News & Events
6/22/08 - Not only has my day job continued to be overbooked (I
was out of the house for 13 hours last Friday), but I've been finding
it very difficult to bring myself to work in the shop. There's
always something else that needs to be done.
So this weekend I made the effort to force myself to work, and I
think I figured out what's been going on. It's a subconscious thing,
really. My day job, which I mentioned before involves travelling
around assembling office furniture on location is very physically
demanding. Since I started it I've had lots of problems with my
elbows and knees. And I think I've been avoiding working in the shop
because of the sanding. Imagine having carpal tunnel in your entire
arm. That's what it feels like after a very short time sanding out
all the little slots. So without even realizing it, I would avoid
going downstairs and do anything but. Well, I would realize it as
the time went by, and I'd beat myself up over it, but still I'd lack
the discipline to overcome it. (Maybe that's what I'm doing right
now by writing this).
Fortunately, the sanding is just about done, and once over that
hump, I think the rest should come a lot more easily. Although
that's a small consolation to those who have been waiting so long.
Even without the pain in my arms sanding is the biggest slice of the
time-required pie on these projects.
What I really need are minions. *grin*.
Still, I've had to turn away two more potential chair orders while
I deal with this. As I said, I'm not going to put anyone else on the
hook until I resolve this.
Oh, and as an added demotivator, I'm now convinced that Extreme
Restraints is pirating my spanking bench design. It's a shame, if
they'd asked, I would have gladly licensed it out. Next time I'm
filing for a design patent, dammit. I'm still weighing my options
for how to respond.
2/18/08 - *sigh* this was SUPPOSED to be easy. December was meant to
be a slow month in my day job, and I thought I could really kick out
the two chairs I have on commission, but no, instead, I got slammed
with work. January, likewise. Last year, it was slow, this year....
If my day job is any indication, the economy is actually booming.
Hell, this past Saturday I also had to work, and put in an 11 hour
day. Needless to say, I was too worn out after that to do anything in
the shop (It doesn't help I'm in a stage where there's a lot of
puttying and sanding to do, the stuff I hate the most. It really
kills the motivation).
I'm getting pretty annoyed with this situation, because I'm
getting to hate myself for how long these chairs are taking, and it's
not because they're all that time consuming to do (well, maybe a
little) but that it's been so hard to get together the TIME to do
anything. I really have to thank my commissioners for their
extraordinary patience, and I'm thinking of a number of things I can
do to reward them for this.
But I also realize that this is no way to conduct a business, so
I'm going to have to re-think and re-organize a bit. I'm not going to
put anyone else in a situation where they pay a deposit up front and
have to wait this long to get something.
So as of now, Commissions are closed. I'm going to shift to a
system of having inventory on hand so that I can ship on demand. But
that's going to take time to gear up towards. I also need to
concentrate more on my retailers.
And before I do any of that, I have to finish off these chairs.
(And I am NOT going to cut any corners to do so.)
I'll get this thing going right.
12/3/07 - Just uploaded 27 new pictures to the gallery showing what
I've been up to for the last month or so. A couple pictures from teh
last batch of benches, and a bunch, probably too much, from the
latest three chairs. They won't look like much yet, since there's a
lot of prep-work making pieces before they can be assembled.
11/9/07 - Okay, WAY too long without an update. But I have an excuse,
I've been one busy little beaver.
Well, more of a procrastinating little beaver, but not without
some accomplishments. For example the Spanking bench count is now up
to 66, done in two batches. Plus I am now in the process of building
THREE bondage chairs. Two for customers, and one (finally) for
myself. You gotta fight the curse of the toymaker wherever you can -
that is, because you're always making toys for other people, you
never make any for yourself (and heaven forbid you BUY toys from
someone else, since you can make them yourself - IF you ever get
around to it.)
I'm going to see if I can finally add some workshop pictures to
the Gallery. Won't that be fun?
5/15/07 - Interestingly enough, the ServerSonic guys were actually
VERY responsive once I figured out how to e-mail them. One actually
took it upon himself to go and FIX my CopperMine gallery without me
needing to ask. So it's all back up, with no loss of data. Talk about
service! Now all I need to do is actually ADD data.
5/13/07 - So, like, with all the people who come here and dive right
into the picture Gallery, you'd think at least ONE of you could have
e-mailed me to say "Dude, your picture gallery is broken." Because
it's busted bigtime. I'm gonna have to rebuild it from scratch. And
I'm gonna have to have a word with my host, which isn't so easy since
the takeover.
5/12/07 - Man! I haven't been able to update in a while! But more
will come. I've just been so busy with back to back to back Spanking
Bench orders for Extreme Restraints that I haven't had a chance to
upload anything. But as you can tell from the front page, as soon as
I learned about Sitemeter turning to the dark side, I had to make a
change.
