If you want the low down on the best sex-positive toys around, Alison Barber is the one to ask. Owner of Taboo, a Richmond-based adult retail chain, and sex blogger for GayRVA.com and InkedAngels.com, you could say she’s been around the block. When she’s not writing toy reviews, she’s orchestrating other fun projects like the infamous “beaver” mural at her Midlothian Turnpike location. For this session, we got a sneak peak behind the scenes of the 2016 Taboo Girls Calendar, a monthly pin-up featuring her store employees as photographed by Joe Carabeo. Snag a copy of your own at TabooRVA.com.
- Name? Alison Barber
- Age? Pick a number between 20 and 37.
- Signature drink? Before 8 AM, black coffee. After five, a cocktail of whiskey and wine. For all the hours in between, Diet Mountain Dew.
- Great book? There are eight dead, alcoholic writers tattooed on my back and I have limitless adoration for their work. If I had to narrow it down, Jack Kerouac's Desolation Angels and Charles Bukowski's Ham on Rye both changed the way I look at literature and at life.
- Perfect vacation? I'm attending a week-long yoga retreat at an ecolodge in Mexico in January. Yoga twice a day, no electricity, surrounded by jungle and beach. Sounds pretty perfect, but I'll let you know for sure next year.
- Dream crush? The only man sexier than Johnny Depp is Captain Jack Sparrow. Lil Wayne is a close third, followed by Oliver Peck (I've put a lot of thought into this).
- Super power? The ability to give my undivided attention simultaneously to two small children and three adult retail stores in parallel universes.
- Personal best? My personal best sex toy is the Njoy Pure Wand. It might be my personal best Taboo Toy Review, it looks the best in my personal toy drawer, and it feels the best in my person.
- Role model? My parents, Neil Patrick Harris and Blanche Devereaux.
- Secret wish? To sprawl across a bunch of naked ladies. I guess it's time for a new wish!
- Love advice? Don't keep your wishes secret.
Make-up and Hair by Jessie Campbell - jcampbellmua.com