IF SEX WAS SO GOOD,
WHY WERE ALL SEX SHOPS SO BAD?
Passionfruit founder, Michelle Temminghoff, questioned why a foray into a sex shop or a desire to more openly explore sexuality made her feel so downright devious. If sex was so good, why were sex shops so bad? After all, sex is the most universal of acts, and most importantly an expression of love. After years of contemplation and lively discussion on the nature of sex and society, Passionfruit The Sensuality Shop finally opened its doors in June of 1998. Passionfruit's journey to bringing sensuality and sexual exploration into the modern era had begun.
"When we feel positive about our sexuality, we can contribute to a more nourishing society."
Although we might feel confident about sexuality within ourselves, our outward expression of it has become distorted. Religion, modern culture and censorship have all played a part in this distortion. Christianity taught us to separate body from soul, to deprive our bodies of pleasure. Abstinence was pure and sex considered a tool for reproduction only. When we're taught to divorce sex from emotion and soul, we separate it from love also. The result is a corrupted expression of our natural sexual self.
Our Products
Passionfruit's premium selection includes lingerie and hosiery for the boudoir, catering to all shapes from the most petite to the most voluptuous. Luxury labels include Hopeless Lingerie, Bordelle, Studio Pia, Edge o' Beyond, La Fille d'O, Fraulein Kink, Only Hearts and Loveday London.
Our BDSM accessories include the finest silk and velvet blindfolds as well as the most decadent leather paddles and floggers. Passionfruit’s lubricants, oils, body chocolates and powders are of the most divine certified quality because we aim to treat our customers to the very best.
We stock a carefully selected range of adult toys including Lelo, Fun Factory, Iroha, JeJoue, Doxy, We-Vibe, NJoy, Tenga and Tantus. Our products are chosen to help all of us connect, bond and elevate our lives and relationships.
At Passionfruit, we work within our community. We support and work with sexual health services, health professionals and related community groups around Melbourne. Your health, well being and and the quality of your relationships with yourself and others are our priority. We can provide you with the right information, whether it is regarding sexuality, health, workshops or services.
History
One day when one of my most outrageous friends lamented about having to go into "one of THOSE shops" to get herself a new vibrator, I thought, "Well if she can't go into one, what hope have the rest of us girls got"?
I began talking to more and more women and found an overwhelming interest in sexual and sensual products but an underwhelming response to the shops that sold them. What an odd society we must be, I thought, if we can use sex to sell everything from cars to ice-creams, but when it comes to selling sex itself, we put up black windows, flash neon lights and get relegated to the Industrial Zone!
I was getting depressed and thinking of moving to Brazil. But the more I thought about it, the more my anger and passion rose. I felt it was about time we all - men, women, trans, queer, gay, straight, young, old, abled, disabled - ALL OF US - celebrated our sensual and sexual selves in a more succulent, wild, passionate and natural way.