Since Miko Exoticwear, Wickenden Street's trademark sex store, closed in July, students and College Hill residents have been without a convenient replacement nearby. But starting Nov. 1, Miko's old location at 268 Wickenden St. will be home to a new erotic store, Mister Sister.
The store, which will include a resource center and a large meeting space, will serve the needs of College Hill students and "represent every type of sexuality," said Devioune Mayim-Daviau, the store's owner and sole employee.
"(People) can expect to find education, educated personnel, friendliness and consistency in product," she said, adding that she hopes to offer the space in the back of the store as a meeting place for student groups and the LGBTQ community.
Mayim-Daviau, who recently sold two sex shops in Provincetown, Mass. - Toys of Eros, tailored to gay men, and WildHearts, the one of the oldest lesbian-owned and -operated erotic store in the country - said she has decades of experience in the industry. When she found Miko had closed down, she said, she immediately rented the space to open a new store.
But Mayim-Daviau said she is not interested in copying Miko. "I don't want to be Miko," she said. "This is Mister Sister."
Mayim-Daviau chose the name of the new store from her own life. When she came out as a lesbian at age 14 her younger siblings were unsure what to call her and referred to her as "mister sister," she said.
"It encompasses human sexuality," she said.
Mayim-Daviau declined to reveal the names of vendors from whom she purchased merchandise but said she preferred gay and lesbian distributors. Though the store will start on a tight budget, she said she hopes to hire more employees in the future.
Former Miko employee Megan Andelloux, who will be running the new store's resource center, said she had hoped to start the city's first nonprofit sex store on Wickenden Street but found that Mayim-Daviau had already leased the space. Instead of competing, the two decided to work together.
"I don't believe Providence, especially in this economy, can sustain two separately run sexuality shops," Andelloux said. "I sat down with her and I was like, OK, how can we work together?"
Mayim-Daviau echoed similar sentiments.
"I'm really glad that she's going to stay on board," Mayim-Daviau said, praising Andelloux's passion and "fire."
According to Andelloux, the new resource center will differ from its predecessor. She said she had heard that classes and workshops at Miko were too expensive for most students. Mister Sister's classes will be $10 cheaper - $20 for college students, $15 in advance and an extra $5 for nonstudents.
Though the resource center will not be open for at least a month after the store opens on Nov. 1, Andelloux said she plans to "get more community involvement, reach out to other college campuses ... (and) get student groups to use the space." She said she hoped that FemSex will get involved, adding that "students should reach out to (Mayim-Daviau) and collaborate with her."
Though Andelloux will not start as a paid employee, she said she might join part-time if the store is successful.
FemSex leaders said they were optimistic about the possibility of working with Mayim-Daviau and Andelloux.
Amy Littlefield '09, a FemSex facilitator, said the prospect of a new sex shop on Wickenden was "really exciting."
"Provided that they're also a feminist-run sex store that has some of the same values that Miko did, I think it's fantastic," she said, adding that she would plan on taking her classes there on field trips.
FemSex Coordinator Leah Frankel-Bonacci '09 said though the store was "a good idea," FemSex would work with Mister Sister depending upon the "quality of product they carry and staff that they have."
Andelloux said a meeting in Faunce House at noon this Friday will allow people to give suggestions about the future of Mister Sister's resource center.
