UK
Meet The Female Founder Reimagining Self Pleasure
Ever taken a wander through the aisles of your friendly local sex toy dispensary and suppressed a shudder? Too often, the products on shelf are cringey with outlandish claims about prowess, clad in "how-am-I-going-to-throw-this-away-discreetly" packaging and come exclusively in a retro palette of purple, magenta or black. The visual side of things isn't a frivolous concern, either. Sex toy aesthetics can play a huge part in our pursuit of pleasure (as we found when designing our first ever toy, Cindy!) - and we're beyond proud to introduce you to a sexual revolutionary positively impacting bedrooms across the world.
Meet Ffion Harman, Founder of Fine Bone. Her handmade, luxurious companions are a favourite with team HANX, as they're both magic orn hers with a silk ribbon as a necklace!). For those not yet in the know, Prudence, her signature Fine Bone toy, is far, far removed from the lurid-hued rubber wangs so beloved by mainstream manufacturers. Designed for internal and external stimulation, it's super smooth to the touch, with delicious ridged details and ethically manufactured in vegan clay for peace of mind. Discreet enough to hide in plain sight, pretty in pink Prudence wouldn't look out of place on the set of a Sofia Coppola movie (Marie Antoinette, anyone?).
We caught up with Ffion for a behind the scenes peek into the world of Fine Bone, and to spill some sexy secrets...
What inspired you to launch Fine Bone?
"Basically, it was a deep delve into my own orgasms… It started out as a pet project to craft my perfect sex toy. But then when I’d designed something I really loved, I wanted other people to try it too. Also, it was 2014 when I designed Prudence, and I remember feeling quite alienated by the sex toys that were out there at the time. It was a whole different world back then. I was hoping to make something a little bit more fun."
Like Cindy, your toy has a highly feminine, seductive name. What was the inspiration behind Prudence?
"I adore the name Cindy by the way! I can’t quite put my finger on why but it feels weirdly empowering to talk about Prudence like she’s in the room with me. She’s my colleague. It was a couple of friends who helped me come up with the name over a beer when I was living in Berlin. Since Prudence is very much about “hiding in plain sight” on your night stand …I liked the idea she was a bit of a prude. Secondly, Prudence is a virtue, it means to make wise decisions. And the song of course… “Dear Prudence, why don’t you come out to play?” – it’s always good to have a flirty theme tune, right?"
We think Prudence’s sensual, sculptural shape could be at home in an art gallery, or museum. Why did you deliberately move away from the classic phallic shape more commonly found with internal toys?
"Why thank you. Don’t get me wrong I think penises are great but not everything that enters the vagina has to be phallic for sure. It’s been nice to change it up and create a shape that compliments the medium; Prudence is a solid glazed ceramic pleasure tool with a handle. With the shape, it really was a trial-and-error design process of feeling out what felt nice. There were so many iterations before Prudence and none of them looked like a penis."
We know that lots of our community name their toys - what do you think that says about the intimacy of our relationships with our toys, beyond pure physical pleasure alone?
"Oh Wow! Yeah let’s unpack that; Toys enhance physical connection, so I guess it follows suit to give them a nickname. It’s almost like an inside joke with yourself, or a secret language. I’m all for it!"
What’s your ultimate go-to self-seduction soundtrack?
"Minnie Riperton, Gloria Ann Taylor and Donna Summer (all the ext. versions). Big sensual sounds!"
So many people with vulvas experience shame around self-pleasure. What’s one practice/mantra we can all put into practice to tackle this?
"If you reframe self-pleasure as working on yourself and your pleasure potential, then it becomes a priority rather than a guilty pleasure. Also, it’s certainly not about “banging one out” – I believe in slow pleasure as a way to connect with yourself. Taking the time to feel back in your own skin is important."
Quickie Fire Round:
-
Audio erotica OR visual erotica/pornography?
Visual (but I totally get turned on by the sound of feminine deep breathing – especially in yoga vids)
-
Solo play OR mutual masturbation?
Eek: Solo
-
Talking dirty OR strictly moans?
Dirrrrrty
-
Temperature play: cold OR hot?
Hott <3
Want more?
