For a while, the only news I had heard about The Tool Box, a sex-positive shop located above Jimmy John's on 128 1/2 E. Washington, was that many landlords and property owners didn't want it in their building. No one that I had talked to had been to the shop and from the articles about its initial troubles, neither had any of the reporters. I decided then to go to the source and talk to owner Julia Schaefer to find out what was with all the hubbub.
The sign for The Tool Box displayed on street level is ornate with a rainbow pattern, the store's name, and a message beneath stating, "The Right Amount of Awkward."
Immediately walking through the door of Suite 1, I was greeted with a smile from Schaefer. Taking a cursory glance around the place, I was at once attracted to the gallery of paintings by local artist Megan Bishop in the next room, more than half of them had already sold. "This is our community room," Schaefer explained. "Local artists have shows here once a month. Please have a seat." In the room, along with the art, were a few chairs, a bookshelf filled with romance novels next to science fiction, and lavender painted walls, which Schaefer later explained were painted that color before The Tool Box moved in. The overwhelming energy I felt was that of welcoming.
After she offered me a bottle of water (which she proffered from a mini-fridge stocked full of water bottles, juice boxes and sodas), I began by asking her how long she had been in business and when she had initially decided upon creating such a shop. "My partner and I came up with the idea back in March of 2011," she replied. "After our initial attempts at finding a space, we took a few months off, because we were busy and the initial reaction was so negative. It took me until December to be able to find this place and open up."
I commented on the articles that I had read and asked if she could tell me more about the particulars of her difficulties, if they came from zoning restrictions or from elsewhere. "The zoning issue wasn't really a problem. There's specific zoning for my type of shop, which sells sex-related products, that prohibits me from being withing 100 feet from a church, a school, and other community spaces. In actuality there's plenty of places around Iowa City where legally I could have set up. The problem came from the landlords of the retail spaces we were looking into. No one wanted the shop, few even thought about it, and one person even hung up on us mid-phone call. They were worried that the shop would detract customers from the other businesses in their building."
Schaefer then explained what The Tool Box was about and what sex-positive means: "My goal is to create a friendly, community space where anybody can feel comfortable. When asked what my demographic for my products is, I reply with, 'Anyone of consenting age.' Sex, presumably, affects everyone. Our products tend towards women's things, sure, but that's because I'm a woman and that's what I know. I'm open to suggestions for anything else that our customers would like to have us supply. One of the motivating factors in creating this place was that there were certain products I couldn't find. I felt that there was a void that needed to be filled."
She then informed me that The Tool Box (which has literature for sale, ranging from erotic fiction to books about being a single parent to how to have an open relationship, and adult products from hand-blown glass dildos to handmade lip balm, which are kept in a shrouded portion of the front room known as the 'tool area', and IC Kings products, with a conscious decision not to sell 'classic porn' videos) is a major seller of Iowa City Pride and Rainbow gear. Schaefer, herself, is the Vendor Coordinator for IC Pride and her partner, Jewell Amos is Chairperson. "We realized there wasn't anywhere in Iowa City, which has a huge GBLT community, didn't have a place to buy Rainbow gear."
Aside from running The Tool Box, Schaefer has spoken at an University of Iowa sexuality class and also after "In the Next Room or The Vibrator Play" which performed at the UI Theatre Mainstage about what she does and her feelings about sexuality. "So many people are taught to feel ashamed about sex at a young age and a lot never grow out of that feeling of shame. Getting away from the shame, being open with sexuality and its discourse, that's what I and The Tool Box are about."
When I asked if she had any parting statements she laughed and replied, "We're not scary! We're well lit!"
And if you ask me, The Tool Box will brighten our community.
The Tool Box is open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from 4pm-7pm, and on
Saturdays from 12pm-5pm. If you have any questions, you can call 319-353-0328 or send an email to IowaCityToolBox@gmail.com.
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