Good Vibrations Magazine

by Simone Wright

An Online Interview with
Judith Glover, founder of Goldfrau Ceramic Dildos

I will be the first to admit.

When I first caught wind that Good Vibrations was carrying ceramic dildos, I thought of my grandmother’s china. But my second thought was—I want to know more about this intriguing material—ceramic sex toys? Okay! Time to investigate!

People may draw similar conclusions when they first see glass dildos in Good Vibrations stores; I’ve seen some responses, like uh-no—glass is not going anywhere near my nether-regions. However, you gotta trust Good Vibrations: do you really think we would carry something that’s going to shatter inside of you? Um, NO.WAY.EVER.

So, Goldfrau’s ceramic dildos are of the same hard variety as glass, and aesthetically designed and manufactured to bring much pleasure, joy, and sexiness to your bedroom, kitchen, hotel room, beach resort, FOREVER. (Or almost forever.) That is, ceramic dildos are developed to last a long, long time, and therefore are better for the environment and in the end, your wallet.

Dildos have been around for ages, in fact, since the Stone Ages, literally—so it’s no coincidence that Australian industrial designer extraordinaire, Judith Glover, continues to successfully wow! us with thoughtfully designed ceramic dildos. It was my pleasure to interview Judith, founder and owner of Goldfrau Ceramic Dildos.

SIMONE: As an industrial design expert and university lecturer in the field, how did you get into designing sex toys?

JUDITH: It’s actually the reason I went and studied Industrial Design in the first place. A decade ago I used to work in another design/craft area, but I noticed that the sex toy industry was quite under-developed—especially at the luxury end. I thought there were a lot of possibilities for new types of products, so I went off to industrial design school and learned product design with the view to eventually do something in this area. It’s been rather a long journey, but I feel it’s important that women start designing the products as well as running the retail and distribution side.

S: I was delighted to read Goldfrau’s products are designed by women for women—a rarity in the adult sex industry. Has this void encouraged Goldfrau’s designs and decision-making? If so, how?

J: This void or lack of females contributing to designing was the original impetus for going into this industry. I don’t want too come over like a rabid feminist but…most of the products in this industry are for women but have not been designed by women—they are men’s ideas of what women want; which is why for so long your typical vibrator or dildo was a fake dick and balls. That’s not to say some women don’t want to consume those products, but there needs to be a greater choice for women—which is starting to happen in the area of vibrators. That’s also not to say that men can’t design good sex toys but I still see time after time very famous male designers putting products out there that look good but to me have very obvious problems with ergonomics or functionality or quality. Part of this is probably that these designers are ‘guns for hire’ so-to-speak; so they only spend the time on the product that they get paid for and then they move onto the next product…glassware or a watch etc. That is their job: they put their famous names to a company’s product.

I believe in specialization. I want to build up a lot of knowledge in a particular area—sex toys—not know a little about a lot of areas. It’s a different way of designing. I believe in designing better products that will last longer and take a holistic approach to juggling aesthetics, materials, ergonomics, functionality, durability, longevity and sustainability. The product looks very simple (and actually it’s quite hard to make) but a lot of thought has been put into all those about areas, and when I thought I had it right I released it on the market. I am quite happy to not produce many types of products but the ones I do I want them to be very well considered and stay in people’s lives for along time.

S: Okay, so let’s talk shop. Goldfrau specializes in designing beautiful and luxurious ceramic dildos. Please teach us: why ceramic?

J: There are a couple of key reasons why ceramic is such a great material for dildos. Aesthetically ceramic is such a sexy material with great graphic possibilities. Ceramic is also a very durable material and when manufactured correctly very, very strong. The biggest hurdle in trying to get women to use this product is they think of very fine bone china and if you drop it—it’s so fragile. Well, china can be that fine because it is so strong, but my products are much thicker than china. Ceramic is an amazing material: car engines are made out of ceramic, knives, and they don’t put it on the outside of space shuttles for looks. I really made this product for myself, or women who were similar in attitude to me I suppose. So I use my own products all the time and so do a vast majority of my female friends and their friends. I am not going to put anything out there that I wouldn’t use myself and the last thing I want to do is compromise the health of any of my friends. So, manufactured in the correct manner, ceramic is a very durable and safe material for dildos.

S: Why is ceramic an excellent material for dildos? What makes it feel good?

J: There are soft and hard dildos and Goldfrau is of the hard variety. Hard, yet smooth; you shouldn’t need any lube if you are excited and pre-menopausal. Ceramic has great low viscosity (i.e. a lack of friction); this is the difference between ceramic and glass. And, of course silicone is a soft, but rougher material. It really depends what you like. The other great advantage with ceramic is the hygienic nature of it and the ease of cleaning.

S: Wait, how much does the Goldfrau weigh? Because G-spots may fall in love with the Goldfrau!!

