Color of the Month: "WinterFetish Blue"

Our good friends at WinterFetish.Com have selected this month’s shade. A pale cobalt blue, think a well faded pair of Levis or for you color nerds, a Pantone 308C. Of course this is our *target* color, variations in water temp, salt saturation, and music played at the time of dying will all impact the outcome of the final shade.

We only have a very limited quantity and when it is gone, it will be gone for good.

Look at me, Ma! I'm a journalist and crap!
Just call me the Edward R Murrow of porn!

Ok, on second thought. Dont. What you can do is hop over to Carnal Nation or subscribe to their twiter feed as they will be posting the play by play updates from Tess, Diva and myself as we take Sin City by storm and cover the AVN awards.

"All this talk about Vegas and Carnal Nation, don't you have a bondage rope company to run?"

Funny you should mention that! While yes, it seems like much of my time in the last couple of weeks has been focused on prepping for this trip, promoting my upcoming class and figuring out just how I am going to keep Tess and Diva out of a Vegas holding cell, I also happen to have an awesome crew that keep things running (mostly) smooth when I am away. That is until they get too hopped up on tamales from the local taco truck. I can't go more into detail about that as we are still in litigation with that "rent a goat" dude, but I digress. Suffice to say, your order are being filled and fresh rope love leaves the Abbey every day in USPS boxes.

Anyways, long time readers will also know that January is when we release a very special color of the month. Once a year I make a limited edition color run using our ultra premium exotic, Bavarian 4 strand rope and then donate the profits to Midori and the AIDS/Lifecycle. This year will mark out 4th year and I have a very cool color up my sleeve!

Now this color ALWAYS sells out fast, like in minutes, so this year I want to give everyone the best possible chance at scoring some of this fantastic rope and helping out a great cause. This is why I am warning you NOW that I intend to post a photograph of the new color next week and then give you all at least 5 days notice before it is put on sale. I figure this is the best way I can be as fair as possible to the most folks possible.

So there you have it. Next week, keep an eye out for the new color of the month update. Till then, hop over to Carnal Nation for the up to date scoop on all the crazy shit going down in Sin City.

September's Color of the Month is Here!

It would be impossible to stock all the unique colors that folks ask for on a regular basis. So instead we now offer a new and unique color every month.

This month's color is a caramel brown with a dappling of candy apple red for added visual texture and depth. Since it is state fair season, we hereby dub this shade: "Carmel Apple"


Between Folsom and our usual insane order backlog this is a very small batch. I do not expect it to last long so hop on it now if you want some.








Now for the record, I feel I should address my darling Matisse's recent post where she accuses me of being a bad influence and encouraging her to indulge in a cocktail while we were recording our recent block of podcasts.

Guilty as charged.

As those who know me well and they will all fondly agree, "Monk brings out the worst in people and more often than not it is the very thing that needs to come out and play at the time"

Color of the Month Update!
As soon as it is out of the drying room tomorrow and oiled up, I am putting our latest offering up for sale on the website. Photos coming soon, but the shade is a caramel brown with flecks of candy apple red. We are calling it "Caramel Apple"

Look for it to go live around 11am PST on Wednesday.

Last Chance, Last Dance

I'm gearing up to start a new color of the month dye job today, as I was walking out to my motorcycle this morning I was overwhelmed and inspired by all the cool colors the great maple tree in my back yard has turned as of late. Tromping across the fallen leaves and dew covered grass as my old dog trotted along side, in the hopes of taking a ride with me to work in the sidecar, her pale yellow paws were covered in flecks of damp green grass and copper brown mud. Fall has its own unique color pallet and watching the world shift from summer into it, knowing that eventually it too will bleed away into the monochrome of winter... well it just inspired me.

So while I ponder the mix of golds, deep greens and burnt oranges at my disposal, you should expect to see a new color posted probably on Monday.

Now on that note, for those of you still looking to pick up our 3-strand Bavarian rope... this is your LAST CHANCE. Word from our suppliers in Germany tell me that this was a complete fluke, a one time job and not even (technically) allowed for export. I've got a few hundred feet of the stock left and whatever does not sell is going in my toybag.

So order yours now or miss out on this one of a kind rope.

The new "Color" of the month!

Golden brown is a color isn't it?
"Exotic 3-Strand Bavarian lil-sister"

For this month we are going to do something different, rather than a one time, limited edition color rope we are offering a one time, limited edition EXOTIC rope. Our suppliers in Germany sent us a custom rope stock run. Just like our ultra premium 4 strand Bavarian hemp, but with only 3 strands. Why is this so awesome you ask?

Just like our 4 strand rope, this is ultra soft and a rich golden yellow color. In addition to the trademark smell of freshly cut hay, you can’t beat this price too.

We only have a very limited quantity and when it is gone, it will be gone for good.

