Saturday is Valentine’s Day. Do you have your vibrator? If not, you might want to consider making a stop at Babeland, the Park Slope sex-toy shop that opened in June, 2008. Co-owner Claire Cavanah says her business is booming on the eve of the annual love holiday, evidence that Valentine’s Day isn’t just for platonic tributes to that special someone. She checked in with The Brooklyn Paper Editor Gersh Kuntzman, on the eve of Cupid’s favorite holiday.
BP: This is your first Valentine’s Day in Park Slope. What are you seeing?
Claire Cavanah: We’re getting a lot of couples shopping together. Plus a lot of women coming in with friends to find gift ideas to mention to their partners.
BP: Mention to their partners? Like, “Hey, honey, I found the perfect vibrator that you should buy me so I can pleasure myself when you’re not around?” Doesn’t that defeat the idea of Valentine’s Day?
CC: No! We advocate people having sex with themselves so they know what they like from their partner. But whether it’s a vibrator or a blouse, it’s important to drop hints so that you get what you want.
BP: But Valentine’s Day is considered a romantic holiday, not a carnal one. Are you trying to change that — one vibrator at a time?
CC: It’s not us. We find that Valentine’s Day is one of our single biggest selling days.
BP: And with the economy tanking right now, I’ll bet a sex toy is good clean dirty cheap fun, right?
CC: We are doing better than other retailers, possibly because a nice tube of lube or a massage candle gives people a vacation from the fear that they’re reading about in the paper. People have a nesting instinct during difficult times. They stay home, rent a movie and use the vibrator.
BP: Valentine’s Day is often thought of as a day when men buy presents for women. But what do you have if a woman wants to buy something for a man?
CC: I’d recommend the We Vibe.
BP: Don’t mistake my ignorance for lack of intimate knowledge of your catalogue, but I’m actually not familiar with that device.
CC: It’s a vibrator that grips onto the woman, partly inside and partly outside, and cups the G-spot and it does not pop out during penetration. It’s good for the man and the woman.
BP: Still, though, that sounds like something that really is for the woman. What about if a woman wants to buy a man something solely for his pleasure? And, I should point out, I am not hinting here.
CC: I’d recommend the Fleshlight.
BP: Rather than let my imagination wander, I’ll let you explain that one.
CC: It looks like a very large flashlight that you put your manhood inside. It’s definitely an upgrade from your hand. If a woman gives that to her partner, it shows support for his [private] habits.
BP: Um, is that the message someone wants to send on Valentine’s Day?
CC: Yes! The message is “I love you when you love me and I love when you love yourself.” What’s better than that?
Babeland [452 Bergen St., between Flatbush and Fifth avenues in Park Slope, (718) 638-3820]. Open Monday-Saturday, noon–9 pm (open an extra hour on Feb. 14); Sunday, noon–7 pm.
