Harness Hood modeled by Chloe Calypso

I am lucky to have worked with the amazing Lew Rubens in the past, which means he sometimes sends me photos of the projects he's working on and models wearing my gear. It's fun to see something in the ol' inbox from Lew, every time! 

These were a couple of cell phone snaps of Chloe Calypso (which I've doctored a bit) for your viewing pleasure. Although taller than the model the armbinder was made for, Chloe managed to somehow squeeze into it after a bit of a struggle...  But I'd say that posture collar fits her just right. 

Thanks for sharing, Lew! 

Drea Morgan photo sketch comparison

Looking back at the initial sketch I did for the Lew Rubens armbinder/collar combo, it's kind of cool to see the rough idea next to the final piece. Drea Morgan looks incredible in the outfit, but I'm already planning to push a bit further with a tighter-fitting version... I think she can handle it!

Drea Morgan in Lew Rubens' custom gear

Lew sent over a couple of shots taken of Drea Morgan in the set of custom gear we just created together. What a treat... Photos taken by ImagesByWilliam on FetLife. 

Drea's already one of my favorite all-time fetish models, and here she earns massive respect with the pose above: completely hooded, blindfolded, armbound and standing en pointe in ballet boots. Just wow...

Lew Rubens Project - Part II

So here's the final result of my collaboration with Lew Rubens. A 3-part set with hood, armbinder and posture collar. 

I started by making a wrap of my models hands together with openings for the thumb and fingers. I wanted to keep a bit of the hand pocket between the thumb and fingers so the armbinder wouldn't ride up. This feature really makes this armbinder unique, and the idea came from Lew. I don't think I've ever seen one like this before. 

 The line across the wrap indicates the wrist. 

The duct-tape wrap is cut apart, and used to mark the edits to my master pattern. A few parts get cut away. 

The end result: open-fingered armbinder nirvana.

The collar was based on my standard tall posture collar with a rolled edge and locking hasp (staple-plate) closure. 

But in order to make the straps removable, I riveted heavy rectangular loops to the lower edge. I tried to make these as sleek and low-profile as possible. 

It does make it so the collar could be used with or without the straps. 

And finally a beautiful nose-only hood in soft Italian lamb leather. 

This thing should fit like a glove...

Lew, I can't wait to see what you do with it! It's been a pleasure. 

Click to visit Lew's felife, homepage or storefront.

Lew Rubens Project - Part I

This blog has made it possible for me to meet some really great people, especially those working in the world of bondage. Some folks who really share a passion for bondage, and are working in the field making quality work commercially - who would probably still be doing it anyway if there were no money to be made at all. It's in their blood...

One of the strange occurrences is when one of these people actually reach out and contact me. A while ago this happened with Lew Rubens, who if you don't know is an incredibly talented producer of bondage imagery. I had seen his work before and was just blown away by the sheer quality of what he was making. His rigging, his ideas, and the photos he was creating are in the realm of the best work being produced today. He does the technically difficult: suspensions, underwater, complex and beautiful rope ties. His models and setups are sexy as hell too! 

So when he contacted me a while back, I knew we had to work together. Add to that he had an idea for a project that really got me going  intersected with my current obsession with armbinder patterns: An armbinder/hood/collar combo consisting of: A severe nose-only hood. *check* A strictly-laced tight-fitting armbinder (with a twist: make the hand opening so the model's fingers are free). *check* And finally, a tall posture collar to which the armbinder straps would connect to make it as clean-looking as possible. *check* And to top it all off: it would be nice if it could be made to fit Drea Morgan! Holy s***! Are you kidding me? 

He wasn't kidding...

So the sketches began. Initially we were talking about making the collar attach to the hood. But I dissuaded Lew from going that route. When you connect a heavier leather component to a lighter thinner leather, you can have a problem at the seam. 

 The open-handed innovation came completely from Lew. To me, a closed, fitted hand pocket is sexy as hell. I'm a fan of total enclosure, in case you haven't noticed. But the open-finger idea actually started to grow on me as the project progressed. It's one of those contrasting enclosure/exposure things that can add to the excitement of a piece. For me it's one of the coolest thing about working with others: finding new ways of looking at something or a new twist to enjoy. 

 The idea was to have a laced collar originally as well. But I was concerned that in the event that it had to be removed quickly, a staple plate may actually be quicker. 

That was it for the sketching. Lew approved, and we were ready to start working. 

UPDATE: this project has since been completed, and the photos of Drea bound in the gear by Lew Rubens can be seen here, here and here on FetLife. Thanks Lew!