By Alleah Boisvert
With Valentine’s Day coming up after an extra lonely year, many people are itching for a bit of fun, whether it’s self-pleasure or pleasure with a partner.
Edmonton’s adult toy boutique, The Traveling Tickle Trunk, is known for their high-quality products, inclusivity, and sex-positive atmosphere.
Brenda Kerber, the owner of The Traveling Tickle Trunk has a background in sexual health education. Kerber and the staff at The Traveling Tickle Trunk know that shopping for sex toys can be nerve-wracking and do their best to help their customers feel safe and comfortable.
“We don’t have a lot of imagery all over the store. We try to as much as possible get rid of pictures of people because we don’t want people thinking ‘that’s what a sexual person [or a] sexy person looks like’. We want them to see themselves,” said Kerber.
Unlike some other adult toy stores, The Traveling Tickle Trunk doesn’t hide their toys but rather displays them out in the open for shoppers to really see what the toy looks like and what it might do.
“Look at that toy, think about that toy, think about what you want to do and what’s interesting to you […]. Don’t look at what’s on the package, don’t look at what they tell you to do with it, think about what does that make me feel? Is it intriguing to me, do I like the look of it, is that something I want to explore,” said Kerber.
When it comes to customers looking to buy sexy gifts for their partners, Kerber suggests shopping together or buying a gift card to the store.
“Unless you’ve talked about it beforehand, sometimes surprising someone with something you haven’t talked about before doesn’t go well and we don’t want people to have that experience. We want them to have a lot of fun and have a nice bonding experience over it, so you should have a really good sense of what your partner wants. Or, if you happen to have a partner that’s pretty much up for anything, then go for it,” said Kerber.
Traveling Tickle Trunk has been working with other local businesses to offer shoppers an extra special gift when they shop at the boutique. A local chocolate company, Jacek Chocolates, are donating The Traveling Tickle Trunk’s shoppers strawberry heart truffles when they shop there on Valentine’s Day.
“It gave us a nice opportunity to partner with a local chocolate company, so they’re preparing these wonderful little chocolates for us,” said Kerber.
Kerber is also spreading local business awareness on the social media pages by letting followers know what other small businesses are offering some love on Valentine’s day.
“On our Facebook every day we are letting people know about local places they can get delivered or picked up for a special Valentine’s dinner […]. We’re trying to boost local businesses and let people know who is doing some cool stuff with that,” said Kerber.
The Traveling Tickle Trunk is offering 10% off to anyone shopping through their online store from now until Valentine’s Day. They are also having a giveaway on Valentine’s Day that includes a popular We-Vibe toy, some massage oil, and lube.
Their website is a great resource for anyone searching for information on sexual health.
Shoppers can keep up with all the boutique’s specials by visiting their Facebook page or Instagram @travtickletrunk.
