Rape Charity Support

cck pr timeline 2008 wrasac19 September 2008
The Women's Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (Dundee) contact us via our online shop for advice on sex-positive books suitable for rape and abuse survivors. We furnish them with copies of "Healing Sex" and "The Survivor's Guide To Sex", but it is the conversations that we remember most. The subject is dear to our hearts, with consent - or lack thereof - critical to both the nature, and outcomes of any "rough sex". It is great to be discussing the subject with someone dealing with the other, non-consensual, side, and better still to be working together and arriving at the same conclusions. We are, in fact, all on the same page, and CCK are honoured to be of help. We welcome any future collaborations in this area.

 

Criminal Justice & Immigration Bill

cck pr timeline 2008 extremeporn8 May 2008
The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 receives Royal Assent, passing into law. This criminalises the possession of "extreme" images, even if the activity they depict is legal. Reaction is required. Multiple, if somewhat subdued, protests take place, including the symbolic burning of soon-to-be-outlawed literature in front of the British Library. We are heartbroken to be selling books bound for "the stake", and spend ages leafing through them as we bid each goodbye. We call publishers of some of the titles to discuss matters, and train our staff. To further spread the word, we put on the "Extreme Porn" exhibition of Geoff The Fetishman's comic art, which humorously summarises our views on this serious matter. Nevertheless, from the beginning of 2009 it is illegal to possess any image featuring "serious injury to the breasts or the genitalia", regardless of participants or consent given.

 

 

Business Link Case Study

cck pr timeline 2008 businesslinkBusiness Link commends CCK for exceptional performance and "consistently outperforming 'an average UK SME' in almost every area". Chosen as their case study, we are pronounced "an interesting and unique business and, above all, well run [...] a remarkable number of strengths to be proud of". A guest speaker invitation to the Retail Business Show (Feb 2008, London Olympia) follows, to co-present with Jacqueline Gold as the "next big thing". As it happens, neither Ann Summers nor CCK can attend.

CCK at Chicago's Leather Archives & Museum

cck pr timeline 2008 leatherarchives12 June
CCK's oral history is recorded for inclusion in the Chicago-based Leather Archives & Museum, which is devoted to the recording and preservation of leather and related alternative lifestyles.

CCK Covent Garden closes

cck pr timeline 2008 cck1closes2 November
Having completed five years of trading, our first Covent Garden store closes. Clearing out the basment amuses everyone, with several boxes of samples that never made it to the shop floor finally seeing the light of day. We have no fewer than three closing parties - which are a blast - for our customers, and continue doing business via the online shop.