All good points. I really don’t know. I was only relaying what I remember from what a pro told me over drinks at a party. It is fair to say that she was speaking about her wealthy clientele, not the BDSM cohort as a whole.

The convo actually came up because we were lamenting the price of quality leather goods. One was talking about a leather couch he bought and was sick of various bonded leather garbage and the dearth of quality leather goods. Another was talking about bridle/saddle leather, and another was talking about gunbelt/holster and leather jackets. This piqued her interest and she jumped into the convo because high end leather is a big big part of her business and the cost of her operations. Once she shared what she did, everyone was fascinated and she was the belle of the ball so to speak. She was reluctant to reveal her business at first because she was nervous about how a party full of squares would react. We all loved her. She was sweet, funny and very very smart, even in a party with a bunch of scientists.

She really knew her leather, and even suggested custom leather shops that could help us all out. Turns out a lot of family run bespoke leather crafters that do horse tack and similar goods, also do bdsm gear. Leatherwork is leatherwork I guess. There is a LOT of money rolling around in there for the few who cater to elite markets.

I don’t presume to have a handle on the bdsm disaspora, and I recognize I got a small peek through a straw that night.