KALAMAZOO, MI – This past weekend I had the pleasure of covering the Kink in Kzoo event presented by the House of Joseph and held at the Fetish Playroom in Kalamazoo Michigan.
Kink in Kzoo is a first time event and is the first two day educational event to be held in West Michigan in the last year. Friday Nights focus was on socialization and a presenter meet and greet. The dungeon space was open for attendees to enjoy as well.
Saturday Featured sixteen classes presented in a block format, Kink in Kzoo provided classes on Fire Play, Rope, Pressure Points, Total Power Exchange, Needle Play, Caning, Anal & Vaginal Hooks, Rough Body Play, Boot Blacking, Playing with a Bratty Masochist, Whips, Identifying as Primal, & Cigar Play all taught by Michigan residents. The doors opened at 8:30 a.m. with the first classes starting at 9 a.m. A full list of presenters and their classes will be provided at the end of this article.
There was quite a bit of diversity in both attendees and presenters at the event. Those who identify as Kink, Leather, Rope Folk, & Fetishists all enjoyed spending time getting to know each other, learning new skills to use in their play & visit the vendors on hand for the event. Vendors included Pantheon of Leather 2014 nominated Rapture Leather, Lady Megans Quills, & Master Link Leather Supplies.
I was able to attend three classes on Saturday and thought all three presenters did a fantastic job. My first class was titled “Primal, Show Your Teeth” and was presented by Life Detroit Treasurer, Cazadora. The class itself was about identifying as Primal, something that has only recently been added as an identifier on the popular SM social network Fetlife. This class was extremely interesting in that I had never heard of Primal before. Cazadora discussed her personal journey and how she came to find herself identify in such a way. If you are interested in finding out more about identifying as Primal, you can find out more at this LINK.
The second class I attended was “Boot Blacking & Leather Care Symposium” presented by Great Lakes Den’s West Michigan branch photographer, Master Link & old man. This class covered the basics as to how to care for your Leather goods as well as touching on what it means to be a Boot Black. Master Link chose to make this a very interactive class allowing those in attendance to ask questions and get right up close as he demonstrated the cleaning and conditioning of a pair of boots. Master Link & old man also touched on some general leather repair such as leather dying. Those in attendance seemed to get a lot from the class & seemed excited to use what they have learned.
The final class I attended was “The Intimacy of Ash, Smoke, & Ember – Cigar Play & Service” presented by the 2014 Michigan Master/slave couple, Sir Travis & niki with special helper Karida. The class took those in attendance through the basics of cigars including flavor, proper lightning technique, & proper storage before getting to the play portion. First touched on was the presentation aspect of cigar play. Then Sir Travis showed everyone how to use the ash, smoke, & heat from a cigar in different ways to entice a different response from the bottom. He also covered humiliation and degradation in cigar play such as using the bottom as a ash try or playing tick tack toe with ash on the bottoms back. In a room full of cigar smokers this class seemed to spark the imagination in the attendees and I am sure many of them were looking forward to trying out these techniques on their own.
After the classes there was a dinner break before the Fetish Playroom opened back up for socialization and play. Boot Blacking was available throughout the evening and seemed to draw a bit of a crowd with some more advanced questions. The multiple playrooms were full of attendees enjoying themselves in a number of different kinds of play. I seen everything from Fire Play to Needles to Floggings to Liquid Nitrogen play. It was obvious everyone was having fun. I was also lucky enough to enjoy some fantastic conversation by the fire pit as the evening progressed.
In this reporters opinion Kink in Kzoo was a success on many levels. The attendance numbers were impressive and the number and variety of classes were that of a major event. I feel like if the organizers wanted they could make Kink in Kzoo a yearly event. The only problem I see them running into is being able to keep the presenters fresh every year. I hope that they are willing to do so as I would love to attend again next year.
Presenters & Class Listing
- Lord Thomas & Angel L’Amoure – “I’m Hooked! – Adding anal and vaginal hooks to your play”
- Natasiya & Edward – “Playing with a Bratty Masochist!”
- Sir Travis & niki – “The Intimacy of Ash, Smoke, & Ember. Cigar Play & Service”
- Rope Raiden & Twisted Phoenix – “Hogtie Heaven”
- Aurora – “Cirque De Kink: Bringing the circus into the bedroom”
- Ms. Kittycat & gandalf – “Fire play 101”
- Rook 42 & Fenn – “Pinching, pressure points, & body control”
- Red Feline & submariner – “Tying a Pretty Package/Rope CBT
- Master Link & old man – “Boot blacking & Leather care symposium”
- Master Elric, Dinaya, & minx – “Adaptive Rough Body Play
- Belle & Fenn – “Torturous Rope”
- Kaldra & Loki – “Let’s get cracking! Whips: basic to advanced”
- Rapture & smiliesub – “Caning: From Sensual to Sadistic”
- Cazadora – “Show Your Teeth: Primal Identity”
- Lady Megan & boi paul – “Getting Naughty with Quills”
- SadisticShadow & Mistress Gita – “TPE”
- Master Soren & Kat – “Decorative Needle Play”
For more information about The Fetish Playroom and their events please visit them at their Official Webpage or via their Fetlife page.
