BoundCon VI
Through the eyes of Bob of RopeMarks
This BoundCon RopeMarks got invited to be present with two main stage shows, three custom photo shoots, our own booth and to be available for last minute activities decided on by the organization. We gladly accepted the invitation for the 5th time in a row.
A trap we fall for every time is that we like to prepare ourselves for BoundCon. There is actually not that much to prepare for. When we are at BoundCon we simply do what we do all the time with RopeMarks, Bondage heavily influenced by the Japanese style.
However, one thing we always prepare for are our shows. We make it a rule to have at least one new show at BoundCon every year. BoundCon is one of the very few events that offer bondage performers a large main stage, their own music, light setup and most important an audience that is truly into bondage. Those are some very impressive characteristics of being allowed to do a show on BoundCon.
The day before the event we traveled, by car, from Amsterdam to Munich. All together this is a trip close to a nine hour drive. When we arrived in Munich we checked in to the hotel and continued to the event location (Zenith, Die Kulturhalle) to build our booth. Once we got there we know why we do this, we get to meet the people we call friends again. Even though we are unable to meet them often because of the long distance we live apart BoundCon is one of the very few places where all these people flock together and share their love for bondage, be it leather, metal, medical, rubber, rope or something uniquely their own.
We always try to have at least one new thing in our booth. Something to look at, something to talk about or something to buy. This year we had something of all.
In the look-at department: Every year we have a handful of large, framed, photo’s taken by the creme-de-la-creme of Dutch and international, fetish, photographers. This year we had photo’s from the hand of Lex Hulscher, an established name in the Dutch fetish scene that can work wonders with a wide angled lens. Borosso, a famous glamour photographer that is using an alias to take his first steps with bondage photography, amazing work. Then we had the work of Jacco Breedveld a new and very promising Dutch photographer with a true love for fetish and it is showing in his work. Last but definitely not least, Frits Kraefft an amateur photographer gone professional. This man works wonders with settings scenes with light.
In the talk-about department: This year we had a digital photo frame with a whole lot of photo’s rotating every few seconds. The special thing about the photo’s in this frame is that they cover a whole lot of years of our (almost) eleven years of RopeMarks existence. Unintentionally this proved to be a gadget that got people talking.
In the buy department: For this year BoundCon got the premiere of the launch of our new DVD, RopeMarks Art Series 1. As the name implies this is the first DVD of a series. Each DVD will contain a collection of Japanese bondage (aka shibari or kinbaku) scenes and each scene shows you in close-up detail the complete build up from the unbound beautiful and willing model to a tightly bound bundle of arousing female. The Art Series 1 DVD contains four sessions. Two sessions with the Dutch bondage diva, Chantal, herself. Two sessions with guest model Miss Mirjana. Chantal has to go through a Taware shibari variation and a Utsubuse zuri. Miss Mirjana is displayed in a tribute bondage to the late great nawashi Akechi Denki and put through an exercise in Kuzushi nawa.
Day 1:
The first day, Friday, immediately started busy for us. The first custom photo shoot after the opening of the fair was for me. I was matched with two lovely models from the porn business that never experienced bondage before, bondage virgins so to speak, Claudia Bluebell and Mia Dee (aka Bambi) from Hungary (HU). Having two porn models at your disposal to tie and restrain is, well a guarantee for a hot session.
After the custom photo shoot we took a stroll around the fair see what the booths of everybody looked like, see the interesting things for sale and for some chit-chat with friends and acquaintances. At the booth of the Sgt.Major after some chit-chat we got a very nice surprise, he brought us a small gift from his last trip to Japan, a tenugui. This is a thin Japanese cotton hand towel. The “polka-dot” design is used often in combination with Japanese bondage.
Some relaxing is good, but it was time for the first bondage demonstration in our own booth. Something “easy” yet aesthetically pleasing. We decided upon a tawara shibari. We got a good audience watching our demo; the icing of the cake of the tawara shibari was the sarge’s tenugui. I used that as a gag for Chantal. Chantal’s legs were not bound from the knee down, so I took her for a stroll around the fair, back to the Sarge’s booth to see the good use of his gift.
The next big thing on the first day was our main stage show. We performed our new show, “Ballerina”. This show features a one-ankle upside down suspension and some BDSM-erotic groundwork. With every show things are not always going as planned, small things, things that go unnoticed by the audience and don’t really have an impact on the show, this show however everything went as smooth as possible. Timed just right with the music, Chantal’s guided dancing in rope (Ballerina) went smooth. Her one ankle upside down suspension (which is hard as hell to do) went perfect and our groundwork was tough (for Chantal) but very erotic. Or, in the words of visitor “Am besten fand ich die dynamische Show von RopeMarks: flotte Musik, super Darsteller, freizügig, abenteuerliche Fesselung und Bewegungen, Kerzenwachs. Wirklich heiße Vorstellung!”.