Oh, and I sold off all those hitching rings to Sonny Black, so
they're out of stock.
1/29/07 - Small update to the Sale page. I
have a load of Hitching rings I need to get rid of, cheap! Plus
crating charges are clarified. The new source mentioned in the last
update paid off when a previous new source not mentioned sold me the
rings I'm trying to get rid of.
1/19/07 - I haven't updated too much lately, and for that I
apologize. New Year's resolutions include posting many more pictures
to the Gallery. Gotta blame the day-job I had to acquire to keep the
studio open (Ironically enough, assembling furniture...). Currently
I'm working on yet another batch of Spanking Benches for
Extreme Restraints.
(Numbers 41 through 48). Hopefully I've found a new source for
hitching rings for the ends.
Also, be sure to check out Rubberbound.com and
Andraste.com. I've been making
lots of steel collars and shackles for them, and they're appearing in
the photo shoots now. I'm definitely getting better at these, the set
for Miyou fit perfectly! (And she has such a remarkably slender
neck!)
Serious Bondage has
recently restored the 2004 articles and photo sets of my Mark II Self
Bondage and Mark IIa Bondage chairs, so be sure to check them out.
Alas, neither of those potential chair orders I mentioned came
through. (And people wonder why I require a deposit....) The St.
Andrew's Cross prototype is undergoing revision. I have to change the
angle of the back leg for stability, and then make production jigs.
Jigs are important! There are FIVE jigs used to make the spanking
benches, just to give you an idea. (*Reads old news* Man, HOW long
have I been dithering over this thing?)
A while ago I had to shut down the comments in the photo gallery.
Some asshole with an automated spam script was loading it up with
website spam for some truly low-life porn sites. Trust me, they
weren't the kind my visitors would like to see. It wasn't much of a
loss, since nobody else ever posed any comments anyway.
Honest folks can always ask me to trade links, and if I think it's
appropriate, I will. Scum will get the virtual back of my hand.
Speaking of trading links, I've added a few more links to the
Links page. I've also added a new banner for
this site to the Links page.
10/15/06 - Updated Pillory page to show the Black version.
10/2/06 -
SeriousBondage.com is
back up. Hooray! I recently made a gift of a black #2 Pillory to Mark
to use in a future photo shoot.
Also, did some minor updates the the Items for Sale, Bondage Chair
and Spanking Bench pages, including removing some links to Mr. S that
don't work, and reflecting the sale of the original spanking bench.
I just finished the latest order of Spanking Benches for
Extreme Restraints,
so they should be in stock by the end of the week. That brings the
total production in these guys up to 40. Wow! I took lots of pictures
of the manufacturing process, which after editing I'll add to the
photo gallery. I have to leave out just enough to keep someone from
ripping me off.
Now I should have time to work on the Cross prototype, unless one
of two potential chair orders finally comes through.
9/19/06 - Hits have gone WAY down with SeriousBondage.com being in
2257 turtle mode, but that should soon change. Added a links to
http://www.rubberbound.com
and http://www.andraste.com/
to the links page.
8/21/06 - I guess I should be flattered, but stupidity annoys me
more. Last Wednesday and Thursday, we had a visitor from Perth,
Australia. He liked my photo gallery SO much, he tried to hack it.
45,000 times. Whatever automated program he used, he actually managed
to soak up 75% of the bandwidth the site has used so far this month.
And I don't think he got what he wanted, since there are no secret
files or anything like that. Everything's right out there on the
table for anyone to see, and this jerk abused my hospitality. And
what am I doing to do about it? Nothing, other than mention it,
because I'm better than that.
However, our friend the script-kiddie owes me an apology. If you
wanted something, all you had to do was ASK. But your first resort
was the criminal one. How very low of you.
From the log analysis:
Top 30 of 381 Total URLs
|
#
|
Hits
|
|
KBytes
|
|
URL
|
|
1
|
45030
|
58.48%
|
654250
|
59.99%
|
/cumine/login.php
|
45000 hits on the login page. Was that REALLY a worthwhile use of
your time and my bandwidth? Did you get what you want? I doubt it.
You do know that Coppermine goes into a blocking mode after three
failed attempts, right? You wasted your time for nothing.
What a jerk. What would your mother think?
7/27/06 - Okay, I opened up the comments section on the Photo
Gallery. It was supposed to be open to begin with. I don't know why
the blanks come out so small, but they can take a good amount of
text. I'll continue to add new pics over time. Oh, and the Ratings
work anonymously too.
7/16/06 - I've ditched the Forum, since nobody was using it. I've
added a Coppermine Gallery for pictures, which I have yet to fill in.
I know that's got to be one of the most disappointing links for
people at the moment, because it's the second-ranked exit page from
the site, by the stats. I also ditched the pop-open menus. I don't
have enough sub categories to justify it, and while clever, in that
it didn't use any Javascript or anything to acheive its effect, it
really didn't buy me anything.
