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venus envy in the news
This page records some the the media attention we've received. See our "about us" pages or contact us if you'd like more information about Venus Envy.
Recent Awards
Venus Envy Ottawa has been voted "Best Adult Store" and "Best Place to buy sex toys" in the "Best of Ottawa" awards given by the Ottawa Xpress every year since we opened (2001-2009). Thanks Ottawa!
Venus Envy Halifax has been voted "Best Place to Buy Sex Toys" in the annual "Best of Halifax" readers' poll conducted by The Coast (Halifax's alternative newsweekly) every year the category has been offered (1998-2009). Thanks again, Halifax!
2010
FebruaryCapital Xtra Hero Awards 2010
Venus Envy's Shelley Taylor wins "Community Activist of the Year"!
2008
May 2008
May 8, 2008It's our tenth anniversary in business this month! There's a nice writeup in the Shop Talk column in The Coast.
May 2008Check out the front-page article in the May 2008 issue of Wayves, in honour of our tenth anniversary in business. (The whole May issue is available here, as a 3MB PDF file).
March 2008There's an article about attending a VE workshop in the March issue of (Cult)u're magazine: "Sexual Awakening: Venus Envy Workshop"
2007
Look, we were busy this year. Didn't keep up with the media page so much.
2006
December 1, 2006Dan Savage recommends us as a source for strapon supplies in "Savage Love" this week.
November 23, 2006Thanks, Ottawa! Once again we are the "Best Sex/Erotica Shop" according to the annual Best of Ottawa survey in the Xpress.
November 2, 2006Venus Envy Halifax has been voted "Best sex-toy Shop" AND "Best place to buy condoms" in the annual "Best of Halifax" readers' poll conducted by The Coast. Thanks again, Halifax!
Here's what they say:
For over eight years, Venus Envy has been answering all those questions you would never dream of asking your mom. "Still, people are just discovering us. They come in and say, 'This is great, how long have you been here?'" laughs manager Maggie Haywood. Focusing on holistically healthy sexuality rather than on the act of getting off, Venus Envy offers more than just a regular sex-toy shop, it's also a bookstore and an educational centre run by a trained staff. After all, says Haywood, "Knowledge is sexy."
October 19, 2006There's a great article on Lynnee Breedlove and his upcoming performance at Venus Envy Ottawa in this week's Xpress.
October 18, 2006We're featured in an Algonquin Times article on hygiene, education, and using sex toys [240KB PNG version].
August 27, 2006
March 20, 2006
March 4, 2006Ottawa Sun reporter Ann Marie McQueen writes about our "Sex over Sixty" workshops with visiting fitness and sex educator Joan Price in "Ageless sex advice".
March 2, 2006Trenz: Ottawa's Modern Living Magazine profiles our Ottawa store in "Sex Toys: Penetrating The Mainstream" in the Winter 2006 issue.
March 2, 2006Shelley Taylor answers questions about premature ejaculation and Kegel exercises in the "My Messy Bedroom" column of the Montral Hour.
Winter 2006The one and only Midori waxes enthusiastic about her visits to our Ottawa and Halifax stores in her "Full Frontal" column in On Our Backs.
January 26, 2006We're quoted quite a bit in "Just say oooooooh!", an article in The Coast about orgasms. Orgasm. Orgasm-ing?.
2005
December 12, 2005Shelley Taylor is interviewed at length about the decision to move Venus Envy Ottawa to its much larger Centertown location in The Ottawa Business Journal "Biz Savvy" article "Expanding your business: Taking a leap of faith."
November 11, 2005Our new Ottawa location has brought Venus Envy into a very diverse social and commercial neighborhood. How diverse? The Centertown News story "Sex and scripture make surprisingly amicable neighbors" discusses our being across the street from the venerable Bible House, and discovers that we all get along just fine.
November 7, 2005Venus Envy Ottawa is much discussed in an Ottawa Business Journal article ("Bad press of rival's demise has little impact on local sex stores.") about the recent failure of a local chain of sex stores.
October 20, 2005We participated in a "Sex Week" organized by the residences at Carleton University. Our workshops and our fun- and education-based approach to sex are profiled in "Handcuffs, dildos and lube, oh my!" in the Carleton newspaper The Charlatan.
Spring-Summer 2005
Venus Envy on Rogers TV (Ottawa)!
You can check out Venus Envy on Rogers Cable once a month: we'll be chatting with Daytime hosts Catherine Marion and Derick Fage about lots of fun topics. Daytime airs Monday to Friday at 11am, 5pm, and 11pm!
March 30 - Writing erotic verse
Whether it's a love poem or an erotic letter for your sweetie, Megan Butcher can help you get there. Megan is a sex educator, poet, and librarian who's been leading erotic writing classes for 3 years.
April 27th - Organic Sex!
The organics movement has taken our kitchens by storm and now it's trickled into the bedroom. Organic massage oils, lubricant and tasty ideas from around the house. Topic includes why you might want to use organic products on your skin as well as in your food.
May 25th - The New Bump and Grind: Dress Up, Show Off and Talk Hot!