Due to huge customer demand for our color of the month and the fact that it always sells out quickly we are going to pre-announce this month's color. "Bordeaux", a rich dark cherry shade, will be placed on sale Sunday, July 12th at noon.

And.... we finally have the new color up!

A bright blue, for you color geeks it is just a hair brighter than a pantone 308, the name of this color is "Iridium"

As with all color of the month sales, this one is a limited edition so do not delay.

Announcing January’s Color of the Month, a charity fundraiser for Midori & AIDS/LifeCycle

Longtime readers and customers will know that every year it is my honor and privilege to create a unique color of the month to help raise funds for Midori and her tireless work with the AIDS/LifeCycle. Thanks to your generosity, together we have helped raise thousands, but there is still so much more work still left to be done.

And so, once again I all upon you, dear readers and customers, to answer the call and fill our toy bags with rope.

The Midori/ALC charity color is only chance this year that we offer our ultra premium Bavarian Blonde 4-strand hemp as a color of the month. Starting with the fiery red “Lifeline” two years ago and the breathtaking “Unity” last year, we have created some unforgettable ropes and raised a lot of money for an excellent cause. Following in this grand tradition, this year we are proud to unveil our next color. An imperial purple we are calling, “Hope”

This year, as Midori embarks on her fund raising efforts again by hosting her annual “Bang 4 the Buck” party in Seattle, WA on January 30th. We too will do our part to help this worthy cause. For those of you attending the event, Midori will be in possession of the first of this color and will, I’m certain, put it to some very memorable use.

For the rest of us not attending the event, the shade will go on sale on Saturday January 31st at noon. PST. This color is bound to sell out fast, our last color of the month sold out in 28 minutes and was the largest dye run to date.

This is a one time, one of a kind dye run and sure to sell out quickly. Do your part, buy some amazing rope and make a difference.

THE NEW COLOR OF THE MONTH IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE
Technical gremlins have been fixed, the new color is dry and looks stunning. A "bloody" red, with more maroon tones in it than our stock Crimson. Remember, profits from the sale of this rope will be dontated to MarriageEquality.Org

UPDATE 10:35am WE ARE NOW SOLD OUT. This marks both the largest color of the month color run we have ever made and the FASTEST sell out in history, 30minutes. Thank you to everyone who placed orders. We will be begin cutting and filling your orders in the order they were received.

Regarding December’s Color of the Month

Tomorrow, Wednesday December 10th, I will be releasing our next Color of the Month for sale.

As you may know, every month I create a small batch, limited edition color. This one of a kind color is offered up for sale, first come first served, and when it is sold out, it is sold out for good. Demand for these unique colors has been nothing sort of amazing, often selling out in a matter of hours, I do not advertise when the new color will be available till it is ready and only then to readers of my blog and twitter feed.

So why am I breaking with tradition and pre-announcing the new shade?

Two reasons really, first and most obvious would be that this is the holiday season and folks are looking for presents. Due to the rate at which the color of the month sells, we cut and process orders as they arrive in order to reduce the chance of overselling the shade. Most color of the month orders will be shipped with in 24hours. December 10th is the cut off day for placing a rope order for domestic delivery.

The other reason?

Well this rope is special; this rope will help bring change.

Of all the things I have done in my life so far, being married to Tambo is one of the things I am most proud of. Our 20+ years together have been nothing short of amazing and I could not do all I have done with out her unwavering support. I, I am a big fan of the institution of marriage and this is why it appalls me that in this, the 21st century, we would deny this basic civil right to others based on their sexual orientation. It angers me to know that groups, choosing to selectively clinging to Bronze Age ideas, would seek to not only refuse this right to consenting adults, but also work to further restrict the civil rights of those they deem as “immoral”.

Sure, I’m straight and am not directly impacted by such mindless and prejudice legislation as California’s Proposition 8, but to deny the civil rights of any group of consenting adults is to endanger the civil rights of us all. It is the responsibility of all of us who identify as “other”, to band together as one great and clear voice and say “No, this is not how my country treats its citizens”.

This is why I am proud to announce that TwistedMonk.Com will donate the profits from the sale of this shade to marraigeequality.org so that they can continue to fight so that all Americans, regardless of race, creed or sexual orientation are not denied their civil rights.


There you have it, tomorrow at 10am I’m releasing “equality”. An ox-blood red rope, a rope with a mission and a cause behind it. A rope that you can proudly give as a gift, even a gift to yourself, and know that you have taken part to bring about progress and defeat those would seek to deny the rights of others.

Remember, we are all in this together.

You have got to be kidding me…

Ok, ok so yesterday after ranting about how sick and tired I was of being bombarded by election opinion from every possible media outlet known to man. This morning, as soon as the polls in my neighborhood opened, I happily and proudly cast my vote. Later, sporting my “I voted” sticker and feeling a general sense of relief and excitement for what is truly a very historic election, Tambo and I decided to stop off at a local coffee house on the way into work to pick up something yummy for the Minion.

