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Erin Voss was a customer at Jellywink before it closed in 2017 — she loved how inclusive and non-intrusive the sex shop was. She loved the knowledge of owner Ally Booker. She felt comfortable there.
“I was super bummed when Ally closed it, as were tons of people,” Erin says. “I was going through sort of a big transition and was sort of figuring out what I wanted to do. A friend had this idea of, ‘What if we reopened Jellywink?’ because we were talking about how much we missed it. And I was like, ‘Wait, yeah. Let’s do that.’”
While her friends weren’t able to hop on board entirely, Erin decided to take the plunge and reopen Jellywink, which originally sat at 418 E. Seventh St., by herself. Serendipitously, when Erin was ready to open a brick-and-mortar in 2019, the space just one door over at 416 E. Seventh St. was available.
“I’m very passionate about destigmatizing pleasure especially for women, destigmatizing self-pleasure and masturbation, playing with toys, exploring things with partners — just helping people access that,” Erin says. “I wanted to continue what Ally started and build on it.”
Erin calls Jellywink a woman-owned, queer-friendly, not creepy sex shop. The store sells toys and products for pleasure, lingerie up to size 4X, sexual wellness books, kink items and more. When Erin calls Jellywink a space of inclusivity, she means it.
“The sign on our door says we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone — homophobes, transphobes, racists, misogynists and creeps are not welcome here,” Erin says. “Before you even go in the shop, you know what we’re about.”
That follows into the entirety of the store, which carries gender-affirming products that you likely won’t find at other shops in Tucson. That includes compression tops, tucking underwear and packers.
She also makes sure to carry products in a range of skin tones — and when an item like a dildo is only made in a light skin color and purple, she’s probably going to opt for the purple. Adaptive toys for people with disabilities are also stocked on the shelves.
“We’re also educated as the people who are giving the customer service and helping people, knowing how certain products can be adapted for different body types,” Erin says. “It’s a policy at Jellywink that we don’t make assumptions about people’s gender and anatomy. We just help people with whatever it is they’re looking for. It’s being educated and aware about how different toys are for different needs and different body types and different abilities. I want to make sure everybody is represented and can get products that align with their identity.”
The shop also offers discreet packaging — the choice between a hot-pink leopard-print bag or a black plastic bag if you’re buying in person, or a non-branded cardboard box if you’re ordering online. Credit card statements are also discreet and don’t mention Jellywink’s name.
Education is a big part of Jellywink too. Beyond the books at the store — which range in topic from healing sexual pain to learning how your body works to sex after a partner dies — the shop hosts frequent workshops. Think topics like Sex & Neurodivergence, Butt Stuff 101 and Menopause & Pleasure.
“I give credit to Ally for that because she was doing workshops. I attended a couple of them and I thought it was really cool to combine education. That’s what Jellywink has always been and continues to be,” Erin says. “Yes, it’s a store where you buy stuff, but it’s a community resource where you can find accurate sex education and instruction. I from the beginning wanted to continue that and bring in new topics and other speakers who teach and know things that aren’t my area of expertise.”
Erin is also a sex coach who received certification from the Sexology Institute when the shop was mostly shuttered during the pandemic.
“I’m always helping people, giving advice about sexuality and relationships, so it just fit really well, but it’s more in-depth. Instead of a 10-minute chat with a customer in-store, I get to actually sit down with a person and help them more meaningfully,” Erin says. “So many people want to ask questions — they have a concern or a struggle they’re experiencing in their sex life — and they don’t want to ask it in the store when other people are around.”
Erin offers 50-minute sessions in both English and Spanish one-on-one or with couples and people in non-monogamous relationships. You can book a session here.
“I thought Jellywink was important when I reopened it but having it open for going on seven years, the number of people who come in — young women, older women, trans people, queer people — and say, ‘Oh my God, this is the first sex shop I’ve been in where I feel comfortable and safe and I can ask you any questions and I don’t feel weird about it’ … it’s so important for people to be able to explore pleasure in an environment where they don’t feel like they’re being watched by the people who work there or feel pressure to buy stuff,” Erin says.
“I am really knowledgeable about sexuality and sexual health and relationship issues and I’ve trained my staff to be highly knowledgeable as well, which means that you can ask any question and we will probably be able to answer it and if we can’t, we’ll have a book you can read,” she says. “We also have a resources page on our website that’s super long so people can find what they need to fulfill their sexual wellness journey.”
Erin knows she has to sell items to keep the lights on — “but not at the expense of a customer leaving with something that doesn’t make them happy,” she says.
“When they leave the shop, I want people to feel seen and heard and understood,” Erin says. “I want people to feel when they leave that it’s OK, whatever it is that they bought and whatever questions they asked us.”
🩷 For more information about Jellywink, head to their website. You can find Jellywink in person at 416 E. Seventh St., off of Fourth Avenue. 🩷
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