Kristy Van Thiel of Spindoll Manufacturing and Sales

A preacher’s daughter born in Kentucky, Kristy met Rick when she applied for a job to become his secretary. Now they are married and running Spindoll Manufacturing and Sales together. Post-it notes reading “I love you” stick to the computer, and snapshots of them together dot the work area.

I don’t really get the swinging thing. Rick is a swinger and it’s something I need to respect, but it’s not something that’s for me. I feel that if you find someone—one person—if you click emotionally, sexually, and have a good friendship, then that should be enough. Now Rick, he talks about variety, but he’s patient with me on this.

And then these machines, I’m not into them. I like the real thing: squeezing, hugging, cuddling, just holding each other. It was hard enough for me to get comfortable selling someone a dildo, but after a while it’s just like everything else.

NEWS:

We are currently preparing for the exhibition "Sex Machines: Photographs and Interviews by Timothy Archibald" which will open at The Museum of Sex in New York City on November 10th. The exhibit is coming together wonderfully. A number of the inventors plan to be in attendance as well as legendary photography critic A.D. Coleman who graciously wrote the insightfull afterword to the book. Here is what the MOS has to say:

On view November 3, 2005
Sex Machines: Photographs and Interviews by Timothy Archibald explores a vibrant American subculture where sexual adventure, technological ingenuity, and heartfelt personal visions intersect. Through his documentary images and original interviews, San Francisco photographer Timothy Archibald unearths the world of contemporary sex machine enthusiasts. Provocative and full of surprises, this exhibition features twenty-one of Archibald’s photographs, selections from his interviews, and an array of extraordinary devices.