Sex dolls are making headlines everywhere in the world. And the increasing interest in the always-willing, silicone/TPE companions was on full display on this year’s VENUS Berlin. Visitors were especially interested in booths showcasing their newest sex dolls, some of them surprisingly lifelike. The increase in exhibitors from the sex doll industry was clearly visible. Today’s episode of the ongoing series of interviews and portraits from this year’s fair is about New Sign, a sex doll manufacturer from New Zealand with offices in Japan.
Press and public alike were drawn to the booths of sex doll manufacturers and dealers specialized in the field. Prices range from 500 to 8000 Euro and the quality of a sex doll, the level of detail and liveliness still heavily depends on the sum you want to invest.
One of the people who consider their work as a form of art was standing at the booth of New Sign Indollgence, a new sex doll manufacturer from New Zealand with offices in Japan. He showed us around, talked about his favorite dolls, his ideas about the market, the ongoing fight between TPE and silicone, New Sign’s plans on robotics and why faces make all the difference.
Indollgence aus Neuseeland auf der Venus Messe in BerlinVENUS: Could you tell me a little bit about your company, who you are and what you are manufacturing?
All dolls still have the problem that they are too heavy. We research and develop a new type of doll. Nearly all sex dolls are made from TPE but we are putting out newer lighter ones made out of silicon. People will be able to effortlessly lift them, they are really easy to use. The next generation will be much lighter. That’s the key to the future.
We are based in New Zealand, Auckland, but our factory is in China. We have ten employees.
VENUS: How long are you on the market?
We are brand new. The company was founded one year ago. Before that, we did product development for other companies.
VENUS: What is your own background? I noticed you are designing the dolls yourself.
I’m a mechanical engineer. And yes I’m the key designer in the company. We just think we can make sex dolls better than other manufacturers. Have you seen these?
VENUS: Yes, I noticed that one. It’s showing your face, right?
Yes, and these ones here, there you can compare. This is made the old way. Very heavy. And these are made from the new material. They are much lighter. It is nice to interact with them. We are the only ones in the world that can do that.
VENUS: You mention that you are a new company but already you are going to expand internationally.
Yes, because our company already had experience selling internationally before. Just different products. So we already knew the rules for international trading and how to promote products, how to establish a brand.
VENUS: Why did you choose the VENUS as a spot to get your products to a German audience and potential customers?
Actually, we think highly about the Central-European market. We were also at eroFame. So we think Germany is a very important market of course. We came to the VENUS, especially because we know that there is a huge audience, real consumers coming here. And we want to get a feel for the reactions and needs of European and especially German customers. We are interested in living habits because all of this helps us understand the market better and develop new products.
VENUS: How do you chose and design the faces of your dolls?
The face is of course an important topic. It is heavily depending on and responding to market needs. People are actually telling us which kind of faces, structures and shapes they want.
But we are also keeping track of fashion. We are constantly scanning fashion magazines for trends in popular faces and new ideas about beauty and sexiness.
3D-modeling is unfortunately still in an experimental stage, very amateur in my opinion. You still have to adjust everything by hands for the mold.
VENUS: How long does it take you to produce one of these dolls?
It’s one day. One day for one doll. There are so many little elements in a doll. To replicate a human being is in a way an art form.
VENUS: What are you working on next? Besides the international expansion, you must have plans for your product range.
The next big thing will be robotics and we are working on that. We are completely independent and we have our own strategy. We are not accepting what the other companies are doing right now. We are really aiming for a new generation of sex dolls.
And then there is still the question of materials. There are essentially two kinds of products, one is made from Silicon, an expensive material, and the other dolls are still made from TPE. The last one is easy to work with. For us, it is clear that dolls have to be made out of silicone instead of TPE. We want to work on that line. Silicone is expensive and heavy, but our technology is able to make it light. We can improve our products a lot.
VENUS: Thank you for the interview.