Kat Hooded by Karen Hsiao

Karen Hsiao continues to send me images from time to time she made using my hoods, and I have to say this one really took my breath away. The beautiful Asian face in profile, with red lips and braided hair. Another dream image, made real. 

We have a new project in the works, possibly even more massive than Black Cherries. I can't give too much away, but it's dark, and it's sensual, and it's beautiful. I can't wait to dive back in...

New Year's Eve plans?

If you haven't made any, why don't you come join us as we celebrate the new year perv-style? Book launch party for Karen Hsiao's Black Cherries, and Victor Lightworship too, with some of their favorite models. Presented by the Stockroom. Promises to be a fetish/festive evening for all. Hope to see you there! Advance tickets available here.

You are cordially invited... of course!

For any of you who are fans of Karen Hsiao's work, please stop by to show your support, and pick up a signed copy of the "Black Cherries" book while you're at it! It's very exciting to have this event hosted at La Luz De Jesus Gallery, one of my all-time favorite art galleries in LA. Hope to see you there! 

Karen Hsiao's Black Cherries Book Now Available!

Two years in the making, and finally the end result is here: Black Cherries-the book! 

8.5 by 8 inches, perfect-bound book on glossy heavy stock, with 99 pages, gorgeous printing with many 2-page spreads. Available here for $30. 

For those who follow this blog, you've seen this project in progress, and all the work involved to make it a reality. For me, it's very surreal to have the product of my imagination taken and transformed into something so special (and tangible) by another artist - the incredible Karen Hsiao. 

Thank you, Karen for making it a reality! I had no idea when we met that something of this magnitude would result. It's been an incredible journey, and I'm looking forward to working together with you on future projects. 

Transparent Butterfly Straitjacket

After all the other crazy see-through things I've been making lately, why not a butterfly straitjacket with attached hood? Why not... Karen Hsiao picked this one up tonight, and (as always) I'm looking forward to what she does with it. Promises to be very interesting... Stay tuned for updates!

New Open-Edition prints by Karen Hsiao

Karen Hsiao has just announced a new series of open-edition prints now available at her online store. These are some very-recently created images, and have a darker tone than her Black Cherries series. They're a bit more intimate, close-up, and in-your-face. Gorgeous prints on premium glossy paper for only $35? Hell yeah!

Click on the title to go to that print's page in Karen's store. 

Purple II

Gag II

Purple I

Little Day Dreamer

Black Cherries limited-edition Art Prints Now Available!

I'm happy to announce that fine-art prints of Karen Hsiao's Black Cherries series are now available on her website. We've been working together on creating these images over the past year or so, and it's really exciting to see them complete and beautifully printed. These are each signed and numbered by Karen, and come with a certificate of authenticity. 

These editions are limited to just 25 prints each image, so be sure to order soon if you are interested in a particular one. It's a very small run, and they could sell out quickly. 

I think "Black Doll" came out pretty amazing:

And I'm still partial to "Red Butterfly Girl" myself...

I always marvel at the model in the "Black Widow" image - she managed to shoot with that heavy molded leather hood on (without nose holes!)...

Karen's also offering a Limited Edition "Strawberry Kisses" 5 piece card set, printed on fine art watercolor paper, signed and numbered with race paper and seal stamped - for only $25. 

Kudos to Karen - I can't thank you enough for making these images real, and for sharing with me your incredible talent, drive and creativity! You are inspiring, amazing and wonderful to work with. It's been a labor of love, and you are a true artist. I've been humbled by the experience. 

Visit Karen's site here  to see more images from this series...

The Girls of Black Cherries - Book and print series - Coming Soon...

I met with Karen a few night ago to preview a new proof of the book, and it looks just amazing. I am really excited to have my hands on a copy. I'll post more info here when it becomes available, and on Karen's site as well: karenhsiao.com

A couple more...

Because you can never have too much awesome... here are two more images from Karen Hsiao featuring the square armbinder and open-face hood. Pony tail, double exposure, complete ecstasy. It's a challenge to portray the emotion, the feeling of bondage surrender and play, but to me these images get across something of the altered state mindset BDSM can put you in. Kind of dream-like. Just stunning. 

That's it for me today, folks. I'm going to have to go now, and find something to wipe the drool off my keyboard.

Check Karen's Blog for the full set. There are actually a few more from this series. 

Karen Hsiao - Stunning Harness Top Pix

One great thing about working with Karen Hsiao is that she'll send me emails sharing the things she's working on currently, the stuff she's shooting. Just quick iPhone shots. Like the images below. Beautiful model. Hooded, harnessed and dripping with fetishism. Gorgeous lighting and artsy composition. And I think to myself: "Damn, I'm a lucky bastard". And now you are too, because I get to share these pictures with you. Please enjoy...

 

And thanks, Karen and Mika, for sharing the photos with us!

Black Cherries book - proof preview

Karen Hsiao came over last week to show me the printer's proof of the Black Cherries book. For those of you who don't know, I've been working with her for over a year on this project (you can check out past posts by clicking on the "Black Cherries" label). The proof looks completely amazing, about 8 inches square, perfect bound, and around 100 pages, full of images I hadn't yet seen. (Karen has been sending some things my way via email, but with so many photos, it's been hard to keep track of everything.)