Our night ended pleasantly in the hotel bar with some friends and (long-time) visitors of the fair.
Day 2:
The second day started with a custom photo shoot for me. This time lucky me got to have fun with Sabrina Fox and Katarina Blade. With Katarina I have prior experience and she’s a sweetheart to toy around with. Sabrina Fox we have known for some time but I never had the pleasure to play with her. Luckily Sabrina and Katarina are also good friends so this match turned out to be hot and fun.
After the custom photo shoot we decided it could be fun to interview a few people from the fair, make some sort of a “behind the scenes documentary” of BoundCon. It is not meant to be taken too serious, but it is fun to watch, we think :). Should be online in our blog by the time you read this. Please see the links section at the bottom for the address.
At the booth of fellow country man Bert Wibo (DDI/Massad) we learned that there was going to be an unscheduled custom photo shoot at the end of the day with Eden Wells and Jewell Marceau. Apparently the rigger was already decided upon… I prefer to be asked first, but then again working with Eden and Jewel is an opportunity you do not want to skip. This shoot turned out the be a real challenge for me, they both moved like eels, dancing, teasing, playing. A lot of fun to watch but a horror to apply some good looking bondage. All worked out nicely but these girls got me sweating…
Our booth saw some action to today; Chantal and I did a bamboo session. A bamboo session is never fun, actually it is always fun but using bamboo is tough on Chantal and yet she always manages to make it look so easy! Trust me if I say she still wears the bruises of this session. I prepared a bamboo frame to put extra stress on her arms bound behind her back and to make her boobs come forward even more. Then I used another piece of bamboo as a gag and to top things of some nipple clamps (hey, her boobs were challenging me :). Bound and restricted I took her for a stroll on the fair (I like to show her of a lot :), but the contraption she was bound to was not really safe to use in a crowded environment like this, so we kept the stroll short but oh so sweet.
Also, at the booth we finally got the opportunity to do a short session with Mina. This session was already decided upon three years ago, if not longer and now it finally happened. All kudos to Mina for showing up in our booth and “threatening” to leave Munich if we did not do a session _now_ 🙂 We have a serious shoot planned; let’s hope that does not take another three years!
Day 3:
Third and last day of the “con”, as with the other days my day started with a custom photo shoot. This time it was my pleasure to toy around with Yvette Costeau and Lillian Caine. Being the third day everybody was already a bit tired after two longs days, so this shoot started a little slow, finding the limits of the moment. Once the first ropes were going and the limits were found the shoot went smooth all the way.
We still had some interviews to finish for our “behind the scenes documentary”, after that it was time for some old-fashioned torturing of Chantal in our booth. This session started with a tawara variation bondage, a tight collar and a panel-ball-gag. As I was building this position I imagined this could also be interesting position upside down, so I did. Now honestly, a pretty, willing girl, tightly bound, collared and gagged hanging upside down for your pleasure and making soft moaning noises, that’s hot, and I mean *hot*. Since hanging upside down this is not a situation meant to be endured for a long time I got her down, on the floor and continued my session with an extremely strict hogtie. Having absolutely no way to go it was time for a good bare hand spanking to produce a few nice gagged and muffled moans of pleasure. Uhm, the cries of pleasure could be mine and those of pain Chantal’s… But I’m not sure anymore 🙂
Our last booked action of the day the second main stage show. We performed our “Fallen Angel” show. Here Chantal plays an angel and I play a (tengu) demon. This show starts with a few minutes self suspension with a twist by Chantal after which the demon takes over to use the angel as his toy for personal pleasure, again with a twist. This show stripped us of our last bit of energy and the remaining time we spend chatting with visitors, friends and acquaintances.
That was our BoundCon. It was another great experience to be between like-minded people and good friends from all over the world. We hope you got a glimpse of the experience that is BoundCon and hopefully it encouraged you to visit BoundCon, again, next year!
Bob
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You have been missed Stefano! 🙁 I will come back on those beers! 🙂
massa!! sorry I couldn’t make it to Boundcon this year! I’m sure we’ll catch up for some good time (and a few good beers) again soon!
Thanx! We have the same in the Netherlands 🙂
Hi Bob,
Bedankt voor het verslag.
In Antwerpen zeggen ze dan ‘Goe bezig’ 😉
Groeten,
André