Venus Envy's newest workshop helps women show off their sexiest selves. Erotic communication, sensual movement, and dirty dancing are all part of this fun workshop. Shari from Venus Envy will show off pasties and frilly underpants and talk about the philosophy behind the workshop and what women can expect at the workshop.
June 22 - Hot Product for Hot Days!
New stuff from Venus Envy to enjoy throughout the hot summer. Short erotic stories, massage dust (much better than oils in the summer), cooling gels for sensitive areas, travel size lubes and lotions to take on the road.
2004
Um, apparently we were too busy to keep track of our press this year...
2003
March 10, 2003
CBC Radio's "Real Life Chronicles" ran a piece called Intimate Strangers about people whose work brings them intimate knowledge about relative strangers. Shelley Taylor is interviewed and discusses respect and privacy.
February 26, 2003
Shelley Taylor comments on mainstream acceptance of sexuality in a From Here column in the Ottawa Sun entitled "Porn Picking Up Good Vibrations."
February 23, 2003
VE is heavily referenced in a Halifax Daily News article by Jane Kansas about the Vagina Monologues.
February 20, 2003
Quill and Quire Insiders Report ran a story about the store and the ad campaign with a focus on the Herald's refusal to run our ads.
February 13, 2003
Megan, the VE Ottawa store manager, was interviewed on the New RO 6 o'clock news Valentines Special.
We've launched a national advertising campaign with print ads in the Globe & Mail (February 8), Ottawa Citizen (February 6 and 8), Ottawa Xpress (February 6) and The Coast (February 6 and 13).
Come coverage of the Halifax Chronicle Herald's refusal to run any of our ads:
- in the Halifax Daily News "Ad Snub Steams Sex Shop: Chronicle Herald doesn't want Venus Envy's Business" on February 13th.
- CBC Television - Halifax 6pm news story by Jennifer MacDonald. February 13th.
February 11th, 2003
More on the ads in an article in the Ottawa Citizen's Business section: "Sex Ads Arouse Interest: Controversial campaign is store's first effort at targeting mainstream."
February 10, 2003
CBC Radio - Ottawa morning show with John Lacharity presented a discussion with Sara Roncarelli, Managing Partner of Intersection Creative and Strategy (Venus Envy's adverting agency) regarding our controversial ad campaign.
February 6, 2003
Our ad campaign draws prompt interest from Marketing Daily.
2002
We're in "Rev Up Your Sex Life" in the Flare magazine spring/summer 2002 issue.
Shelley Taylor, the founder/owner of Venus Envy, has been named a member of the National Advisory Council of PrideVison TV, the world's first all-GLBT TV station.
Our website was named an "Original" and "Quality" site by Jane's Net Sex Guide. Thanks Jane!
2001
Venus Envy Ottawa was voted "Best Adult Store" and "Best Place to buy sex toys" in the 2001 "Best of Ottawa" awards given by the Ottawa Xpress, and we earned an honourable mention in the "Best Place to buy Latex" category.
Venus Envy Ottawa and Sexy Recycling were featured on Queer TV in July 2001 in a story about Sexy Recycling's business making fetish rubber ware.
MuchEast (MuchMusic's East Coast regional program) ran a special feature in mid-May 2001 with the women of Nashville Pussy shopping for toys at Venus Envy Halifax.
You'll find Venus Envy Ottawa recommended in an Ottawa Citizen shopping feature on single living in April 2001.
Our 3rd anniversary in business (yay!) was announced in the "Shop Talk" column in The Coast at the beginning of May.
The University of King's College student paper The Watch ran an article on our SMBD workshops for their special sex issue in January 2001.
Our new Ottawa store is profiled in the January 2001 issue of Capital Xtra! (Ottawa's queer community paper).
2000
Some venus envy advice about sex for the expecting can be found in the "Pregnancy" issue of Flare magazine, November 2000.
We're featured in another business article, this time on entrepreneurship in the maritime provinces in the Globe and Mail "Financial Report," February 17, 2000.
1999
For some of our sex tips for expectant moms, see the Flare special issue on pregnancy, November 1999.
For a taste of the business side of Venus Envy, see "Good Vibrations: Venus Envy provides a fun, funky, and respectful place for women to buy sex toys and other erotica" in Atlantic Progress September/October 1999.
Look for us in a July 1999 "Savage Love" column in an indie paper near you.
David Swick of the Halifax Chronicle-Herald describes our new location in "More than sex: Venus Envy women's store moves downtown" (May 1999).
Check out the March 1999 issue of Chatelaine Magazine. We were interviewed in a playful and informative article on sex toys.
1998
Shortly after we opened in May of 1998, "Addressing women's needs: Venus Envy offers metro progressive service" appeared in the Halifax Chronicle-Herald (June 11, 1998).
The University of Ottawa's Couple Research Lab is looking for participants for their online study on same-sex couple relationships! This study aims to better understand personal and relationship factors that contribute to well being and distress in same-sex couples.
To be eligible, you must be 18 years old or more, have a good knowledge of English and be in a same-sex couple relationship for at least 12 months. In order to thank you for your participation, you will be entered in a draw for gift certificates to a music store.
Venus Envy is a work in progress. Please let us know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns that can help us improve our web site or our stores.
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