I am absolutely adorkable...

I am absolutely adorkable...  Or derpy.  Or both.  :)

Had a wonderful time vending at Minnesota Leather Pride weekend.  The organizers were nice enough to donate space to local vendors, which we took full advantage of.  It was nice to meet new people and show off my awesome toys.  The fact that I am color-coordinated with my booth is just coincidence.

And what's a leather weekend without an awesome contest evening?  I have to admit, I'm usually a hermit.  (I've actually used the excuse "But I have a flogger to make!" on more than one occasion!)  But I forget how much I love my leather family.  And how fun it is when so many people get together to have fun and celebrate our community.  Even a hermit like me gets a little goofy.

Goofy, and utterly adorkabe. 

But I DO really have a flogger to make.  So I should get back to work.

Enthusiasm!

I am not a saleswoman.  I love what I do, and I know I make awesome things.  But I'm not the kind of person that can sit down and tell you why you should buy a particular piece.

I do have something different, though.  I have enthusiasm.  I can tell you in long, loving detail why I like a particular flogger, or my inspiration behind a mask, or why I think a certain paddle provides the best sensations.  My toybag is filled with things I've made, and I wear my own creations to parties.  And that enthusiasm is catching.

For example, I recently acquired a tanned bearhide; fur off, so it's actually bear leather.  (Bare leather?  Hahaha...)  And I was so excited about getting my hands of something unique, I just had to tell everyone.  It's thick, it's flexible, a little rough, and is going to make some wonderful thuddy floggers.  And apparently I waxed a little TOO poetical; now I have more people who want a bear flogger, than I have bear leather.  Oops!

Showing off the mask I created for a special birthday party.

A side effect of the boundless pride and creative energy I have, is if someone gives me an idea, I just want to grab it and run.  Someone asks if I can make a certain style of mask, and five minutes later I'm explaining how awesome it would be to twist the leather to make horns.  It's not that I'm trying to talk them into buying something, or commissioning a piece.  It's that they've inspired me, and I've gotten too excited.  Hell, I've gone and made things after these conversations that I KNOW the person I was talking to didn't actually want to buy.  But, what they wanted sounded like so much fun!  (And, lucky for me, someone else often sees the end result, and wants it too.  Yay!)

That is one of the things that makes selling online difficult, though.  When I try to write down why I think you should get something I make, the text gets repetitive quite quickly!  I have written a paragraph that contained the word "awesome" no less than four times!  And there's only so much a thesaurus can do to save me.  Maybe I'll get better and descriptive writing as time goes on?  Maybe we'll develop the technology to let you feel leather through the internet?  I'm not sure.  In the meantime, though, I'll be content with going to shows and inviting people to "pet the bunny"!  That, and learning synonyms for "awesome".  :)

Marketplace Eve

It's been a while since I've posted a blog entry. 

Life has been good.  I've been living in Minneapolis six months now, and am mostly settled.  And business is going well!

I decided since I was so slow to get a shop embedded in my actual webpage, I'd get an Etsy shop up and running.  (My logic?  People trust Etsy!  And I procrastinate.)  It makes me a little nervous, starting a shop with no reviews.  So far, all my reviews have been in person!  But now that I'm selling online, I am nationwide (worldwide?) and I am unknown.  But hopefully not for long!

There's also a Marketplace sale tomorrow.  I am looking forward to it; I always enjoy vending fairs, and the opportunity to talk to friends and local kinksters.  It's also the first Marketplace where I am not a group leader, though.  It was by my own choice to step down, but it still is sad, and "the end of an era", as another leader put it.

Craftingwise, I've had some awesome ideas, but less time to implement them.  I've finished a few floggers - buffalo and deer - and have a tiger striped rabbit flogger on the workshop table that should be done soon.  And coming up will be black rabbit and black suede, both with copper handles.  I am low on copper floggers!  And a few other ideas for totally new products as well, but I'll keep quiet about that.

All in all, though, life is good.  One downside, though - Fallout 4 is coming out soon.  Very soon.  And if there's one thing that's going to make me unproductive as hell, that will be it.  And I don't think I'll have the opportunity to up my leather crafting skill while wandering the wastelands!

Sun 'n Leather

Everything just keeps gettin' better and better.  :)

Last weekend was my 4th year attending the Kinky Kamping weekend, sponsored by the Den.  It is kind of special to me, as Kinky Kamping was the first large kink event I ever went to.  (Can you imagine me as a shy, pink-haired girl, hardly talking to anyone?  I think I even abandoned some rope in the dungeon because a couple started making out on top of it.  *laugh*  It's all good, though, as it was a couple I would later get to know very well.  Anyway...)  It is also special to me, as it is in what I consider my 'home' community.  I may be a Minneapolis girl now, but when I entered the kinky lifestyle, I was living in Duluth.  And I really like the people there!

The weather couldn't have been any more perfect, sunny and just enough breeze to keep the bugs off.  The people were great, coming from all over the state.  I saw old friends, made new ones, and tempted people with some very thuddy floggers.  And, somehow, before the weekend was over, I ended up with a collar around my neck.  :)  A very good weekend, indeed!