The proof looks really sharp compared to the smaller screen-res images I'm used to seeing, and having the images paired in spreads makes some interesting juxtapositions. The saturated colors and subtlety of tone - I'm so looking forward to seeing the final finished book in print. It's a completely different animal than seeing things onscreen. The effect of seeing all the pictures together (filled with so many restraints and hoods straight from my fetish-addled imagination) was pretty overwhelming. I actually got a bit high from the experience. I've seen a lot of arty and pervy books over the years, but I've never seen anything like this book. 

The one thing that I discovered during Karen's visit was the edition size for the printing of this book is going to be pretty small - possibly only 250 copies or so. I was hoping to be able to sell some directly, but with such a small run that may not be possible. 

If you were interested in possibly buying a copy (they'll be around $45), could you leave a comment or email me at christopherfetish(at)gmail.com? This isn't an invitation to place an order, but it may give me an idea of how many people may want a copy directly from me. Thanks!

Black Cherries book - Coming soon...

I got a phone call yesterday from Karen Hsiao, and it sounds like the design and layout is nearly complete for her "Black Cherries" book. It's just about ready to go to the printer. I'm so excited to see it in print. Those of you who have been following the blog for a while know that she and I have been working together on the project for over a year. I can't wait to see how it turns out! Stay tuned for more details...

Behind-The-Scenes Black Cherries photos

Karen Hsiao sent over some beautiful Behind-the-Scenes iPhone pix tonight from her recent photo shoot featuring model Brittany Bao. It's all part of the massive ongoing "Black Cherries" series of images we've been working on together for over a year now. 

It's really inspiring to work with an artist like Karen, as she has this incredible energy, and endless creativity. I don't know how she gets so much done... but she does. 

We have discussions about the next phase of our collaboration, and it's so different - visually, thematically. It's evolving. The ideas just flow, and I just try to take notes and keep up. I can't wait for you to see it, but at this point it is probably a year or so away from being real. 

 There is so much involved in creating an image from scratch. It just makes me appreciate all the quality images I see, when I know how much discussion, planning, coordination and work go into realizing a unique picture you may have seen first only in your mind's eye. 

Check out Karen's blog for the complete set of images.

Karen Hsiao iPhone studies

Karen Hsiao sent over some images taken with her iPhone during her recent photo shoots. She has been experimenting with different models, and adding elements like the gauze wraps underneath the hoods. I love seeing her play with the gear, and taking it in different directions... She is also working on a book on the Black Cherries series, which I am really looking forward to. Check out her blog site for more images from the series.

Black Conical Hat

Another image from the Black Cherries series with Karen Hsiao. I made the hat and we integrated a finial with tassel Karen had found into the design. The hat is actually patent leather outside and lined with a garment leather on the inside... With the beautiful Asian girl and the pops of black on the eyes, lips and nails - I just love how this image turned out. 

Karen is putting together a book with images from the series... Can't wait to see these all in print. Limited edition fine-art prints will be available too, which I'll let you know about here, of course! 

Red Butterfly Girl

This might be my favorite from the series so far... from Karen Hsiao's Black Cherries. Her face and body just embody a sense of erotic surrender and submission - saying "Take me, as you wish - have me. I'm yours."  At least that's what I see... 

Zipped Harness Top

Got to work on a harness top a few nights ago. More fun with straps! It's part of the ongoing series of pieces I've beek working on with the amazing and talented artist/photographer Karen Hsiao. The cool thing was since it needed to fit just right, (and we were going with a zipper closure), she came over and I basically built the harness on her. 

That's one way to ensure a perfect fit...

It came out pretty cool, and I'm looking forward to seeing what she does with it!

Heart-shaped Hoods: open ear and lamb variations

I finished up a pair of hoods tonight, made from the same pattern but in two different leathers. The first one is in red patent pig leather, the second in red lamb leather.  

This pattern was modified to have a little more of a "heart-shaped" face opening compared to the other open-face hoods I've made in the past, with a slight curve at the cheek. It should really frame the face nicely...

The open-ear makes this hood unique. It's a good hood for all of you out there who find the ear to be an erogenous zone. 

I think I need to do a version with the ears open, but the face closed - nose holes only. That would be evil... Especially for those with sensitive ears. 

The red lamb leather version is just stunning. Soft and supple, it feels great on the inside. It is also thicker than the patent pig (0.85mm for the lamb vs. 0.4mm for the patent), but more stretchy. 

The stretch gives it a nice smooth look. I wish all the lamb leathers were this nice, thick and supple. It gives the topstitching a nice puffy look along the edge. 

The front view gives you a nice look at the "heart" shaped opening. 

In the rear you can see the difference the leather makes - the lamb pulls a lot closer together than the patent on the same form. 

So pretty...

Another day, another hood (or two)...

Hawk Hood with Leather Feathers

Pushing into new design ideas with Karen Hsiao - fantasy creatures. This is the hawk hood in lamb leather with kid feathers... Complete with hardware attachment at the top for the tassled finial.