Our New Blog Has Launched ::::: BOUND

Welcome to BOUND, the new DungeonBeds blog. We've thought about starting this blog for many years, but just haven't had the time required to manage something like this, due to time constraints. But with the many questions we get, tips we've shared, and the repetitive nature of it, it's time to start sharing. We hope this blog will be informative, helpful and useful to those who read it and/or decide to follow it. 

We welcome feedback, or ideas for new topics or content, so please don't be shy. Look for improvements and new product enhancements to be announced here as well. Heck, we might even throw in a special writing guest or sexpert from time to time.

So without further ado, what better way to get things started, than to start from the beginning with how this business came to be. I mean, who doesn't like a good origin-story?

-------------

Our Origins
There's a unique origin story behind DungeonBeds. As I never set out with the goal of starting an adult/kink business. It's a story of fate and following one's undiscovered passion, which up to this point I've shared with only a select few. 

It began with the idea of a brick & mortar store named The Barking Frog, a small home furnishings store in San Francisco's Castro District from 2000-2005. As one of our primary product lines, we produced custom steel bed frames with unique carved wood panels imported from Indonesia. We quickly became known for them, primarily due to their custom designs, strength and durability - like nothing you could find anywhere else. But one day, about a year after the Barking Frog first opened, a customer/friend walked into the store and asked for a custom-made bed. Only this time it started with, "I love the wood, BUT, I'd like it to be all metal." I said, “sure, let me grab a pencil and paper,” and so it began.

A design session at the sales counter ensued, as I mapped out the appearance of the headboard and footboard to his liking. He requested bars running vertically down the headboard but wanted a very masculine feel to it. So  I suggested a material I had seen before that looked like rope, thematically tying it to the "more masculine" bed we were designing. I said let me quickly call my source for that material, and we drew it into the design. Then, as green as I was at the time, he asked for what he called “tie-off restraint points” in the oddest of places, and began to explain what they were used for. I was oddly intrigued, offering no judgement from my obvious naiveté AND the dumbfounded look on my face - and said, sure, we can do that. We discussed a fair price, and an order was placed on the spot.

Fast forward weeks later and his custom bed had arrived. Unfortunately, or fortunately as I see it now, he was unable to accept delivery of the bed until a small home remodel was ready for it. This wasn’t going into a dungeon or a basement playroom, he noted. I want this to be the showpiece of my bedroom, so everyone can see it when they walked in. A sense of pride came over me at that moment, and I assured him the bed would be ready whenever he was ready to have it delivered. But we were suddenly faced with a stockroom issue, given we didn’t have much room in the back to store a large bed frame. So we moved some things around on the showroom floor, left it wrapped, and went about our day. But all day long, it bothered me that the bed was sitting there in the back of the store all wrapped up. And it came to me that we hadn’t unwrapped and inspected the pieces, and what kind of retailers would we be if we didn’t inspect the item before delivering it.

So the unwrapping began and our jaws dropped at the resulting piece that we had created. The “rope” bed as we called it at the time, was simply stunning - it had an artisan rusted patina, hand applied. As we unwrapped it, we concurrently determined where we could make room for it in the shop. We needed to set it up, make sure the alignment was okay, and for posterity’s sake, have a photograph of this “original.” We’d never had a bed like this in the store before, and I thought to myself for a moment, do I really want to keep this set up in the store? It's not in keeping with our store theme. What about all the questions that will come up about the tie-off rings? But I suddenly realized, what does it matter? If someone likes it, they like it. If they don’t, they don’t. So we decided to dress it up like a bed you’d find in any room of your home, and left it on the floor for everyone to see and wonder. Without a doubt, it drew immediate attention. And the next day, we sold another. And two days after that, we sold another. Then more, but with additional modifications. It quickly became clear that we were on to something with this all-steel line of bondage beds.

Over time, as I had done with the original design, I listened, learned, and most importantly, never judged. As a result, people felt comfortable, confident and able to share their intimate desires with me, and what they wanted us to make for them. That of course helped to shape and morph the product line to what we have today. Designs evolved, new ideas sparked, customizations were requested, and new drawings were developed for our eager customers’ indulgences. We pushed the concept further by tailoring the message - that this bed could live in your home without any concern or questions arising about its intended purpose. Design and look became a natural progression of the product line, focusing on quality and timelessness, because what we were making would arguably last a lifetime.

Having been a marketing and research professional for most of my corporate career, I developed a name for this new line of furniture to make it unique, while describing itself clearly to its intended customer base, and a web domain that would support future growth.

So-long eye hooks in the ceiling, you’ve been replaced by something far more stylish, safe and fun, DungeonBeds was born.

There’s of course more to the story, as the business has evolved considerably over the years thanks to careful attention to listening to customers who share feedback. But its basic premise remains intact: dungeon furniture that offers distinctive design, high quality, lifetime durability and fun... prominently displayed in your home. That last part was key, and is fundamental to everything we create. It has to be able to function and perform for what it's meant to offer, but also needs to look good in the room - not hidden away in a basement or secret room (unless you want it that way).