Sandra Bruce is one part of the four person superhero team that runs Shevibe.com, along with her husband Thor, artist Alex Kotkin and the site’s graphic designer Keith Beresnoy. Before she started SheVibe, Sandra was involved in the mortgage industry and had a successful loan signing business. But as she said, “I saw the writing on that wall and moved all my energy to SheVibe before the proverbial shit hit the fan.†Below she speaks to what exactly SheVibe is and why she loves it so much.
So, Sandra what is SHEVIBE.com? Sex toy site, revolving naughty (yet super well drawn) online comic panels or dessert topping?
In a nutshell, all of the above! We knew that we had to differentiate ourselves from the glut of sites that were out there and our ability to constantly create new, original content gave us an edge. We wanted the site to be fun and fresh and we set out to create an environment that would encourage people to simply continue surfing. The comic panel header project was a lot of fun – it probably took us about a year to go back and create a panel for each page; it was totally worth it. We also focus heavily on a product offering that isn’t found anywhere else – it’s caused me to rip my hair out at times, but I’m glad we did it. Being original is very important to us and we enjoy supporting smaller, artisan toy crafters. Above all, we never forget that stellar customer service is what it all comes down to, and more often than not, that is truly what differentiates you from your competitors.
How/why did you come-up with the site?
This literally all started with what my husband Thor and I started calling “Porn & Sushi Night.†When we got together, we began exploring sides of ourselves that had been hidden from our previous partners. This evolved into sushi and beer on a Friday night, followed by carefully chosen porn and what became a vast array of sex toy experimentation. Our experiences with online toy ordering left a lot to be desired and basically one day we just decided we could do it better – we had no idea what we were really getting into and it has definitely been a trial by fire at times.
And the superhero aspect to it all?
One night we were brainstorming over our logo, and it just hit me – Superheroes or more specifically female Superheroes. We decided that each section of the site would be governed by a strong, female hero and came up with 6 original characters. Each had her own back story, powers and human drama.
Is there one main artist to all the site’s great art work?
There is technically one conventional artist who draws – Alex Kotkin. He is truly amazing (and incredibly humble, you’ll never meet a nicer guy). Keith Beresnoy is our Graphic Designer – and we consider him to be an extremely talented digital artist.
You sell a lot of stuff on the site. What are the most popular places on SHEVIBE that your costumers come back to again and again and within those, can you tell us about a few of the more popular items you sell?
This is actually an interesting question – different parts of the site tend to fire up at different times. There is a weird phenomenon that happens whenever we are re-vamping or refreshing part of the site – that particular section sees an uptick in traffic. It’s almost like a universal energy replenishment for a part of the site that may have been a bit stale. Consistently though, realistic dildos are hugely popular (no pun intended).
Do you find being a NY-based/east coast company has any advantage or disadvantage in what you do. Or does the net render all things equal where a business (even your business) can be based out of?
Being on the east coast has been both a blessing and a curse. Two huge distributors whom we rely on heavily happen to be on the east coast. Most of the specialty retailers we have developed relationships with are out west, and of course, all of the industry events tend to be in L.A. and Vegas. Believe it or not, our biggest challenge on the east coast is the weather – when bad weather hits, all incoming and outgoing shipments get affected, this is bothersome as it can interfere with our ability to get a customer’s order to them as quickly as possible.
What’s coming in the future and where can friends, fans and just the curious find you?
We are collaborating more and more with the manufacturers. We’ve done poster style graphics for Doc Johnson, Tantus, Vibratex and RodeoH, which have resulted in great partnerships. Look for some amazing stuff with Fucking Sculptures and Fun Factory coming soon. We’ll also be launching a new retail site featuring the Art Of SheVibe where you can purchase poster sized prints of your favorite covers or just enjoy the plethora of SheVibe’s original erotic creations.
You can find us on Facebook (SheVibe &SheVibe.Daily), Twitter (@SheVibe), Tumblr (SheVibe.Tumblr.com), Instagram (Instagram.com/SheVibe) and Pinterest (SheVibe). We also host a blog with comprehensive product reviews: http://shevibe.blogspot.com/ And I can’t forget our parody website Save The Cucumbers: http://www.savethecucumbers.com/