7/7/06 - Added the Keepsake Box I made back in April to the Normal
Furniture page
7/1/06 - An update is LONG overdue. A month ago I completed my 32nd
spanking bench for Extreme Restraints. If anyone owns one of these
and is extremely curious, almost all of them except #2 have a serial
number written on the underside of the cushion and the top of the,
um, top. It's actually a side effect of the manufacturing process in
that I have to mark the pieces so I can match the right seat cushion
with the right bench in the right orientation after I paint and
upholster them. So if you're REALLY curious, you could unscrew the
seat cushion to find out. But I don't really recommend it.Leave that
to the guys 100 years from now trying to reconstruct my biography or
something....
Alas, there will be some small changes coming to the benches,
since the company that makes the hitching rings I use on the ends has
discontinued the nice ones and replaced them with a nasty, folded
metal thing. After searching, I realized that all of the hardware
"Manufacturers" are really just distributors of the same Made in
China bits because they'd ALL changed to the same awful design, and I
simply will not use them. On the plus side, it means I don't have to
raise prices to match all of the increases on all my materials. I'm
also considering switching to non-laminated legs. I spend WAY too
much time sanding and treating the edges of those.
I also had my first donation a couple of months ago. Thanks!
I'm still working out the St. Andrew's cross design, but a Mark
IIa order might delay that a little. I'm also working on a black #2
Pillory, and a full set of steel cuffs. The Pillory looks WICKED in
black. I'm tempted to keep it, but it's going to be a gift for a
friend.
Oh, and as for updates, while the site content hasn't changed
much, I HAVE added new links. And I'm considering doing away with my
clever, but not really necessary dynamic menu.
4/14/06 - Okay, I had to delete what was here. Seems that what
APPEARED to be a site hijack was just a very, very poorly handled
upgrade/merger on behalf of my host (Which I'm still quite happy with
otherwise). Nobody needs their head thumped around.
In actual news, I got another order for 8 more spanking benches,
bringing the total that will be in existence when this is done to 32.
Alas, the gross proceeds from that effort will just barely cover this
fat IRS Bill I just paid. Nobody's ever tried out that Donate button,
but I sure wish they would. I might even put those Folsom pictures
back up....
2/18/06 - Added the Chapman Stick Stand to the Normal Furniture page,
and a commissioned pillory to the Bondage Furniture>Stocks and
Pillories page.
2/13/06 - Added shipping crates to the Normal Furniture page. Yes,
shipping crates. My day job involves working on robots, and I was
asked if I could build some crates for shipping them to their final
destination.
I also cleaned up the appearance of the menu button.
2/4/06 - Since I'm only using about 5% of my bandwidth, I've decided
to activate the forum. See the link in the menu on the left.
Oh, and I added a little banner to link back to the main frame if
people get led here by a link to an internal page. You can see it at
the bottom of this page.
12/30/05 - Contact Info is up.
12/28/05 - Cool, just got a new order from Extreme Restraints, and a
commission for a custom pillory. Looks like a busy January!
12/20/05 -We're Back!
After finally taking the ol' Crowbar to the Wallet, I sprang for a
real host. There will be some adjustments, comments are down for the
moment for example, but there will be big changes!
10/31/05 - My web host has been under attack by ill-behaved
web-crawling robots and Brazilian spammers, which has resulted in a
lot of down time lately, and will probably force me to have to find a
new host at some point in the near future. If you come here and can't
find the site, try again in a day or two. It's not like I've been
updating a lot.
In the pipeline is a design for a take-down St. Andrew's Cross
(X-cross) but I won't say more until it's completed.
9/15/05 - Whew! The schedule's finally clear again! I just shipped
off the Mark IIa chair, which I produced in record time, and frankly,
it's one of the best so far, incorporating a number of subtle
improvements over the last one (Like oil-based paint - tougher than
latex). So if you've been dying to order something, now's a good
time.
7/26/05 - I'm in a major build phase right now, simultaneously
working on an order of another 8 spanking benches plus a somewhat
customized Mark IIa chair.
6/7/05 - To comply with the absurd excesses of 18 U.S.C. 2257, every
image on this site that features an actual human being (Except me),
has been taken down. I never thought I'd need model releases for
fully clothed people in public trying out bondage gear. Sheesh.
Let's all hope the court challenges by the
Free Speech
Coalition go well.
5/21/05 - I donated the first pair of #3 Wrist Stocks to an upcoming
Charity Auction by The Eulenspeigel Society in NYC which should be
happening next month.
5/1/05 - Whew, I just finished a major job, an order of 8 spanking
benches for Extreme
Restraints, and they can be seen here:
http://www.extremerestraints.com/stat/ps700.html
Updates to the Links page, the Spanking Bench page, Available for
Sale page.
