Crystal Delights was established in 2008 where they designed a digital dildo in Second Life a 3D virtual world which currently has over 1 million players online. Within the online world of Second Life Crystal Delight’s ran a virtual sales kiosk which allowed players to buy real adult lifestyle products using tokens known as Lindens, the virtual currency on Second Life. When the creators of Second Life decided to confine the types of ways people could make and spend money in the virtual world, Crystal Delights then spread their wings and began to grow their market in the real world, taking their digital products into production. Now they make a large range of adult products for men and women.
In 2010, Crystal Delights had designed their very first product which was known as the “Crystal Delights Anal Plug”. The most notable design is an extremely beautiful range of butt plugs named “Colors Against Cancer”. The color of the glass matches the type of charity that the product relates to. An amount of the profit from the products that are purchased from this range is donated to Cancer Charities.
They also have won both AVN and Xbiz Industry Awards for their Fetish Product the Crystal Minx Plug with Tail. They have been mentioned in the media are multitude of times including on BuzzFeed, StyleCaster, The Huffington Post, Jezebel, PopSugar, Screener, Refinery29 and Uproxx.
This is an VIP interview with Shellie Yarnell the Creative Director of Crystal Delights.
Tell me about yourself
Shellie Yarnell Creative Director, I entered the adult industry in late 1998 after answering an ad for an homebased online worker, I was intrigued at the possibility and answered the ad, I started off doing a few hours a week of data entry and was with the company for over 10 years ending as the customer service and new products acquisition manager.
What was the moment you realised that you wanted to create real sex toys for Crystal Delights?
It was during that time that I could see the possibility of taking our digital product and bringing it to the real world and finding our place in the adult industry. We attended a show in Boston Massachusetts where I saw a line of pretty metal plugs featuring sparkling crystals and thought these would be beautiful in glass, I approached the owner at the booth and told her you should make these in glass and she told me I’m not interested, you should do it! That was the first glimmer of a real life Crystal Delights product and as they say, the rest is history!
How did Crystal Delights begin creating virtual products for Second Life? Why did Second Life want sex toys?
Crystal Delights starting in Second Life was just a fun “time waster” really, it is really a fascinating platform, like a chatroom on steroids, you have an avatar that you can dress, change hair, makeup, clothes, you can be a fantasy creature, anything you can imagine really. Second Life used sex in a manner that I think proceeded the virtually reality that we have today, it was just using the interaction between avatars which were humans behind a keyboard. Sex in second life was huge, there were people making millions of dollars selling their digital goods. As you said we did design a virtual vending system that allowed you to use virtual currency to purchase real life products, unfortunately *laughs* we were a good 5 years ahead of our time!
We didn’t start out being “Butt Plug Experts” it just kind of happened, but we are so pleased that we can make a difference in a market that has some of the best customers in the world. We are a small family run business where even our glass blower is a member of the family, our employees feel like part of the family even if they are not biologically and we wouldn’t have it any other way!
Are all your products handmade in the United States? The jewels that are placed on your product to accentuate the design are incredibly beautiful, what are they made from? The hair which is used in the creation of your products are both real and faux? How do you source the materials?
Crystal Delights products are all handmade in the United States using the best materials available to us including genuine Swarovski elements, vintage medallions from the Czech Republic, high grade wig hair for our very popular ponytails and the best faux and real fur available all attached to Borosilicate glass made in their shop in Port Townsend Washington. We often have questions about our real fur tail products which we answer with our Ethical Use Statement as follows:
Our tails come from a U.S. company that specializes in the “refuse parts” of animal remnants typically thrown away. We at Crystal Delights do not condone the killing of an animal for its coat and we believe that some day the fur trade will be abolished, and we support that, but until that time, we believe that all parts of the animal should be used and not simply discarded as waste. Crystal Delights donates a portion of real fur tail profits annually to animal charities to continue our charitable mission.
What is the best way to store Crystal Delight products?
All of the Crystal Delights products (excluding tails) come in a hand made brocade padded pouch to safely protect them. These pouches are specifically designed and made by us for our products! The tails don’t come with pouches because they should be stored lying flat or hanging to promote air movement, but every Crystal Delights product comes with a use and care sheet that tells you exactly how to care for it.
What are your best sellers?
Our original product the short stem small bulb plug remains among our best sellers, followed by the highly popular tail plugs which include real and faux fur tails, and both bunny and ponytails in a myriad of colors. One of the things that we are most proud of is the ability to accessorize your plug giving you both more style and value! With the offering of both detachable as well as magnetic options the possibilities can be endless!
Which products are on display at the Kinsey Institute Gallery at Indiana University in Bloomington?
We are also very proud to have products on display at the Kinsey Institute Gallery at Indiana University! The Red Crystal Kiss was out first submission followed by an artisan hand crafted art yarn tail plug.
What are the happiest and proudest moments in your career?
We are probably most proud of our social and charitable efforts giving and helping to causes closest to our hearts, with products such as the colored glass line called CAC, colors against cancer, where a portion of the profits are donated to cancer charities as well as donations to animal charities from real fur tail sales. We also donate product where all the profits are then matched by a company providing to binders to needy trans people. We use our social media platforms to share useful info and promote social justices as well as have a little fun with things like Rest in Pieces, The Jelly Wall of Shame where people submit pictures of a destroyed jelly toy in return for a 25% off coupon for a Crystal Delights glass product, removing a potentially dangerous product and replacing it with a safe hygienic one, a win win for everyone!
You will want to stay tuned because Crystal Delights is always searching and scheming to bring you the best and most interesting products for your adult pleasure!
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