Black Knight Erotica, Cupid’s Sister, The Vibe Adult Shop: Meet the people behind SA’s adult store owners

From a third-generation family business to starting from the ground up – here are the tales behind SA’s locally owned adult stores and the people who run them.

Once a taboo subject, sex has become a popular topic over the past few years thanks to social media sites like OnlyFans and the rise in popularity of stores selling adult products.

For these South Australians, selling items related to sex is just a part of doing business and helping people find pleasure.

We check out some of the state’s locally owned adult stores and the entrepreneurs behind them.

Blueberry Erotica

While relatively new to the scene, Ryan Dohnt’s Blueberry Erotica has become a staple for those looking to spice up their lives.

“It was around 2018 when I was looking to do something, but I didn’t know it would be exactly this,” Ryan said of his Edinburgh North business.

“It takes time to find something that resonates with you to push through those early months of trying to get a business up and off the ground.”

Ryan Dohnt has owned his store since 2018.

After pitching the idea to his mother, it was full steam ahead with the 28-year-old securing his first shop at Paddy’s Market on Main North Road before moving further north just over two years ago.

“I had set foot in maybe two adult stores before I started my own - I had previous retail experience,” Ryan said.

“If I didn’t enjoy it as much as I do, I probably would have quit in the first six months just because it’s hard to get it off the ground.”

Now full steam ahead, Ryan still gets a kick out those first time visits from shoppers.

“With the guys … it’s often a pissing contest and they scoff and pretend like they aren’t looking at buying products,” he said.

“It’s funny because back in the day, these shops were basically Blockbuster with tits.

“Now we have women come in looking for products for OnlyFans content or guys looking to get things with their partner … it’s completely different.”

Amore Erotica

Opening their doors more than 30 years ago, the Amore Erotica team are a staple in the local community.

For James Coleman it’s been his entire life – he is now taking over the reins from his father and grandfather.

“It’s really exciting,” James said.

“It’s such an interesting line of work because now people are so open, no one has that stigma anymore.

James Coleman at his Royston Park business.

“Younger people will come in and have a laugh and then the older generation are looking to experiment so it’s really cool showing them modern technology.”

The Royston Park establishment has also ventured into the wedding sector, with plenty to offer those celebrating an upcoming hen’s party.

“Since I have really jumped on board, we really want to make this stuff as common as buying milk and bread,” he said.

“We have things like novelty games and it’s gone from one little shelf to spanning across the wall.

“We are just really aiming at making everybody’s shopping experience as comfortable as possible.”

Black Knight Erotica

Nestled on the corner of Port Rd and Kilkenny Rd in Adelaide’s west is Black Knight Erotica, a locally-owned business where the crew pride themselves on being different from competitors.

Les Kafkoudas and Cindy Carter have three decades of experience in the adult industry.

“In the early days it was magazines and porn and mainly generated to the male audience,” Les said.

“Once the internet came around … toys were introduced along with lingerie and those sorts of things.

“The young ones are really up with it.”

Stocked from wall to wall with every kind of product you could think of, the Black Knight Erotica team don’t put just anything on their shelves.

“There is new stuff all the time – we were often travelling interstate to see and find different products,” Les said.

Danielle Johnston and Cindy Carter of Black Knight Erotica.

“It can be a gamble, you think something is one size but it comes in a different size than you were expecting.

“We’re now selling stuff for cameras to help people with their content.

“But we don’t go all out, we tend to try a product, see how it goes and if it’s popular go from there … it’s smart business.

“We find people enjoy coming in, seeing the product and if there are any problems you can come in and see someone about fixing it.”

As the new world of adult entertainment makes it’s case (AKA OnlyFans) both Les and Cindy will continue to grow with the times while sticking to their family business attitude.

“There are a lot of hit and misses in the industry and people come in thinking there is all this money in it but if you don’t drive your brand or don’t know how to do it, you won’t succeed,” Les said,

“We’re run by family – we cater to him and him, her and her.

“We’ve been here for the community since day one.”

Adult Bliss Erotic Boutique

It’s a family affair at this adult store after Simon Mawson and his partner Monique Turmine took the reins back in 2018.

“We both had a lot of retail and customer service experience and were both tired of working for other people,” Monique said.

“So when Simon’s parents chose to sell up and move on we decided to take a leap into an exciting and interesting industry and see how we fared.

“We’re both passionate about helping people and having fun so it seemed like a perfect fit for us, and we’ve really enjoyed the experience so far.”

Four years on, the couple are full steam ahead at their Glen Osmond business and are more passionate than ever.

Adult Bliss Erotica store owners Simon Mawson and partner Monique Turmine with dog Chester in Glen Osmond. Picture: Tom Huntley

“We’ve entered at a really exciting time,” Simon said.

“Everything is changing, attitudes towards sex and sex toys are constantly evolving, we’re seeing a lot more sex-positive culture developing locally and globally.

“We found during the pandemic that we saw a spike in new customers working on self exploration or looking for new ways to have fun with their partner/s while in lockdown and we feel that it’s sparked a bigger movement around self-care and doing what you enjoy in life.”

And while the market is continuously welcoming new products to satisfy one’s needs, Simon and Monique said their most popular item was a classic.

“It’s a boring answer, but lube is and likely always will be the best sex toy available,” Monique said.

“Other products come and go, and there’s no one toy that is going to work for everyone, but lube is always going to enhance your sexual encounters.”

Cupids Sister Adult Lifestyle Store

After “stumbling” into the industry 20 years ago, Phil Tasker has carved out his own lane.

“I was working in a senior position in a government job and my wife was managing an adult store in the city,” Phil said.

“The opportunity came along to buy a store from a guy we knew who was retiring.

“I continued in my career in government and employed a manager to run the store – we had this arrangement for over 11 years.”

During this decade, Phil purchased another store before selling up and moving into a different business direction.

Phil Tasker inside his Glenelg store. Picture: Supplied

But it wasn’t long before Phil was back in the game.

“I decided to open another store from scratch,” he said.

“I had long had a concept for a store that was big, bright and marketed to females aged between 18 and 40.

“In my mind it had to dispel any misconceptions about this type of store, enter Cupids Sister, Glenelg’s largest adult lifestyle store, with all female staff.

“Just about every customer is impressed and often comments that it looks like a normal shop. This makes me laugh and I usually say that they look just like normal customers.”

“A lot has changed over the years, our customers don’t sneak in by the cover of darkness anymore … our oldest customers are 84 years old.

“Customers have a greater product knowledge and a much higher expectation for service in store.”

The Vibe Adult Shop

With more than 30 years in the industry, David Hills has seen it all.

“I’ve always been interested in this industry and I wanted to create a shop that was more boutique than the general run-of-the mill adult shop – being one that catered for all walks of life,” he said.

The Vibe Adult Shop, Unley.

Throughout his time, David has watched the stigma around adult stores and the sex industry change as each generation grows to become more comfortable and are more open to different items in his Unley shop.

“The percentage of women coming into the shops has gone from about five per cent to 50 per cent and couples have become attuned to shopping with each other to vary and improve their sexual activities,” he said.

“The biggest misconception about the adult retail sector is that people think they’re dark, sleazy and uncomfortable to be in, times have changed and they are now up-market clean boutiques and a pleasure to shop in, with well-educated staff with full product knowledge.”