Making small talk with a girl behind the counter, I was flirting actually. She was tall, cute and made coffee, what more can a guy want? Anyways, so there I was chatting her up when I expressed how glad I was that I got my voting done early.
She looked at me and with a look of genuine puzzlement went, “Oh, is that today?!”

I did my best to not stare at her slack jawed and ask on what planet her alien captors had been holding her for the past 2 years or if she had just come out of some kind of coma… I really and truly hope she was pulling my leg, but the blank look of bewilderment on her face told me otherwise.

So for the rest of you, get off your asses and go vote today. Don’t make them think that next time we need to have even MORE media attention in order to motivate us to get our lazy asses to the polls.

Ahem, rant over. Back to you regularly scheduled blog love.



Today I launched November’s Color of the Month. A midnight blue shade that I am calling “Blue State”. With any luck, you can use it to celebrate this very historic moment in history.

UPDATE: We are now sold out of 6MM and 8MM stock! Sold out in less than 3 hours! DAMN!

Now, the plan was to post about the return of Color of the Month then I had to twitter....

After taking the summer months off, our massively popular "Color of the Month" feature was all set to return today. As you may remember, every month I make a small, one time color run and offer it up for sale. First come, first sold as the color will not be offered again once we run out... and we always run out. Now as my way of thanking you, the faithful blog reader, I do not announce the color on any other public forum. Giving you first crack at getting your hands on these limited edition colors.

This month's color is "Rustic Burgundy"


So last night, after Tambo uploaded the new graphics and enabled sales of the new color my plan was to say something on my twitter feed and then post the new color this morning. In between the twitter and this morning, you folks placed a LOT of rope orders.

As it stands right now: 09/18/08 10:15 am
4MM 70% sold out
6MM 80% sold out
8MM 200% SOLD OUT

Wow, so I guess this means folks really do read that twitter feed? Damned impressive really.

Oh and to those who say, "just make larger batches", not really an option... we already are making them as large as we dare push our equipment.

I told you I would get you a new Color of the Month by Monday!


Green is a tricky color to hit, due to the naturally occurring golden yellow tones in the raw hemp. Finding that "perfect" shade of hunter green is a process that I am still perfecting. In the meantime our experiments with various dye combinations resulted in a green shade that reminded me of Absinthe, that oddly unreal shade of bright, emerald green. I liked the shade so much that I devoted this month's color of the month to it. May's color of the month: The Green Faerie.

This is a limited, one time color run. As usual, I am giving you the loyal blog reader first crack at this one. Once the color has been sold out, it is sold out for good!

UPDATE: As of 9PM Wednesday 5/21, the color is sold out.

Psst.... want some Color of the Month?
We just launched it here. A very limited run, this one, so if you want it you best jump on it now.

I've also put up a new custom rope auction on e-bay. Bet you thought I got too busy and quit doing custom runs? Nope. Sure., I mean the last six weeks have been crazy busy, but we still have some new surprises up our sleeves for you.



Check out this one, a burgundy base that can best be described as "smoky" with ember like reds and black accents. This is a finished kit, 90ft total, 2x15 and 2x30. Happy bidding.

Color of the Month Update: As of Friday 5PM PST, I have 24ft of 6MM left . If you want this, you best contact me via the Abbey, 206-938-7527, NOW.

February's Color of the Month and Midori/ALC Fundraiser, "Unity"
February marks Midori's annual "Bang 4 the Buck" fundraiser for The Aids/LifeCycle. Last year we were proud to help sponsor the event and launched a custom color of the month to help raise funds for the cause. Last year's "Lifeline" was a huge success, selling out in less than 36 hours.

This year we are doing it again.

Starting again with our ultra premium German 4 strand rope and slow dying it till we got a deep, royal blue and dubbing it, "Unity". Why unity? Just as rope binds a person, a couple and a community together we are all bound together in our common goal to work together against Aids.

Twistedmonk.com will donate the profits from sale of this rope to The Aids/LifeCycle.

This is a limited, one time color run. Once the color has been sold out, it is sold out for good.

UPDATE 02/15/08 9:38AM: We are sold out!

One more thing I forgot to mention yesterday.

We also launched a new color of the month, just in time for Thanksgiving. I'm calling it "Very, Very Cranberry"
As usual, this is a limited run. Once it is gone, it is gone for good.

Say... might you be looking for a nosehook? We used to stock these and the customer response was mixed, but I had a custom order this week. These new ones, built by the same awesome steel artisan who makes my rings and other steel toys, are beautiful, however he sent me two. Normally MSRP on this badboy is like 25-30 bucks, I already have one in my toy bag so I'll let this one go for $20. If you want it, e-mail me directly.

Wow, I just realized that for like the past week all my posts have been work related. Welcome to the holiday crush. Alas, all work and no play makes Monk a very, very cranky boy. I'm going to need to do something about this.