Hello, folks. We recently snapped some photos of me for those of you who aren't
entirely convinced I exist. Of course, you can find everything
and more than you need to know about
me, personally and professionally, by visiting the Different Loving
author's bio. Or take a walk over to my personal pages, where you'll find photos
of me and samples of some of my BDSM doodling.
I am William D. Brame, co-author of DIFFERENT LOVING. You may know the book but you've probably never met me. Someone recently referred to me as the J. D. Salinger of SM, which I could interpret as an odd yet flattering compliment of my talents, but of course it was in reference to my solitude. This seems to bother some people, and they see fit to chide my hermit ways whenever I do go out and about in Scene venues. (I think this game is rigged.) Fact is, I've always been this way. I was a loner archaeologist, too, and didn't go boozing through the night-befores at the conferences, except once, which got it permanently out of my system.
Though I'm seldom visible at Scene events, I do surf the Internet. When I participate anywhere, it's always under my real name. Every so often someone will recognize me. I got an e-mail a little while back that began,
"Are you the Will Brame of Gloria Brame?"
I was transported in the instant of reading that to the time me and the little woman (my "smaller half," I am instructed to call her) were reading from Different Loving at some event when a member of the audience piped up to ask,
"Are you guys related? I mean, you have the same last name..."
"Uuuuuuh...we're married," I said. (What did she think we were, brother and sister? Two kinky cousins? Parent and child? We don't look a damned thing alike, either).
I wish to this day I'd said I took my wife's name in marriage, but I didn't.
So there you have it. I am the Will Brame of Gloria Brame. That'll do until we get better acquainted.
I'm about crotch-deep in stuff I've made over the years. For a while I enjoyed making chain mail (or maille, to the purists) and crafted collars and a posing pouch and things like that. One winter, I shaped a set of hand-carved specialty wood toys for my wife; and frequently made one-of-a-kind pieces from curious things found at salvage stores and flea markets. Occasionally someone would insist on buying something from me, though I seldom made anything with selling it in mind.
I like nipple clamps, perhaps more than I should. I suppose if there had been no glossy porn to inspire me, I would probably have thought to close a clothespin on an innocent and defenseless nipple all on my lonesome. (I do want to point out that I like all kinds of other stuff, too. I would hate to be typed as a narrow specialist.)
I started making my own clamps out of my dissatisfaction with the commercial varieties available. It's no trouble finding something to cause instant agony; any tight clamp will do. The problem is that most clamps that are adapted for use in SM are a compromise in function, and are not well-suited to their tasks.
I experimented with all kinds of toy-store clamps and industrial clamps and began to refine my own design. It seemed to me that no existing clamp design recognized a simple fact of anatomy: flesh is mostly fluid. Clamps are designed to hold solids together, and they lack a necessary delicacy. What if, I wondered, I could find something that would hold flesh without crushing? What if the material was thin and flexible? I experimented with designs and materials and dimensions and now all that research is embodied in my Tek-No line. In this style, the inherent tension of the leaf spring design forces the arms of the clip apart, while a sliding ring is used to bring them closer and closer together. I also made sure the rubberized tips pinched flesh nice and tight, clinging even when lightly clamped and delivering maximum OUCH when clamped tight. And yet when tight, the clamps flex, and grasp tightly without injury.
In early 2000, I decided to see whether any of these designs would appeal to an audience larger than my wife and our friends. Using our existing handle, lasauvage on Ebay, I began test-marketing a few varieties of clips, and auctioned a number of prototypes. As my Ebay feedback shows, many a happy customer has found my clips to be just what they were looking for.
In 2002, Ebay decided that BDSM vendors were not welcome. Catherine Gross got FetishAuctioneer.com running and there we have found a happy new home.
Several design evolutions in the making, those prototypes grew into the Tek-No collection. With an entire collection of clamps launched, and my restless imagination already working on future collections, it seemed only sensible to move from test-marketing to real marketing.
And so this store was born.
I may as well confess I was one of those geeks in science class or in woodshop, clacking something metallic as I exulted about what a neat torture device it would make. I like gadgets for their own sakes, in my boyish way. When it comes to nipple clamps I can satisfy both the Tom Swift and the Marquis de Sade aspects of my nature.
