DOWNTOWN ARMOR

 Hello everyone. My name is Joseph Valliere.  Welcome to the very first Downtown Armor website. Thank you so much for stopping by. I really am thankful. I've been a mess over the past few years and getting this done and connected to my Etsy site is an awesome relief.  I've been working on getting myself and my gear out there. It's been rough, but I'm doing what I can with what I've got. I have big plans for my gear, my business, and my presence. 

Since moving out here to San Francisco in 2005, I've seen leather and boot shops either move out of the city or close for good. Even though we still have the amazing www.mr-s-leather.com www.leatheretc.com  www.goodvibes.com and others, San Francisco needs more. With that being said, I'm starting an online business making durable rubber fetish gear. I mainly use rolls of black nitrile rubber and a diamond tread PVC flooring as materials. The rubber flooring comes smooth or textured in different ways. I buy rolls of it in red, blue, silver, and black. Both in glossy and a textured surface. I make suspenders, chest and thigh harnesses, vests, cuffs, collars, etc. I like to consider my gear to be the gray area between Latex and Leather. I'm honestly not that interested in working with latex. There is plenty of talent out there in that category like www.invinciblerubber.com  www.regulation.co.uk  www.vexclothing.com www.houseofharlot.com and so on.

 I used to work at Stompers Boots  https://stompersboots.com/ in 2012. It was brief but I loved it. Stompers is missed here in San Francisco. They sold mostly new boots but also did a small amount of consignment. That part was mostly boots but did have pants and jackets as well. After Stompers moved to Florida I started working at Worn Out West, a consignment kink shop on Market St. in the Castro. My fiancé and I were going to buy it but that didn't work out.  Ultimately my goal is to have a brick and mortar business. I also really want to include other types of non-traditional styles. I like the idea of catering to other kink groups/subcultures. Video game lovers and Live Action Role-player's (LARPing) can get a little naughty too. 

One of my main goals on my list of main goals is to do consignment. I love the idea of reselling kink gear. it almost feels like a must.  Memories and stories are so important. It ALL has a story behind it. One of my favorite things about Worn Out West was when customers would bring in what used to be pin covered vests that were worn to dozens of events over the years. These would be covered in tiny little holes. There were some customers that had stories for each of the empty spots. When I came across some that came in on a day off all I could think was "Where have they been? What did they do? Who were they with?". I loved it. I love vests. I'm not really sure what it is, but there's something a little more intimate about them. All the ones covered in patches showing where they've been or just a huge patch on the back showing everyone the hard work you did getting that damn thing. I will sell smaller pieces like vests, harnesses, suspenders, etc. Then eventually boots. I won't really do too much (if any) with larger pieces like leather pants, chaps, jackets, etc. 

I'd love my store to be a lovely buffet of sexy boots and hot gear.      

  If I haven't made it all too clear, one of my favorite things are boots. I love boots. A lot. White's ( www.whitesboots.com ), Nicks ( www.nicksboots.com ), (www.jkboots.com ), WESCO ( https://builder.wescoboots.com/About.aspx ) etc. My thing is logging and wildfire boots. I just love a well built boot. So do a lot of other people. Especially women. Logging, biking, Doc’s, WESCO, 10 inches to 32 inches, heels or some ass-kicking Vibram tread. Women love them. While I was at Stompers and Worn Out West it was clear that women had little for them there. I did not like saying "We might have a men's 5 if you want?". That's just unacceptable. My ultimate goal is to sell awesome boots with a whole bunch of awesome rubber fetish gear. For everyone. You too Ladies.