Jennifer McPhee
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Aug 17/01) - Katrina Dunn is the co-owner of Yellowknife's only sex shop.
In fact, this discreet-looking little store tucked in behind the Monkey Tree is the only sex shop in the whole NWT.
Dunn said she opened Intimate Secrets six months a go for exactly that reason. "I went shopping and couldn't find exactly what I wanted," she said.
"I figured I couldn't be the only one going to Edmonton for this stuff."
Compared with sex shops in big urban centres, like Edmonton or Vancouver, this store is fairly classy. There are no flashing neon lights or XXX in the window.
It basically looks like a racy lingerie store, with a few sensual creams and oils, until you go into the back room where all the "toys" are.
Even the toys are pretty tame, although there are a few blush-inducing items. Let's just say some of Dunn's battery operated personal massage items are incredibly realistic looking. And she stocks one product guaranteed to widen the eyes of most ordinary folks.
It's the erotic love ewe -- an anatomically correct blow-up sheep.
Yikes! In Yellowknife?
"It's a gag item," explains Dunn. "People buy it for stags and parties."
So, what are some of her other big-sellers?
Dunn says she sells a little bit of everything. When pressed to specify three popular items, she narrows it down to the Kama Sutra massage oil, chocolate body topping and the Arctic Whites kit.
"The Arctic Whites kit is popular because it's Northern," she said.
Indeed, one of the items in this "avalanche of sensual fun" is shaped like a polar bear.
Dunn said her clientele includes both men and women ranging from age 18 to 70. The store is even wheelchair accessible. But the majority of customers are couples in their late 30s to 50s.
Admirably, Dunn won't dish specific details about who shops in the sex shop. "I try to give people the same anonymity they would get in a city," she says. "
"You can go into any number of stores in a big city and not worry about people you know caring about what you buy. We want to give people the same sense of security."
