal empowerment, community education, and support for a more passionate world are key." And while our commitment to women's pleasure has remained strong over the years, Babeland has also made sure to strive to be a place that any adult of any gender identity or sexual orientation can feel empowered and included on the journey to find their own sources of pleasure, and have access to the education that we all deserve.
Inspired by the success of the Seattle shop, catalogue, and website, Toys in Babeland expanded to open stores on the east coast in NYC and Brooklyn - with our Lower East Side location still going strong since 1998.
In 2005 we became just “Babeland," a destination and a state of mind to celebrate the simple truth that sexually healthy and happy people make the world a better place (and to embrace the nickname that we lovingly earned from regulars and staff alike). Encouraging personal empowerment, community education, and support for a more passionate world are key. You can read about these years and our position in entrepreneurial, sex-positive feminism in Lynn Comella’s terrific book Vibrator Nation, where she actually joined the retail team for a bit to get that first-hand look into our world.
Babeland has received many awards over the years, including from Zagat’s Survey, The Village Voice and Seattle Weekly. We are recognized by our communities because we truly believe that finding the right intimate products - and having access to the information about them - can change your life. That’s why helping you find the right toy to suit your needs is our #1 priority.
We love to introduce first-timers in as well - even if you aren’t sure what you’re looking for, our helpful staff knows just how to guide you on the path to pleasure and listen to your needs and wants for your experience. We’re committed to bringing you the best sex toys, lubricants, books, and other pleasure products on the market, and we want you playing with sex toys that keep you healthy, happy, and worry-free. We carry only materials that we deem body-safe; that means no phthalates, no spermicides, no numbing agents, nothing to detract from the pleasure that your body craves.
Not only do these ideals exist in our mission, but they live in the walls of every Babeland shop. Every single one of our Sex Educators/Sales Associates receives extensive training on sexuality, anatomy, and gender, not to mention the entire universe of sex toy types, materials, and functions—high-quality products vetted by a team of experts. And according to the Zagat survey (we’ve won Best Customer Service more than once), you all seem to appreciate the effort. Babeland’s New York stores are also union shops—together we participate in the modern, revitalized labor movement!
In 2017, ready to retire, founders Claire and Rachel turned to their old friends and colleagues at Good Vibes. Because Good Vibes had a massive impact in defining the adult industry and inspired and welcomed Babeland back in 1993, a partnership going forward made perfect sense - especially with the pleasure-forward mission of empowerment and education the two brands share. Babeland and Good Vibes are now a family of like-minded businesses on two coasts, working together to serve an even bigger public.
Today Babeland’s mission still stands strong and proud, including our education-forward offerings: programming that ranges from our in-store events to off-site workshops led by our Sex Educators everywhere from Ivy Leagues to dive bars- and we continue to contribute to non-profits and organizations devoted to social change - both local and across the US. We’ve done this through fundraising partnerships and community donations through our give-back program, Come for a Cause, as well as through activism in-person: like offering free vibrators to incentivize voting, and even dressing like a vulva to protest for reproductive rights in front of the White House! We want to partner with you to help change the world—with information, safety, pleasure and comfort in mind.
Our culture attaches so much shame to sexuality and pleasure, but Babeland is a come-as-you-are zone. This means that no matter what gets your pulse racing, as long as everyone involved has consented, we’re on board. Feel free to ask us about anything, and rest assured that we’ve heard it, seen it, or will be eager to learn more about it right alongside you.
So join us in celebration of 30 years, and let us know what we can do to make your life more passionate!
