Archive: Stormy Leather 15th Anniversary

For the first two years of business, Stormy Leather was located in a tiny basement space on Noe Street in the Castro. Leather was purchased one hide at a time, and everything including strips was cut by hand. By 1986, Stormy had outgrown that intimate space, and moved to the American Industrial Center on Third Street. That space was adequate for about four more years, and then it was time to look for more room yet again. A few early images from these spaces were rediscovered in the archival search for the fifteenth anniversary photo gallery.

In looking for a new workshop, Kathy came across 1158 Howard Street. She thought the space suitable for both a workshop and a retail store. The Stormy Leather Retail Store opened its doors on May 5, 1990. The trademark zipper logo easily guides visitors to the door in the South of Market neighborhood. In the early days, the workshop was dove-tailed in all over the basement, main floor and upstairs office: on the main floor, chain-link fence (tastefully draped) separated retail and production space. Many store customers can still remember the days of peeking over and through the fencing to watch the “leather elves.”

In 1994, sheer demand forced the expansion of both workshop and retail store. It was through this growth that the store really came into its own. Refinishing produced a beautiful 2000 sq. ft. showroom with Italian lighting, hardwood floors and spacious dressing rooms. One of the main attractions is the selection of premiere latex fashion: Skin Two, Damask, Syren and House of Harlot are all well represented in the stock on-hand. This fall the Stormy Leather corset line welcomed the return of color, with styles now available in bright red, royal blue, deep purple and emerald green leather. Whether it's a sleek catsuit or perfect French maid’s dress, PVC fashions from Versatile Fashions, Wild Designs and Lip Service help round out the clothing selection. The toy department stocks items from the Stormy Leather line, and also carries unique, hand-crafted items from local toy artisans.
The retail store takes pride in its excellent customer service, and it's not unusual for a staff member to spend time helping a customer to make the right choice. Education is of high importance, whether it be in selection of S/M toys or specialized care of fetishwear. As part of the Fifteenth Anniversary celebration, the retail store outfitted a fashion show, showcasing the latest and greatest in fetishwear. Highlights of the celebration, which benefited the Women’s Cancer Resource Center, can also be viewed on the company web site. Log on at http://www.stormyleather.com. Visitors to the retail store page of the web site can also sign up on the store’s mailing list for class announcements, art show updates and special sales.

The workshop has also grown substantially in the four years since it expanded into a space of it's own just a few doors down the block from the store. The production force now creates a full line of packaged toys for distribution all over the country, as well as the trademark leather women’s fashions. Stormy Leather makes regular appearances at adult industry trade shows on both the East and West coasts. At the booth, potential buyers can view not only leather and synthetic toys, but a wide array of leather lingerie and fetish corsetry. stantially in the four years since it expanded into a space of it's own just a few doors down the block from the store. The production force now creates a full line of packaged toys for distribution all over the country, as well as the trademark leather women’s fashions. Stormy Leather makes regular appearances at adult industry trade shows on both the East and West coasts. At the booth, potential buyers can view not only leather and synthetic toys, but a wide array of leather lingerie and fetish corsetry. To better inform wholesale customers, an up-to-the-minute calendar of trade show appearances is featured on the Stormy Leather web site.

Only two years old, the web site is one of the most rapidly expanding aspects of Stormy Leather. First posted in 1996, the site featured retail and wholesale contact information, a Stormy Leather fashion ‘contact sheet,’ (site viewers could select photo images from a page of thumbnails), and a retailer contact list was assembled for everyone not able to come to the Bay Area retail location. Having just gotten a complete design ‘face-lift,’ the web site is debuting the new on-line mail order catalog, The Storm Front, featuring a selection of Stormy Leather’s adult toys. Best-selling harnesses, restraints, and cock rings are available, along with specialty fetish items not found elsewhere. Fifteenth anniversary highlights on the web include a retrospective photo gallery, recalling Stormy Leather catalog images and photo shoots from the last fifteen years, along with a recap of the Cyber Circus Anniversary Celebration & Benefit.

For it's Fifteenth Anniversary, Stormy Leather hosted a circus-themed party at San Francisco's Club Townsend. Along with the fashion show were carnival-style booths and attractions. FetishDiva Midori reigned in the VIP lounge. Local retailer Good Vibrations hosted a cock-ring toss game with erotic toy prizes. The Deviant booth featured liquid latex demonstration and rubber accessories. Circus performances that night included Harvest King - Static Trapeze, Slater Penny Acrobatics, and Molotov Malcontent & Cheetah Bandita - Fire Eating. Jade Blue Eclipse closed the evening with a reverse striptease. For the show-stopping fashion show, models were gathered from far and wide, including the production staff. One-of-a-kind pieces were made in honor of the event. Organized and produced by the employees of Stormy Leather, the event benefitted the Women’s Cancer Resource Center