Bria Brown was completing her last term of college when lockdown began in spring of 2020. With a toddler at home and no promising job prospects, Brown needed to find a way to work remotely for the foreseeable future. Having already been generating income through OnlyFans for about a year, she began saving extra funds for materials to start a new business.
“I wanted to make sexy accessories for sex workers to wear when they were working or creating content. That concept evolved to include intimate accessories for partners,” Brown said.
I wanted to make a line of jewelry that would look good over lingerie, naked or worn out and about.
In August 2020 she founded Kynx by Brynx, her brand of handcrafted body jewelry with a mission to “destigmatize shame towards kink, sex work and sexual wellness through advocacy, education and design-forward products.”
Her initial designs were body chains embellished with holographic heart charms and gemstones. By February 2021 Brown was introducing kink-inspired statement pieces like crucifixes and rosary beads paired with alligator-style clamps. Instagram visuals and product design progressed like a time-lapse video while her aesthetic transformed provocatively over time.
Today, Kynx by Brynx has local notoriety in Portland, Oregon and throughout the Pacific Northwest. Retailers including Fantasy in Oregon, Wild at Heart in Seattle and Wink Wink Boutique in Bellingham, Washington carry her products. She also launched a parallel venture, KxB Candles, in 2022.
Brown alchemized her creativity to earn a living, but she says the rewards she derives from running her company go beyond making a profit:
“Being able to enhance my customers’ intimate lives with unique and creative designs gave me my ‘why.’”
XBIZ: What motivated you to start Kynx by Brynx?
Brown: Really, everything I’ve done in my life has led me to this point. I started dancing when I was 20 and have worked in various areas of sex work ever since. I am a former body piercer, so I know quite a bit about body jewelry, anatomy and accentuating curves of the body. I wanted to make a line of jewelry that would look good over lingerie, naked, or worn out and about. Many of my friends were doing sex work at the time, so I designed unique pieces they could wear in their content.
XBIZ: Your aesthetic has distinctly evolved since 2020. What inspires you?
Brown: Some staple pieces are adaptations of custom designs I’ve made for customers. Everything that the brand has become is because of what my amazing customers have asked for, with parts of myself sprinkled in. I attended Christian schools growing up, so when I was commissioned to do a sacrilegious piece, I was fully on board!
I describe my style as ’90s gay goth; black is a staple. I also like bright colors and prints like camouflage, cow and checkers. I love the appeal of bold accessories with shock value.
The most important part of this business is listening to what the customer wants. Many big businesses often disregard what their customers are telling them. I believe that if you want to know what works, listen. Body chains weren’t a huge success initially, but my first sets of clamps received a great response, so I started to add products that complemented kinky lifestyles.
XBIZ: How do you generate brand awareness outside of social media and local events?
Brown: Fantasy in Oregon was my first wholesale account and they’ve done a fantastic job telling their customers about KxB. I also use an email newsletter to update customers with product drops, deals and restocks. And I’ve donated sex worker care boxes to various organizations, including a local woman-owned club, TaTas for Tots and a kinky trans photo project.
XBIZ: How will you scale in 2023?
Brown: My main focus is to grow the wholesale side of the business. I’m investing in bulk materials to ensure product availability, creating more relationships in B2B and working on brand visibility.
Being a buyer in a different industry taught me the do’s and don'ts of B2B. There is a line between being disrespectful and fighting through the noise. I try to show retailers why I believe in the products and how their customers will benefit from them. I’ve luckily always had an adaptive process in completing goals. so if one type of communication doesn’t work, I try again.
Also, KxB Candles have become a large part of my business. The drip candles are a huge seller, so I launched it as a side business with its own social media presence. I wanted to reach customers who are specifically into wax play, because heat play is its own kinky category. There’s a lot of information about ingredients and safety techniques, and I wanted a place for customers to be able to learn on their own terms.
XBIZ: It can be challenging to maintain a handmade business as demand increases. Will you ever mass-manufacture?
Brown: I always plan on being handmade. I try to only offer handcrafted and hand-poured items. I believe the handmade value has largely contributed to the business’s success and I want to honor that. BDSM and sex are incredibly intimate, and I’d like to create products that come from a place of the same intention. My plan is to hire people who respect the relationships that customers will have with a product, and who will help create pieces alongside me.
XBIZ: What retailers align best with your values?
Brown: My favorite retailers support small businesses. They allow me to grow and change. They understand that products improve as I improve, but that also means when they get a new catalog, it may look different than what they previously stocked. So, a retailer who doesn’t shy away from small business growth and is excited to have unique and thoughtful products on their shelves.
XBIZ: Is there a business challenge you’ve overcome that makes you proud?
Brown: Finding my niche! It can be easy for a small business to flail around for a few years. I’m thankful for my customers and my life experiences. Because of that, I was able to adapt the brand to find my people, and my purpose.
To us, that means doing as much as we can to reach the ‘harder to reach’ groups of consumers, such as those with disabilities, folks who are older, trans, face sexual challenges or have experienced sexual repression, because pleasure should be for every body and everybody.
