Vendor Spotlight: Business Ladies of Bijoux

by Good Vibrations · 09/05/2012

An interview with Elsa and Marta, owners of Bijoux Indiscrets!

Good Vibrations was founded in 1977 by Joani Blank and to this day continues to be woman-focused. The executive and top level management team is all woman-run, many of whom have been with the company for 20 years! From Chief Operating Officer Jackie Strano and Chief Cultural Officer and Staff Sexologist Dr. Carol Queen, to our Purchasing Manager Coyote Days, who corresponds with many new companies entering the adult novelty industry, Good Vibrations supports women in leadership positions.

Many of our vendors are women-owned businesses and we’ll be spotlighting these extraordinary companies in a series of interviews with the women who make it happen.

This interview by Coyote Days profiles Elsa and Marta from Bijoux — a woman-owned business that creates beautiful intimate body adornments.

How’d you get started? What gave you the idea?

The initial idea first appeared during after work drinks, we where discussing how design in the erotic industry was developed by men and targeted to men too. Some months later, we decided to take the risk and develop a women-friendly / couple-friendly brand offering sensual and erotic gifts specially designed to be shared.

Bijoux Flirty Feather Cuffs

What obstacles have you found along the way?

All kind of them! Just to begin with, we carefully created a business plan that we thought was taking into account all the possible scenarios, and things end up happening in a totally different way. We have learned that obstacles in general are a natural part of the business process, and that it’s important to be flexible in the way we approach the challenges.

What does it mean to you that you own an woman-run company?

Bijoux Indiscrets is a company owned by women, but also run by women, as almost all the team happens to be women. We feel very lucky to have such a passionate team if people collaborating with us.

Bijoux Ravishing Ribbon Cuffs

Which of your products is your personal favorite?

Each of us has our favorites, but I would say the new Bijoux Cosmetiques range has been a very important achievement. The endless effort we have done during the development of the products in every detail including flavors, materials, ingredients, and concepts, is totally worth it when you see and feel the final result. If I have to choose a specific product, I would go for the Sunset Glow Kissable Massage Oil, the best flavor ever!

What’s next for the future?

We are very looking forward to start developing products in a more collaborative way, so we are doing our first baby steps to try to capture as much information as possible from the final consumers, in order to incorporate their thought in our creative process. It’s super challenging!