I come from a tinkering people, which is to say, my cultural (at any rate, familial) tradition is to make it yourself or do without it. Only as a last resort would we go out and buy it. I spent my childhood sweltering under vintage hand-stitched quilts that would probably fetch a fortune at auction somewhere today, sitting on the chairs my father whittled together, working horses with harnesses I made and repaired myself, and logging with a home-made boom loader. I still recall my sense of utter enchantment at discovering liquid hand soap, soft and sweet and mild, after having grown to believe lye soap was all there was.
Of course I brought the tinker aesthetic with me into SM. I like to experiment with form and function, and to test new materials. I like building prototypes, and improving on them, until I achieve a finished product that pleases me. In SM toys, as with all things, I prefer clean simplicity. I like things that work exactly as intended. I like tools whose function is as integral to their design as the style.
The Tek-No Collection was my first full line of nipple clips and accessories. Call them variations on a theme. Using the same basic unit (a flexing clip that does a perfect job of swiftly gripping flesh, and which stay on even when clamped lightly), I've spun off a series of designs to fulfill BDSM/bondage fantasies from mild to wild.
STEALTH was my next collection. It began with a vision I had of black lustrous steel in clean flowing lines, gleaming with dark promise and tantalizing menace. Now my fantasies have taken form. All Stealth clips feature a central attached ring for fastening a leash, hanging weights, clipping to a collar, or hooking with a finger for tugging and leading. The metal is finished in a permanent black that is both clean and fetishistic.
As I build the store, I will continue to develop original, signature collections which will incorporate all the principles I've talked about above. Right now, I'm experimenting with new prototypes and new media, and planning future collections that will, I hope, continue to intrigue and thrill consenting adults. I have put these experiments in my Special Play Pretties collection. These are all fully tested designs and meet my standards for functionality and beauty. Any of these designs may end up in my regular stock, but for right now they are strictly limited to the experimental prototypes I have made.
In other words, I will keep on tinkering.
I continuously run auctions of select merchandise on FetishAuctioneer.Com.
You won't find all my merchandise for sale on FA, but what you will find there will have an opening bid that is a couple of bucks cheaper than our shop's retail prices. Since all of our auctions open at the minimum price, the first bidder can win. Sometimes the auctions go crazy, and the bids run up way above the retail price. But most of the time, you can snatch something up at its opening price and then, ye gods, you get a genuine bargain.
Obviously, the disadvantage of shopping on FA is that you have to wait for the auction to expire. We set the 'buy it now' price to be the same as our website retail price. But if you're the frugal sort, or someone who simply enjoys bidding in auctions, have a picnic, and see what we've got listed on FetishAuctioneer right now.
Mail Order
We accept checks and money orders (U.S. FUNDS ONLY) and are working on implementing our own shopping cart since PayPal got all puritanical and refused to work with us. Just follow the instructions on our VERY FRIENDLY MAIL-ORDER FORM.
Outside the U.S., please send me email to ask about foreign sales.
SHIPPING AND TURN-AROUND
We try to ship all orders within 48 hours after your payment has cleared the bank. If you send us a a money order, we'll ship within 48 hours after it reaches us. If you pay by check, we hang on to it until it clears our bank (usually 7 to 10 days) and then ship your product within 48 hours after that.
All merchandise is shipped via Priority Mail using the U.S. Post Office's standard mailing boxes. There are no embarrassing images or text on the box, and no annoying flyers inside either. Your discretion is absolutely protected. We do not collect addresses and will never share addresses with anyone else.
SHIPPING COSTS
We charge a flat fee of $4.50 per package, whether you order one set of clips or half a dozen. We are happy to combine orders to save you money. This fee includes Priority Mail delivery PLUS a fee for tracking, to ensure that we both know where your package is at all times.
Outside the U.S., please send me email to ask about Global Priority rates on foreign sales.
RETURN POLICY
There is none. We are honest in our dealings and describe all merchandise as accurately as humanly possible. Because of the nature of this merchandise, we do not accept returns. If you have ANY questions about the merchandise, please write me with your questions before placing an order.
Since we want happy customers, should you have problems with our products, or feel we misrepresented them, we will work with you to make sure you are satisfied.
I've included lots of links to my mailbox, but in case you haven't found one yet, and would like more information about my products or these pages, write me at brameshop@gmail.com.
FAQ * Sales & Shipping *
Mail Order Form
W.D. Brame is owned and operated by
WILLIAM D. BRAME
Reproduction or distribution of any of the images
text, or designs contained herein is strictly
prohibited.
