10.15 AM, Chicago time:
Matthew took this picture of Lee and me at our booth before the Leather Market opened yesterday. The lighting wasn't all it might be, but you get the idea.
I'd hoped to write something here last night, but by the time Lee and I got back to our room we both fell into bed. Now, in the morning, a brief recapitulation of yesterday, which was a wonderful day from start to finish, surpassing all our expectations.
After Lee, Matthew, our partner Bryan and I had a quick breakfast yesterday at Lavazza down the street, we returned to the Marriott to put the finishing touches on our booth, getting the final details attended to right before the doors opened. From that moment till the market closed at 7, there was a steady succession of people coming up to us, many old familiar faces among them, all telling us how happy they were to see us there, and how
overjoyed to learn that we were coming back. There were lots and lots of new faces, too, among them some who were very young and had only heard of us, and others who were very young and confessed they'd gone to our website long before they should have been allowed to. Fortunately, IML does a good job screening attendees, so we know for a fact that they're all of legal age now.
The place swarmed with handsome men and beautiful boys in leather and rubber and all manner of fetishwear, including jeans and sneakers. There were also blissfully collared slaves, leatherheaded pups on all fours, some off the leash, others with their leashes in their masters' hands, buttplug tails wagging happily. All in all, a fetishist's dream of paradise, and this just on the first day.
Our stand was busy from the start, as we handed out free copies of old issues of B&G, and guys signed cards giving us their names, email addresses and various other bits of information. A lot of gorgeous guys checked the box telling us they'd love to model, and others, great photographers, offered to take photos of bound guys in their dungeons.
In the course of the afternoon we alternated bondage demos with Boundjocks across the aisle, that company working beneath a triangular stand, us working in a tight space to the side of our table. We did two demos of our own, at least while I was at the stand (I did go off to view the market place once or twice). The first one had the incredible Jeof Pierson, a very sexy man of infinite talents, doing a great job tying up and abusing a gorgeous guy from Seattle, and the second one had our own Bryan, another ace with ropes, tying an adorable kid from Minnesota (I think—I don't have his model
release in front of me as I write) to a chair, after which the boy's buddies tormented him with clothespins and tickling.
A few pics here, then I've got to cede the desk to Lee who needs to make a sign announcing Jason Branch's appearance at our booth at noon today.
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