Collaborate with SHAG

SHAG takes pride in collaborating with artists, designers, sex educators and our general community. You can check out previous SHAG workshops on our youtube channel HERE & be sure to stay tuned for the next edition of SHAG SWAG; always in collaboration with artists we love & respect.

Feel free to email us at connect@weloveshag.com if you have collab ideas that resonate with our mission. <3 xoxo

DIRTY LOLA

Dirty Lola has been part of the SHAG family since 2014, when she first started working at the Brooklyn boutique.

Lola is a sex "edutainer", speaker, and self-proclaimed dildo slinger. Recently she partnered with Netflix in a limited series called "The Principles of Pleasure;" a groundbreaking new health and wellness series that explores the forgotten legacy, emerging science, and candid stories of real women and pleasure. Principles of Pleasure & Trailer.

Lola is also known for her live sex-ed Q&A show Sex Ed A Go-Go and as a co-host of New York Magazine’s The Cut’s “Sex Probz” web series.

CAROLYN KOSSOW

At SHAG, Carolyn manages our social media, is a staff sex educator and helps run daily customer service and operations at our brick & mortar.

Carolyn (she/her) is a gender, queer, and racial justice activist based in Brooklyn, NY. She received both her Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Gender Studies and is dedicated to a life and career advocating for social justice. Her work and research has utilized critical-race, queer, and feminist theories to examine reproductive health injustices worldwide with specific focus on racism and classism within assisted reproductive technologies (i.e., egg donation and surrogacy). She has worked in several nonprofits and start-ups advocating for economic, racial, LGBTQ, and gender justice at a local and global scale.

ARTEMIS TRUINI

Artemis (she/they) is a proud member of the SHAG team, offering expertise in gender, sexuality, sex positivity and kink. Artemis is actively creating safe(r) spaces for LGBTQQIA, consensually non-monogamous, kink and sex-positive folks in the NYC area. Her favorite sexy song is "The Weekend" by SZA!

ELIZABETH WEITZEN

Elizabeth Weitzen first collaborated with Sam and Ashley in early 2014 when SHAG sponsored her Bushwick nightlife event Fucking Shakespeare.

Formerly the Director of Performance Programming (Shag Playhouse) at SHAG, Elizabeth worked as a producer on events featuring live performances like Rite of Spring, an aphrodisiac fantasia, Thunderstruck, an interactive, fire-fueled biker dance spree, and Pridefest Candyland's Prize Wheel with Drag Vanna White. Elizabeth spent several years working the salesfloor of the SHAG's Brooklyn boutique as a staff sex educator and contributed to product buying and curation. Elizabeth currently keeps the webstore tidy and the product pages up to date. She is also the editor of SHAG Magazine. She is delighted to be teaming up again with Samantha and Ashley (and Frankie the pitbull, of course).

Outside of SHAG, Elizabeth is a theatre artist: designer, producer, performer, and movement director. Most of her work focuses on body autonomy, pleasure, and finding ways to remind the audience and performers that they are alive! She is currently in residence with Torn Out Theater and producing for Mined Canon Productions. She also produces and performs bespoke event entertainment of all kinds and leads several workshops, including one on non-verbal consent for immersive performers.

Her recent one-woman show Peep/Show the Body can be viewed HERE via rental of the livestream recording & the show's zine can be purchased HERE.

VALENTINE AMARTEY

Valentine has been teaching SHAG's Shibari Rope Bondage classes for over 10 years. With a background in costume and knitwear design, he began making costumes for various downtown performance artists back in the late '90's. During one of these assignments, he was asked to make costumes for a performance that called for rope looks for an underground ballet/burlesque troupe. He discovered the art of Shibari and immediately incorporated the art form into his design work.

After this initial dive into the art form, Valentine took the time to study Shibari with Tyutumi, who received his basic training from Mistress Midori. After years of practice, he was ready to share this knowledge with people of all levels.

“Shibari is a discipline that involves the control of rope, your partner, and ultimately yourself — this I find to be greatly appealing. I’m drawn to the fine balance between something that was designed for punishment and something that is visually stunning. The combination of brutality and beauty is endlessly fascinating to me."

Valentine’s credits to date include providing looks for pop stars such as Shakira, Lady Gaga and Brooke Candy, designing for the Calvin Klein Collection and teaching a BFA knitwear course at The New School.

RY ARNE

Ry Arne is a designer and illustrator currently based in Denver & is the creative force behind the new "SHAG WHO YOU WANT" limited edition SHAG SWAG.

Their drawing work revolves primarily around the figure. They’re interested in exploring the translation of feeling through depictions of the body, in the infinite ways that can happen! While they draw people that surround them, most of their figures are versions of their ever-changing self portrait.