The Stockroom Story
All Joel Tucker wanted was to tie up his girlfriend. It was 1988 and Tucker, an Occidental college student, headed to the local sex shop, smiling girlfriend at his side. Surely the basics for getting started in bondage couldn't be more than about 50 bucks, right? When Joel was presented with a potential bill of $250, he knew there had to be a better way—being kinky shouldn't mean being broke—so he started his own business to prove it. His girlfriend actually made the suggestion to make their own – she had recently taken a leatherworking class and had a few of the necessary tools needed to begin. For a while the leatherwork was done on Joel's living room floor until the initial growth spurt was well under way and it was time to find real facilities.
That's what The Stockroom has done from the very beginning: creating high quality kink gear that normal budgets can afford.
In the early days, people would ask me, “Where are you selling this product?” And I’d say, “Well, mostly on the Internet.”
And the next question would be, “What’s the Internet?”
From the beginning the mission of the Stockroom, in Joel's words, has always been "to build an inspired, dedicated team to deliver all the best in sexual technologies in a manner that demonstrates our respect for our clients as healthy, intelligent, sexually adventurous adults. Our commitment is to provide discreet and convenient access to high quality products at a reasonable price, and to provide educational, networking and entertainment resources to support the development of the communities we serve". Over nearly three decades that mission has led to the success of The Stockroom and the satisfaction of both customers and staff.
Our Milestones
2007: Stormy Leather
In early 2007 Joel Tucker and Stormy Leather, a leading manufacturer and retailer of distinctive fetish clothing and toys since 1983, began to talk about an acquisition by The Stockroom. The owners of Stormy Leather had been looking for a good home in the industry for their entire business, staff and all, and The Stockroom was a perfect fit. The timing was excellent, so a deal was made. Joel says that both enterprises suit each other with histories of positive community involvement and leadership and similar values. Both Stormy and The Stockroom have been industry pioneers in their own ways, from early internet presence to creating products for women, by women.
2006: Syren Latex
A partnership might have been seen as inevitable for The Stockroom and Syren Latex, a premier maker of latex clothing, fashion, and custom originals to both runway and silver screen alike. In 2006 Syren was acquired by The Stockroom, while resident designers J. Mysterioso and Jeff of L.A. refreshed and refined the Syren line. October 2007 saw the re-launch of the Syren retail store as part of The Stockroom's own gorgeous retail space, resulting in stunningly revamped interior decor in its new brick and mortar location.
Syren has set the standard for excellence in handcrafted, contemporary latex wear. Syren Fetish Fashion designs range from basic latex fetish wear to fashionable latex dresses, rubber evening gowns, and formal latex military uniforms. Not only is the company a well-recognized brand to fetish fashion enthusiasts, they also service the needs of the film industry with Syren Couture.
2001: Daedalus Publishing
Daedalus Publishing Company was started in 1992 by Race Bannon, author of the popular SM "how-to" book Learning the Ropes. Since then, Daedalus has made quite a name for itself by continuing to put out some of the best and most well respected non-fiction books in the kink publishing world. In 2001, Daedalus changed hands to The Stockroom and moved down to Los Angeles, were it resides presently. Since that time, Daedalus has published oodles of very successful books, including its first fiction book, Carried Away by david stein, and a recent re-print of Geoff Mains' leather classic, Urban Aboriginals. Daedalus is dedicated to continuing to publish cutting edge books on the subject of leathersex and other alternative sexual practices.
1996: Stockroom.com
As soon as there was a World Wide Web, there was stockroom.com – and it was everything a web site could be back in 1996. Behold:
The company’s presence on the internet pre-dates the invention of the World Wide Web. In those early days, we communicated with our customers via e-mail, Usenet newsgroups, FTP and gopher sites, and dialup bulletin board systems. Beginning in 1995, as the Web began to take off, the company established its first website, which has evolved steadily to the present day.
