When we first debuted our Tantus line there were two dildos that got all the limelight. The two were South Beach, a pink dildo with a bas relief flamingo, and Cowpoke, a light brown dildo with a cowboy theme bas relief including hat, boots, a lasso and wandering armadillo. I was particularly pleased with Cowpoke; hard to cast but what a joy to see (updated post with photo from Crista Ann). Neither one sold for shit but let me tell you everyone chose those to review.1
They were fun and whimsical in the way we had intended Tantus to be before I decided we would mainstream silicone.
Practical? Not at all- so many grooves and textures to clean out… lol. But, definitely fun. We’ve made special editions of these two from time to time in the fuchsia pictured above. Once it was a thank you to bloggers— I believe I gave them away at in the first Blogger Lounge we organized at Woodhull Sexual Freedom Summit. Other times we had a website so we thought “special web only”.
On Our Backs first reviewed them. I can’t recall who else did. My copy of the review alas was cut out of the magazine by a marketing manager we had. The magazines were running wild in the shop and to save space… snip snip. The remaining OOB, that I rescued, all have holes where reviews and ad’s once sat.
I have a card I saved from Deb. She was a producer for HBO’s Real Sex and she called me up one day very excited to invite me to send her some dildos for the show. I, of course, sent everything.
The note card starts out:
“Well, as you see, 3 of your dildos were stolen by girls who couldn’t wait to buy them.”
She goes on to rave about what they shot:
“As you’ll see in the footage your dildos were really showcased. The girls had a great dialogue about “cowpoke and also that “pink flamingo””.
Also, that “at the Babeland store (where the segment was filmed) “your new unusual absolutely unique dildos were *stars*!*” (her stars not mine and sorry there isn’t a way to make a colon into a star colon that I know of anyways… someone should invent that, just sayin’).
“Thank you for this loan.” And she promised to reimburse for the stolen dildos, which was sweet but totally unnecessary. I never expected to see any again— except on video.
Video is interesting2. Deb never mentioned that Tristan Taormino was being featured in that dildo party. Not in the two phone calls nor in her note. Tristan was kinda a big deal, having been the OOB editor around that time and with her first book The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex For Women having been published in 1997.
I remember I was so excited when it was airing late night on HBO. It was a great segment. You know what I didn’t see though, any of the Tantus dildos. Those scenes were on the editing floor and all I have is this card I saved because, even then, it seemed ridiculously funny.
The color green (sorry Piph) and these two dildos were the first pieces Tantus discontinued. Gone but not forgotten…
South Beach photo by Epiphora (we made some special South Beaches as thank you gifts to bloggers one conference. The originals were more pink less fuchsia. I have a favorite Epiphora story that is bound to be coming soon.
Strut Your Strap-On, Real Sex episode 25 Deborah Wasser producer. First aired June 17, 2000.
Metis, I’m absolutely loving this insight into history. Thank you for all this. One Tantus toy I have always been curious about was the Slick; it seemed to disappear almost as quickly as it appeared. I was loving the shape and when I finally got around to trying to snag one, I could find them nowhere. Production issues? Lack of interest? Something else?