There is no rest for the wicked, though!  In a couple weeks there is the Fetishball, to support Ms. Minnesota Leather Pride 2015.  She asked me to make a piece to auction off for her travel fund, so a buffalo flogger in leather pride colors is currently under construction.  I'm looking forward to the evening, as it will give me an excuse to dress up!  The biggest question?  Do I wear the purple velvet combat boots, or the high-heeled black leather combat boots?  (I kinda like combat boots.  :P )  Either way, I'm going to look awesome, and it'll be a fun night!

Until later!

Summer Fun

Ok, summer may be the WORST time to try to get a business off the ground!  I am just so busy, both with kink and with "normal life".  Whatever you might call normal, anyway. 

I never thought I'd be longing for Minnesota winter, but it's so much easier to stay inside when it's twenty below outside!  Ah well.  I will craft things, slowly, and soak up the sun while I can.

Photo by Everett Allen Photography

Speaking of which, enjoy this picture of Lusty Bunny herself, marching in the Minneapolis Pride parade!  The whole weekend was so much fun, and the parade was the cherry on top.  (Yeah, I look a little goofy, but I always look a little goofy!)  I also got to stress-test one of my short leather collars.  It held up well and did not leak dye, despite me sweating profusely!

So, that's what I've been doing.  Summer barbeques, parties, and the occasional bit of crafting.  I did finish both a horsehair flogger and a cowhide flogger!  On the workshop table are a purple bullhide flogger, and a studded buffalo flogger!  And the newest idea I'm kicking about?  A "Rainbow Dash" horsehair flogger.  I know a couple people who would geek out like crazy over that!

Life, Tournament, and Everything

I am not sure if this blog is going to be more personal or more business related.  When I browse other shops' pages, I'm always interested in the people behind the work.  So perhaps I'll just ramble.  No one HAS to read this in order to get an awesome flogger!

I am just about ready to get my crafting gears turning again.  First, though, there was Tournament.  It's an annual kink weekend hosted by the Knights of Leather, and one of my favorite weekends of the year.  It's the weekend that I let me hedonistic, sensualist side out to play.  And boy, did I ever!  Its going to take me a while to recover, both physically and mentally.

And when I got home, I had presents waiting for me.  The business cards I ordered had been delivered, and look great.  I got a envelope with TWICE as many leather samples as I asked for, and got way to excited planning what hides to get.  Not to mention two or three other boxes of supplies to make some great things with (colored horsehair, anyone?)  Of course, my living room now looks like a disaster area, with so many boxes thrown about.  At least the cat is loving that!

The new business cards!  Six front images, and the same logo on the back. 

So, I think today will be spent in recovery, and clean up.  And with ice cream (shopping tip - don't ever stop for groceries on your way home from a play weekend.  I ended up with ice cream, shallots, chips, hot cocoa powder, and a mango.)  Then, I'm going to get things up and running and get some new product to show you all!

New Starts and Creative Energy

I'm on the couch, again.  And no, I'm still not wearing pants.  But so many other things have changed!

I'm just a few moments from making this website live.  No, I don't have a whole lot of content....yet.  But I have successfully moved, I am settled into my new place, and I am ready to jump in with both feet!  I will admit, it's hard starting over.  But in some ways, it's refreshing.  And I have so many awesome ideas for new things to make! 

One thing I am so thankful for is the support of my family, friends, and my community.  I'm sure at I add to the website they will be featured more prominently.  For now, I want to give a shout-out to my friend and photographer, Justin.  He does excellent work behind the camera, and any pictures featured on this site than include a person, he took.  I really admire his style, and I am very happy he is working with me!

For now, though, I'd rather get my hands busy with something other than typing.  Hey, get your mind out of the gutter - I mean crafting!  Really!

Starting Over

Lusty Bunny Leather isn't even live yet.  I'm sitting on my living room couch (not wearing pants, of course) and looking at the boxes of leather and tools, all packed up.  Wondering how, exactly, I got here.

Two years ago I moved in with two fellow kinksters and craftsmen.  We had grand plans to all be equal partners in a new kinky business.  And we did...sort of.  We did create a new business together, and had quite a successful start.  But things went south, as things so often do.  I discovered I wasn't considered an equal, and was never given any legal standing in the business. 

So, now I'm in the midst of separating myself from the old business.  For a while, I was at a crossroads: do I continue to make what I love, and make a viable real business out of it?  Or do I move on to other things, and just do the leathercraft for myself.   Since you are reading this blog post on my business website, I'm sure you can guess what I chose.  I was making things before I got involved with the old business, and I don't think I can give that up now!

Do I have regrets?  Of course.  I wish things could have split up more amicably.  I do value what I learned in the past two years, both in leatherworking and businesswise.  But I could not stay out of a sense of obligation, and I'm certainly not going to clip my own wings when I know I can fly.  I know it's an overused analogy, but I really do feel like a phoenix rising from the ash.  In the midst of all the stress and and disappointment of losing one business, I am creating another.  One that is mine.  And you would not believe all the amazing new ideas I have.  Or maybe you would - I'll be posting them here soon.  :)