Rope Podcast

Mistress J, best known internationally for the decorative rope designs she creates, particularly beautiful, wearable rope art has been part of her local scene in Melbourne, Australia, for eleven years. She has been teaching skillshares in her community for nine years, drawing on her background in design and education, and she facilitates a group called ‘The Art of Rope’. Identifying as a Sensualist, she loves touch, and always tries to incorporate it in her scenes. She also enjoys learning, most recently focusing on chaos rope and more strenuous and torturous types of tie, continually expanding her skills. Fox and Mya enjoyed hearing her thoughts about decorative rope and authentic perspective, along with her very thorough approach to whatever she’s doing. Listen to the episode to hear the hosts explore with her: • How she was first introduced to rope bondage • What attracted her to rope even though initially it didn’t make se • How she initially fit in rope around looking after her two kids • What is decorative rope or ‘wearable art’ • How she integrates other crafting techniques into her ropework • Her collection of mannequins (including their names - we love this so hard!) • How a variety types of mannequins help with practicing different ties • Examples of some of her decorative ties • Complimentary skills that support her abilities in rope • How her neurodivergence is an asset in rope • How she enjoys a broad skillset - including other rope practices such as circus rope • Why decorative rope is so appealing to a wide variety of people • Tying her suitcase when travelling • And more… Listen now on all podcast platforms! Ps - Fun crossover: Mistress J talks about devouring the excellent book Shibari you can use by Lee Harrington (@passionandsoul) - who was our last interviewee in episodes 193-4 <3 Listen to those next!

Having lived in a number of condos and had a number of rope spaces, the podcast hosts have a lot of empathy for this question! The episode looks at what hard points are used for, what that means in terms of which hard points might work or not, and how those hard points do - or don’t - work in terms of a suspended ceiling (and why). In this episode, hear more about: • What actually is a suspended ceiling • Why you can’t use it for your hardpoint • Why we might want hard points for our rope • What the hosts *don’t* recommend (but is done a lot) • Some examples of free-standing frames and their pros and cons • Fox’s bespoke chain system attached to the condo walls • Lots of safety and risk discussion, and the need for rope bottoms to educate themselves in this area • And more! PS - Mya can’t remember who asked this Listener Question, so if it was you, let us know! She apologises profusely!

Last year, Fox and Mya learned the gorgeous Marquise harnesses from the one of the creators, @HwG-Paris. Fox was thrilled to learn a ‘French’ tie and the hosts of the podcast have experimented with it a number of times since. Fox has also had great positive feedback from some of the other rope bottoms who he’s tied it on, so this episode shares the harness more widely with listeners! In this episode, hear about: • What these decorative harnesses (chest and butt) look like • A rough idea of how the ties work • Pros/cons of learning a tie online 1:1 versus in-person • Safety pros, cons and cautions of the ties • What the harnesses feel like to wear • The importance of discussing your bottom’s gender identity or preferences in relation to how they want this to be tied on them • Examples of how using this in photoshoots and scenes • When you might/might not want to wear clothes under these harnesses • How the tie works with s3xy times • And more!

This is a new type of episode for the Rope Podcast, where Fox and Mya discuss how you might combine rope with other forms of play! Here they start with a classic pairing, ‘impact play’, which is very common for kinksters to integrate into rope scenes. In this episode they talk about using everything from pevertables to body parts to items made-for-play, as well as: • Why people like this kind of play • What kinds of toys you might use • The benefits of combining rope and impact • The psychological consequences of being tied for impact play • Aesthetics of this kind of scene • Safety concerns and suggestions • Practicalities of how you might combine these two types of play • Toys we especially like to combine with rope and why • Creating impact toys FROM rope! • Important things to know when bottoming for impact in rope • How rope influences the marks made during impact • Some examples from Fox and Mya’s own play • Ideas for positions you might use • And more!

As well as writing the extremely influential “Shibari You Can Use: Japanese Rope Bondage and Erotic Macramé”, Lee Harrington has taught over 1100 classes. Fox and Mya asked him about his experiences as a rope educator, focusing particularly on on classes that explore tying non-cisgender men and women. In this interview, hear them discuss: • How he got into education - reluctantly! • Education and tips on being a better rope educator • His best and worst education moments • How he avoids rope educator burn out • Modelling vulnerability as a teacher • How he keeps his (extensive!) class list fresh for him and his students • Using rope to emphasise (and deemphasise) different parts of the body • How the rope community can do better for transgender people • What makes a good genderqueer tie • Ideas on how to use rope to masculinise and feminise • And more!

