Artisan Profile: Terrible Toyshop
In January 2021, TheLazyDom.com featured an interview with Terrible Greg in a series of artisan profiles.
Tell us about the Terrible Toyshop. What was it that inspired you to make “kinky” stuff?
It all started in early 2019 when I heard about a kinky maker space that was just getting started. I originally went there to work on the upholstery for an elaborate set of stocks I had carved by hand. After a couple of months, I finished hand stitching the upholstery and decided to test new waters. I started with a dubiously safe introduction to welding and attended a sex-tech automation workshop. Eventually, I had to give the 3D printer a try.
At first, I was pretty resistant to 3D printing – everything I had heard about the process suggested that it was finicky and unreliable. Though I was doubtful at first, some early test prints quickly convinced me that the very affordable printer at the maker space was as reliable as I needed to make cool objects, and it was a hell of a lot easier than carving wood and hand sewing vinyl upholstery.
The catalyst that led to launching Terrible Toyshop actually started as a joke. While I was first learning to use 3D modeling software, I spent a lot of time creating simple concept designs, just to see if I could pull them off. One such design was an oval-shaped labia clamp with jagged bear-trap-inspired teeth, which later evolved into the Pussy Trap. When I shared some pictures of my Pussy Trap prototypes on FetLife.com, the post went mini-viral and lots of people encouraged me to start selling.
The rest, as they say, is history.
As I interacted with customers, I quickly came to realize that I’m not alone in my disappointment with the lack of innovation and creativity in many categories of the BDSM toy market. As an easy example, manufacturers have basically been selling the same half-dozen tired designs of nipple clamps for decades. I have the most success selling toys that I would want for myself in styles that I can’t find on the market. I think my ridiculous kinky toy wish list (i.e., Terrible Toyshop’s product catalogue) is strangely attuned with what other people are missing in their lives.
