the sex jewellery pioneer breaking the stigma around self pleasure
We interview sex jewellery pioneer ti, and discuss creating the famous ‘vesper necklace‘ and why breaking the stigma of self pleasure is so important.
Tell us about your design journey
I have been an industrial designer for over 20+ years with the last 14 years spent redefining pleasure products. Earlier in my career I worked for major consumer product brands like Goody and Trek Bicycle, where I was the first female industrial designer at both of those companies. I was always drawn to products that support the experiences of women.
How did you find your niche of pleasure products?
In 2008 (I was 28 at the time…) I was looking for a vibrator for myself and I went shopping at a local adult shop, and everything about that experience was off-putting. From the sketchy shop, and low-quality products with juvenile aesthetics, it was not the experience I was looking for. Perhaps it is my nature as a designer, but I was seeking something elevated and respectful of the personal and intimate experience of self-pleasure.
I envisioned a world where people can not only feel good but also feel beautiful using pleasure products. Shame and embarrassment have long been a part of the narrative of sex toys due to their thoughtless forms and poor quality, I wanted to completely change this experience, where the person feels respected, beautiful, and even proud of their pleasure.
You designed the Vesper vibrator necklace. How did this design and idea come about?
As a designer, I personally love adornment and how jewelry as an object can make people feel beautiful and spoiled at the same time. Jewelry, just like fashion, is an accessory that can validate what you’re feeling as an outward expression. Beyond that, I was drawn to the idea of jewelry because of that emotional connection that enables the wearer to feel beautiful and honored which are feelings that are rarely experienced in pleasure products. So, with that insight, I started designing pleasure jewelry because I believe sexual intimacy should be a beautiful experience.
What do you find fulfilling about design?
Speaking as an industrial designer, I personally am interested in creating enduring products that people will love for years to come. I have seen how design can touch lives and can change the world. And to see my products being loved and worn by people and even iconic women such as Madonna, Janet Jackson, and mentioned by Jane Fonda makes me feel that in some small way, I’ve done my small part with my time in this world. That’s really fulfilling.
How do you come up with your product ideas?
I believe a manufactured product should always have a good reason to exist in this world. I don’t design because it is my job, but it is because I believe I can create products that can enhance lives. There is just too much waste being made for the landfill so I’m quite critical of which product ideas to work on and to bring to life. And my interest is always kept in check with understanding what experiences people want. So I’m interested in creating original products and experiences that did not exist before, and they should be significant as designed objects that add to the cultural conversation.
The technology must be so small to fit inside these intricate designs. How do you make sure its still effective?
This is our secret sauce! 😉 Yes, the technology is incredibly small in scale. We have a team of brilliant engineers and we do a lot of user testing to get feedback before anything is manufactured, so we make sure that we are designing products for experiences people care about.
How did you get involved with Crave?
I started designing pleasure jewelry in 2008, when I bootstrapped my first company INCOQNITO. CRAVE purchased my company to bring me onboard as co-founder and head of design in 2010. At the time I was not looking to sell my company or join forces with a larger entity, but when I met my co-founder, we both have a shared vision and complementary skill sets that I felt would be a great synergy if we worked together.
Do you think that by designing products that don’t necessarily look like sex products, that we are adding to the stigma of negativity around female pleasure?
The premise of the question seems to assume that what currently “look like sex products” is a positive thing, so that changing the paradigm is a negative thing. I would completely disagree from the assumption of the question to your conclusion.
What is your favourite product you have designed and why?
Vesper is an object that personifies my deep-rooted passion which is to help people feel seen and feel honored, that passion is the place from which I design. We launched Vesper in 2014 and since then, much to my surprise even, it has become an iconic product that has permeated mainstream pop culture. To have Vesper become commercially successful and culturally relevant is truly incredible. When I look back and see how far pleasure products and conversations around sexuality have come, I can’t help but feel that designing such a (then) controversial statement piece has actually pioneered the category of pleasure jewelry and makes me feel validated in my vision of elevating pleasure.
What was your vision for Crave?
My vision for CRAVE is to elevate pleasure beautifully. I think beauty in products is often misunderstood as simply aesthetics, but beauty is actually the effort that goes into making something with intention and care. Paola Antonelli has said perfectly “ The opposite of beauty is laziness.” And for CRAVE we care deeply about making quality and beautiful things for pleasure.
What is next for Crave?
We have a new product coming out in spring 2023, but I’m already looking beyond that. We want to continue to support people to feel empowered about their pleasure through adornment, and what I can say without giving away too much, is that I’m designing more beautiful things that encourage people to embrace their pleasure in public and private.
What is one piece of advice you would give to someone starting their own business?
Do it for the right reasons. Make sure it aligned with your personal passion, because the journey is an extreme roller coaster and without a grounded vision of why this journey is meaningful to you, it will be very difficult to weather the highs and the lows.
What hurdles have you faced as a woman in tech?
It’s hard to succinctly answer this. There are the hurdles of the jobs and industry itself, but there are also the invisible hurdles of representation (like the fact that my first workplace did not even have a women’s bathroom).
Where do you think the sexual pleasure industry is heading?
What has been the biggest milestone for Crave to reach?
There have been so many, I feel the ones that stand out to me are those that feel culturally significant in changing the conversation of pleasure.
Like the moment we launched the Duet in 2012 – it was the world’s first crowdfunded vibrator. We were part of 2020 Consumer Electronic Show that first allowed pleasure products on the show floor officially. Having CRAVE being sold at Nordstrom and Ulta Beauty was a huge milestone because it showed the mainstream acceptance of elevated pleasure products. I also loved the CRAVE x Saint Laurent collaboration in 2020, which showed the possibility of high fashion and pleasure. And to have Madonna leak the release of Vesper 2 was certainly a milestone (and shock!) we never planned!
I know that goop heavily featured your products. How did this come about, and how did it feel?
We were the first vibrator in Goop’s store in 2016, they reached out to us and it has been a great partnership ever since. Gwyneth and Goop have been very supportive of us since the beginning and it feels incredible. I think we both share a vision for a conscientious lifestyle without compromising on beauty and quality.