BATH, England — Online sex toy retailer Lovehoney announced that it's opening its doors to budding designers once again with its Design a Sex Toy competition.
The competition encourages people to send in their ideas for sex toys ranging from weird and whacky takes on classic sex toys to the most revolutionary of designs.
“This competition is great fun. We get to look at some fantastic designs from some very talented people that would otherwise never get seen. You don’t have to have any experience in design to enter. We’re just looking for fresh ideas that stand out from the crowd,” Lovehoney co-owner Richard Longhurst said.
The company has assembled a panel of expert judges including: the “Philippe Starck of sex toys'” — Lelo, Tickler founder Eric Kalén, Lovehoney operations manager Paul Jaques, Lovehoney product director Bonny Hall, and Lovehoney online trading manager Alice Little.
There are three categories to enter: Sex Toys for Men, Sex Toys for Women and Sex Toys for Couples. The winner of each category will win $1,500 and the Judges' Pick will receive an extra $3,000, making a grand total of $7,500 in prize money. The winners will also have the chance to have their toy made and earn uncapped royalties.
Last year’s overall winner was Kevin Clark with his unusual take on a female vibrator. Clark said, “After looking at the range of sex toys on the market, I was really drawn to the idea of improving the dildo. I submitted my idea to Lovehoney and was totally stunned when I got the email telling me that I had won. I celebrated by taking my wife to a great restaurant and ordering champagne.”
Clark’s design is still in concept stage so information about the winning design is under wraps, but he did have this advice for those who were planning on entering: “Think revolution not evolution.”
Perhaps the most successful previous winner was Trevor Murphy from Dublin, Ireland who won the competition in 2009 with his invention, the Sqweel Oral Sex Simulator. The product, which is manufactured and distributed by Lovehoney, is now the best-selling oral sex toy in the world, selling hundreds of thousands of units and earning Murphy more than $150,000 in royalties, according to the company.
Murphy said, “I was a struggling artist, living in the Irish countryside with not a whole lot to do. Winning the competition and having my toy produced for real has allowed me to move to the awesome city of Toronto, Canada and have hobbies like comedy improv. My life has changed a lot.”
The Lovehoney team noted that it will consider all designs submitted, from high tech computer-generated designs to 3D models, and even a scribble on a Post-It note.
The competition is running on Lovehoney’s U.K., U.S. and Australian websites.
Interested contestants can watch the competition YouTube video.
For more information about entering, along with the competition’s terms and conditions, click here.
