New Episode: Meet Kay, the Sales Director Who Built Our Wholesale Side

Why do our boxes have knobs and not an app? 

There's a reason. And it turns out it's the same reason Kay can sell them.

 The latest episode of our podcast, I Make Sex Toys, is out now, and this one isn't about a box at all. It's about the person who has spent the best part of twenty years getting our boxes onto shelves around the world. Meet Kay, our Sales Director.

Kay didn't come to us the usual way. She arrived as a customer back in 2006, bought a box, and never really left. There's a bit of Victor Kiam about it. She liked the kit so much she ended up running our sales. Over the years since, she built our wholesale operation from scratch, one stockist at a time. Not a faceless distributor network. Actual relationships with actual shops who understand what we make and why.

So, the knobs. People ask us all the time why we fit physical dials instead of pushing everyone towards an app. The answer's simple. A control you can reach for in the dark beats fumbling for your phone mid-play. It's tactile, it's reliable, and it doesn't stop working because a software update went sideways. Kay has spent years explaining exactly that to retailers who'd never heard of e-stim, and watching them get it.

If the I Make Sex Toys podcast is new to you, here's the short version. It's a show hosted by a sex toy manufacturer that's actually about the manufacturing. The business, the craft, the trade. Not the sex. We talk about what it takes to make this stuff in the UK, to stand behind a product for twenty-two years, and to keep a small workshop running in an industry that mostly packed up and moved to China a long time ago.

This one was recorded in a hotel room in Barcelona, the night before a recent trade show. About as glamorous as it sounds. Kay talks to Wayne about how the wholesale side came together, what makes a stockist worth having, and a Dragon's Den moment we still bring up. She tells her own story, in her own words. Have a listen wherever you get your podcasts, just search for I Make Sex Toys, or follow the link below.

https://imakesextoys.buzzsprout.com/2320461/episodes/19326943-your-box-has-knobs-meet-kay-the-sales-director-who-built-our-wholesale-side

source https://estim.store/blogs/news/meet-kay-sales-director

Knobs Over Apps: Kay on Building a Wholesale Business in the Adult Trade

Most people who deal with E-Stim Systems never speak to me. They speak to Kay. She runs our sales, answers the phones, handles the emails and the live chat, and quietly built the wholesale side of this business from nothing. So for once I handed the microphone to the person who actually does the talking. We recorded this in a hotel room in Barcelona, the night before a trade show, with a brew and no real plan. Kay came to us back in 2006 as a customer. She bought a Series 1, came back for a Remote, made a comment about why nobody stocked us, and then talked her way into getting us into shops. She didn't quite buy the company. She just helped build the wholesale side of it from nothing, and put up with me and my little black book for the best part of twenty years. In this one we get into the bits nobody tells you about this trade. The Dragon's Den moment where a store manager told us we'd never survive. Why you can't just double your money on adult products. What actually makes a stockist sell, and why it's never the margin. The Python that US customs flagged as an endangered species. And how a company this small keeps innovating with a tiny development team, no design house, and no crowd-funders in sight. Kay also talks, in her own words, about coming out as trans during lockdown, and what changed from Mick to Kay. We're putting this one out in Pride Month. That felt right. You'll notice we didn't make a song or dance about it, and that was deliberate. It's her story, told her way. Next month, the machines take over. CHAPTERS 00:00 Meet Kay, the one you've actually spoken to 01:27 The Victor Kiam moment 03:40 Our Dragon's Den moment 05:09 Why you can't just double your money 07:47 Stigma and the adult shop 08:50 What makes a stockist actually sell 12:44 "Great Aunty Gertie, I make sex toys" 14:49 A day on the phones, and the Python customs thought was a snake 17:19 I can't sell what we don't have 19:24 What I'm proudest of, and Mr B 21:18 How a small company really innovates 24:56 The kit we'd change, and not chasing new every month 27:01 Why it works: the black book and the long drives 29:28 The elephant in the room 32:15 Misgendering, Vegas, and staying out of the politics 35:24 Where's it all going? AI, world domination, and the bit that scares us 38:45 Why the 2B still isn't obsolete 41:59 Kay's story, her way ABOUT THE SHOW I Make Sex Toys is the podcast about the business of running E-Stim Systems, a British artisan manufacturer that's been making electrostimulation kit in Watford for over twenty years. It's the only podcast hosted by a sex toy manufacturer that's actually about the manufacturing. CNC machines, trade shows, customs paperwork, competitors, and the odd bit of founder honesty. Not the sex. The business. New episode the second Tuesday of every month. FIND US Podcast: https://imakesextoys.me Forum: https://e-stim.net Web: https://estim.store Socials: @estimsystems Be safe and have fun. #IMakeSexToys #EStimSystems #BritishManufacturing

How to Change The Slider Necks | E-Stim Systems

The E-Stim Systems Slider ships with the Standard neck (55mm). You can swap it for a Long (75mm) or a Short (35mm) in under a minute once you know how. This video shows you exactly how. Tools: a 6mm hex key for the central bolt (standard metric, not supplied) and the 3mm hex key for the locking screw (supplied with the Slider). Loosen the locking screw, back off the central bolt, swap the neck, reseat, and lock it back down. That's it. Spare necks are availble fro E-Stim Systems, so you can build the set that suits your play rather than settling for one length. CNC-machined in Watford. Lifetime Guarantee. Manual: https://ift.tt/Sz92fUM Spare necks and the full range: https://estim.store

Cleaning The Slider: Strip, Clean, Reassemble | E-Stim Systems

The Slider from E-Stim Systems comes apart completely, which is the whole point. No hidden seams, no trapped grime, no bits you can't reach. In this video Wayne, the creator of the Slider shows you how to strip one down for cleaning and then and puts it back together. You'll need a 3mm hex key for the locking screw (that one ships with the Slider) and a 6mm hex key for the central bolt. The 6mm is a standard metric size, so if you've got a toolbox you've probably already got one. We don't supply it. Take your time on reassembly with the locking screw last, and don't gorilla it. Snug is plenty. The Slider is CNC-machined in the UK and covered by our Lifetime Guarantee. Manual: https://ift.tt/Sz92fUM Shop: https://estim.store

Visiting the Spanish Inquisition :: E-Stim Systems Livestream

Fresh from new product releases in Spain, we have new toys, new Podcasts and more gossip - as well as news, views, a live Q&A and of course we are answering your questions in the chat. We don't just make E-Stim, we live and breathe E-Stim - after all we are E-Stim!!! 🔴 LIVE: Sunday 31 My 2026, 5:00pm UK (BST) ABOUT E-STIM SYSTEMS: We're a British manufacturer of electrostimulation products. We design and create a range of E-Stim products for adults here in our Watford (UK) workshops, and have done since 2004 - that is a long time using the kit we make. and we back it all up with a Lifetime Guarantee on our power boxes and Insertables. LINKS: 🛒 Shop: https://estim.store 🎙️ I Make Sex Toys podcast: https://ift.tt/fdhMDRV 💬 Community forum: https://e-stim.net 📸 Instagram: https://ift.tt/hWd5Bno 🦋 Bluesky: https://ift.tt/pI90cuP SUBSCRIBE for monthly livestreams, product guides, e-stim tutorials, workshop tours and anythign else we can think of: https://youtube.com/estimsystems?sub_confirmation=1 #EstimSystems #Livestream #Announcement #MadeInUK #ElectricalStimulation #IMakeSexToys