J: The Goldfrau weighs around 200-300 grams; it’s a good weight for not feeling too heavy or too light. Not just inside you but when you hold it as well. Weight of a product is one of those subliminal things we measure when we pick something up: too heavy and we don’t like to hold it or too light and it doesn’t feel it has quality or safety even though it might. People ask why it is straight and not bent because there are other dildos out there of the hard variety that are bent quite considerably and that would be to get a deeper penetration. What I wanted was a product you could use for quite vigorous fucking—particularly person on person not just with yourself—so you didn’t have to worry about it spinning around inside you and the bend going contrary to the shape of the vagina/ uterus. What I found was that by being straight when inserted it actually rubs on the g-spot area and gives what I thought was a different type of orgasm to one that penetrates deeper. I think it’s a more intense orgasm, but you will have to try yourself. Again its personal preference, but these are specifically designed for not just fucking yourself but somebody else.

S: Now, more than ever, businesses are considering our environment before profit margins, how does Goldfrau put the Earth first?

J: This is becoming an extremely complex area for designers and business, and this is what I specialize in teaching at university and a lot of the times there are no black and white answers, sometimes many different solutions. The important thing as a designer is to consider environmental issues right from the beginning as you start concept work—not try and tack it on at the end—that doesn’t work. Obviously there are always going to be trade offs between materials and processes and you will never make a product that has no impact on the environment, but you have to try and minimize what those impacts are and think as a designer across the whole lifecycle- particularly what happens to these products at the end of their useful life. I saw recently that the makers of the Rabbit vibrators have complied with the European Union’s (EU) new environmental standards on electronic products. It’s great that the industry is starting to take notice of the environmental damage caused by our products, but it was really the legislation that has forced this because you can’t trade in the EU without this. What that legislation won’t solve is how products are disposed of in countries like the United States and Australia under our federal governments, until similar legislation is introduced. One of the biggest criticisms of this industry I have had is that the majority of products have been made quite poorly causing very short life spans.

Think about it girls: if you spend $200 on a kitchen appliance that was ugly, noisy and broke down after 6 months wouldn’t you be a bit cranky? But vibrator consumers have quietly accepted this for years because of the lack of alternatives. And the industry has been quite happy to keep going along because it sells more products, other parts of the industry are happy to keep this taboo because the normal glare of consumers is not on them. Who complains publicly about the crappy standard of vibrators? Start comparing what you pay for your sex toys and what you pay for your other consumer electronics such as kitchen appliances, tools and phones and see if you think the standards are the same for the price. Other designers and companies have started to see this too and are wanting to provide the type of industrial design standards that apply to other product areas and improve the quality and bring it out of the underground/taboo area its been sitting in.

Good Vibes has been one company that is trying to promote the next generation of product with higher standards. I am quietly confident that we are at the start of an evolution in the sex toy industry and you either improve the quality of your product aesthetically, functionally and materially or you will eventually lose your market share.

To answer your original question about what Goldfrau does or doesn’t do: I design with the whole life cycle in mind and consider my materials and processes very carefully. But designing the dildos will have a much different strategy to designing a vibrator because if you choose the right the materials a dildo can last a lifetime so you can really go for durable high quality materials and know they will be in use for many years where as the moving parts in a vibrator are going to break down within a number of years; so you need to be thinking about its end of life phase and how you deal with the materials as well as now complying with things like the EU’s electronics legislation. My personal design philosophy is to simplify—that seems to suit both my aesthetic and environmental philosophies.

S: Goldfrau’s products are 1. so easy to keep clean and 2. have their own leather storage pouch. Is that part of your design aesthetic as well?

J: The pouch is not an add-on or after thought but an integral part of the product. I’ve seen lots of expensive products ruined by tacky velour or polyester bags. The idea is it is the packaging and it keeps the product safe when traveling or not in use. I try and use as minimal other packaging as possible—just a plain cardboard box to get it to the consumer—no other bells or whistles. I have been questioned on my use of leather, and rightly so; it can be a very toxic industry. I have prototyped with other textiles like cotton or hemp or wool and they all have issues at some points in their lifecycles. Textiles are a very problematic area, so I went for the material that would potentially last as long as the dildo; which was leather. The advantage aesthetically is that leather is such a tactile material; it really can be sumptuous.

S: Of course, we are all wondering, Judith—what is sexy design?

J: Good question and it’s subjective really—but you have to ask yourself why do most perfume bottles exude a degree of sensual and sexiness in their forms, textures and materials that most sex toys rarely get close to? And this is where the industry is changing I think. Designers, whether male or female, are realizing women want erotic not pornographic; they want sexy and sensual not sleaze. Western women are becoming increasingly design literate and for a certain demographic they surround themselves with beautiful looking objects: clothes, accessories, shoes, cars, furniture, etc. So why can’t women get it in the sex toys they want to consume?

S: Finally, what clever ceramic innovations can we expect from Goldfrau in the near future?

J: Yes, I’ve got other products on the drawing board but I don’t think they will all be in ceramic. As wonderful a material it is, it won’t be suitable for a lot of products. As far as being anal-safe dildos, it’s a matter of finding reputable stats on the strength of the anus muscles, and comparing them with my engineering tests. So if anybody knows of any research, let me know! I would love to manufacture some vibrators and have some stuff in various stages but at the moment I’m spending more time working with graphic artists on the surface of the dildos, so if you don’t fancy the range so far—new stuff will be coming out all the time. I’ve got an idea for a product I call Miss Martha for domestic goddesses as opposed to desperate hausfraus; I think American ladies could relate to that.

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Birthday girl Simone loves her new electric water kettle, but wants to know if she can exchange it for a Goldfrau?