You wouldn’t believe the number of times our guests and listeners share that their introduction to Shibari was the book “Shibari You Can Use: Japanese Rope Bondage and Erotic Macramé”. We are thus thrilled to share the first of two episodes with the author, another OG of US rope, Lee Harrington. Lee Harrington (he/they) is a spiritual and erotic authenticity educator, gender explorer, eclectic artist, and award-winning author and editor on erotic and sacred experience. As a rigger, self-binder, and rope bottom he has been teaching ropework and other topics since 2001 across 50 states and 6 other countries. In this super interview with him Fox and Mya discuss: • His jam-packed rope journey • Types of rope fibers he uses (and why) • Pros and cons of established partners versus new partners in rope • The challenges of working in the adult film industry • The impact of surgery, including top surgery, on how you get tied • Useful language to ensure we’re inclusive when tying • Tips on navigating the rope community when you’re new • How the rope community has evolved over time • Thoughts on ‘one-true-wayism’ in rope • How Lee integrates rope with all the many other gifts and interests he brings to the world • And more!

This episode was recorded in July 2024. The second part of our interview with the lovely Kink Name Pending and Petite Pretzel focuses on tying male bodies, as well as bodies with ‘out-y’ bits (which are sometimes the same, sometimes not!). The two rope switches share wise advice (and they, and the podcast, note that some of this will apply to tying genders of all types), including: • Risks you might not have thought of • P3nis predicaments • Handling size differences • Body hair • And plenty more. NB: The alternative title for this episode would be ‘How to wrestle an octopus’ (IYKYK) Pen (KinkNamePending) is a UK-based rope switch who loves the connections that shibari inspires and the wide range of experiences with vulnerability and trust it has brought him. Outside of rope, he is keenly interested in anatomy and physiology and has studied these topics extensively; he brings his perspective and understanding of the human body into rope. He has performed in the UK and abroad. Petite Pretzel is a rope switch from New York City. She has been teaching shibari since 2019 at Anatomie Studio, London, as well as teaching and performing elsewhere in the UK and internationally. Her commercial rigging includes music video credits (Charli XCX, Christine + the Queens), art gallery installation (Elizabeth Xi Bauer gallery), fashion photography and full-length film. She lives in Bethnal Green with her cat, who loves ropes just as much as she does. Tune in to Episode 191 to hear part 1 of the episode.

This episode was recorded in July 2024 Two guests for the price of one! After enjoying very much a performance by rope switches Petite Pretzel and Kink Name Pending in Thailand last year, we invited them on the podcast to talk about their perspectives on rope. In this first part of the interview, hear about how they enjoy inverting some of the normal rope tropes, their love of predicaments, and the positive side of being set up to fail as a rope bottom! Petite Pretzel is a rope switch from New York City. She has been teaching shibari since 2019 at Anatomie Studio, London, as well as teaching and performing elsewhere in the UK and internationally. Her commercial rigging includes music video credits (Charli XCX, Christine + the Queens), art gallery installation (Elizabeth Xi Bauer gallery), fashion photography and full-length film. She lives in Bethnal Green with her cat, who loves ropes just as much as she does. Pen (KinkNamePending) is a UK-based rope switch who loves the connections that shibari inspires and the wide range of experiences with vulnerability and trust it has brought him. Outside of rope, he is keenly interested in anatomy and physiology and has studied these topics extensively; he brings his perspective and understanding of the human body into rope. He has performed in the UK and abroad.

Happy New Year dear listeners! Our second end of year episode where we pull together favorite rope experiences from our guests across the year. We find it super inspiring for our own play, and hope your imagination (and maybe more!) is also stimulated. The episode includes scenes from • Gorgone • Knotty Devil • vahavta • Anna Noctuelle • FoxofBangkok Click to listen now!

Woo hoo! It’s one of our most popular episodes of the year - where our amazing guests from throughout 2024 share the details of one of their favourite rope scenes. In this episode, you can hear about one of the favourite rope bondage scenes of these rope susperstars: • Anna Bones • Knothead • Voudou Ropes • Ceci Ferox • and Mya! As well as providing a diversity of fascinating insights into others’ play, the episode can inspire you to new types of rope and creativity.