BATH, England — Lovehoney has announced its 2014 sex toy design competition, which according to the company, could earn a participant more than $150,000 in royalties.
The design contest will be judged by a panel that includes “Fifty Shades of Grey” author E L James and LELO founder Eric Kalen. Lovehoney is offering a $1,500 prize in three categories: best sex toy for women, men and couples. A further $3,000 will go to the overall winning design which has the chance to go into production.
Lovehoney’s Sqweel oral sex simulator, which was featured on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” was created as a result of Lovehoney’s 2009 competition. The company says Sqweel’s designer Trevor Murphy from Toronto has earned more than $150,000 in royalties.
Lovehoney co-founder Neal Slateford said, "We had an amazing response to the competition last year with more than 400 entries — our most ever. We are now developing two of the products and expect to release details later this year. This shows we are really serious about introducing new toys to the market from the competition.
"I think we got so many entries last year because a lot of people have seen the success of the Sqweel and thought, 'I am sure I can match that.If we get a design which brings something completely new to the market there is no reason why the designer cannot enjoy the same kind of pay day as Trevor.
"You don't need to be engineer or a designer to enter — all we need is a great idea and a rough sketch so that our designers can make your sex toy become a reality."
The Sqweel is now on its third incarnation, Sqweel Go.
“I’ve been squealing with delight every since I won. It has been wonderful seeing my design sold all over the world and even featured in movies and on the Jay Leno show in America,” Murphy said. “The team at Lovehoney are wonderful to work with. They are fantastic at bringing innovative designs to the market.”
Entrants need to provide a drawing of their design, a product name, plus an explanation of how it works, who it is for and what makes it different.
Lovehoney is being featured on the new TV series, “Frisky Business,” being shown on TV on the Lifetime channel.
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