4/14//05 - Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been working on a big
order for Extreme Restraints. I've also had to do major work on the
site because of bandwidth concerns. Some folks have really been
hammering the Gallery. I don't know why, it's still the same
shots....
3/23/05 - The new Spanking Bench will be carried by a major online
BDSM retailer. Details and a link to come later once the whole thing
is up and running.
3/1/05 - New Product! Check under Bondage Furniture>Spanking Bench
for a new spanking bench design, with legs!
2/23/05 - I just added an Anonymous Comment feature for folks who
just want to say something without revealing any personal
information. Make suggestions, tell me about events or Vendors who
might wish to carry my wares.
2/22/05 - Sorry for the downtime on Monday. I'm looking into a new
hosting service, as the bandwidth requirements on this site are
steadily growing.
In project news, I'm developing a spanking bench prototype for a
new vendor. It will work at both kneeling and standing level with
removable legs.
2/14/05 - I just added a new item to the line! Check in Bondage
Furniture>Stocks and Pillories for the brand new #3 Wrist Stocks!
A matching ankle version should be available shortly - as soon as
someone asks for one.
2/4/05 - To help ease the load on the server, I've broken up the
Gallery into sub-pages. Seeing as how this is one of the parts of the
site hit most heavily. But the reorganization allows for better
future expansion.
Anyone who has been hot-linking my images should have noticed a
nasty trick happening since the 30th. I warned you.
1/30/05 - Sorry about the outages. The move of the server to a new
location has had a few issues (like search engines seeing the new
address and saying "Fresh meat!" and taking the server down with
their requests).
My latest chair is about to ship, and that means the order queue
is empty. Now would be a REALLY good time for someone to place an
order if they wanted something done promptly.
1/14/05 - For your interest, I ported over my old personal
leatherwork page here. Some of the work there is like, 10 years old,
but every thing I've done before is a building block to where I am
now.
Oh, and I've added those little "disclosure triangles" to the
menus to indicate sub-menus. You can tell I'm a Mac guy....
1/10/05 - Shipped the pillories to Mr. S. See a picture of them in
Bondage Furniture>Stocks and Pillories, and check out the wild
grain patterns. I had to expand the new paint booth to accommodate
them, so that slowed me up a bit, plus the Holiday. Now I'm
converting Chair #3 to a Mark II for a customer in Atlanta.
My host moved this weekend, and the outage was less than a day.
12/15/04 - The chair manual is
here.
I'm now working on two more Pillories for Mr. S, and then remodeling
#3 from a Mark IIa into a Mark II.
12/9/04 - Okay, it's REALLY almost done. It WAS done this morning,
but I discovered a small bug I'm correcting now while shooting pics
for a user manual.
Notice: in the coming month or so, my host will be relocating, so
there may be a brief interruption of service. No more than a couple
of days once it happens.
11/28/04 - Chair #4 for that customer is nearly done. I've taken a
bit longer than usual because a) my plate is otherwise empty and b)
I'm doing my best to make this the best damned chair yet. And also
the weather has been less than accommodating for going outside to
spray paint. But I do have all the woodworking done, the mechanicals
are all ready to install when the paint is done, and as of today, I
do have all the primer sprayed. Last step will be to do all the
leather.
10/23/04 - Keep an eye out for the Mark II and Mark IIa Bondage
chairs in an upcoming Mr. S. e-mail update! Currently I'm working on
a Mark II for a customer in CA. In the "thinking about it stage" is
an accessory, a head clamping box that should be attachable to all of
the chairs. As well as a variation on the #2 Pillory with wrist and
ankle holes (I guess that would make it a #3).
Check out the Gallery for a few Folsom pictures as well.
10/02/04 - Just got back from S.F. a day or so ago, and I'm still
decompressing. The Fair was incredible. I spent the whole day with
the Mr. S and Madame S crew, strapping people into the new Mark IIa
chair (the non-self-bondage version). One pair of guys liked it so
much they arranged to buy it on the spot, and picked it up that
evening. That leaves me with one more in stock. We also did a lot of
photo shoots, so as soon as I recover, I'll be adding some actual
pictures to the gallery.
Some of the pillories have already sold at the Mr. S store. :-)
Shipping added to the price a bit, I believe they're going for $289.
The folks who bought one and told me said that even at that, they're
underpriced.
I gave the first Clue-by-four to Richard Hunter, and he liked it.
We'll see if they'll carry it. (No. But you can still get one from
me.)
9/17/04 - I've been working on two new non-self bondage chairs at
once, trying to get them done in time for the Folsom St. Fair next
weekend. It's a good opportunity to refine my patterns and work in a
couple of improvements, although it's going to be a bit tight.
9/07/04 - Sent off another four pillories to Mr. S. Three to the S.F
store and one to LA. They're going to retail for $250, so if you want
one, be fast.