When launching Ārdēo in August 2021, I could not have dreamed of creating a desire for such a niche bold item such as a leather harness.
When I first brought the concept forward, we hoped that in time it would be possible to sell a few hundred units a year: we would have them as a special item available for the absolute love of it: ‘a new approach to an object that may have previously felt inaccessible.’ Bridging a gap I felt was there between lower quality harnesses and – shall we say – the more ‘NSFW’ market.
Fast forward to June of this year – we nervously placed our largest order to date, anticipating we would then have the harnesses in stock for a decent amount of time, giving us time to also be able to work on other projects within the brand.
It sold out in under 24 hours – with my ever-adored High Waist Harness in brass selling out in 3 minutes. We were absolutely flummoxed.
It has been a challenging (a polite pick of words I could use) six months working to get these coveted pieces back in stock. We have been working hard with our supply chain to ensure we can continue to deliver high quality inline with our values to our growing community. This means the most to me: I wouldn’t want to be putting items into the universe I don’t feel truly excellent about. Additionally, I knew if we only added a few hundred pieces, the internet would have been less than impressed…
I dreamed of having all of our core items in stock well in time for Christmas. Whilst this has not been possible we have managed to get production confirmed on a limited pre-order basis, on our biggest order to date, for delivery in February 2023 (approx). This pre-order will be available for the High Waist and Classic Belt Harnesses in both hardware options.
We are opening our pre-order for three days in the hope that as many of you as possible can purchase the harness you desire most. Pre-orders will open on Tuesday 13th December 4.30pm GMT. The pre-order will close at 4.30pm Friday 16th December GMT – this is to ensure we can meet our February deadline. Please be aware quantities could sell out before Friday, so be speedy if you’re keen. Set your alarms, turn your Instagram notifications on, sign up to the newsletter: we’ll be sending reminders.
A few extra side comments from me:
- if you are between sizes: size up
- the measurements are to be taken without any clothing on (see size guides on each product page) therefore you need to account for for any layers that you may wish to wear under your harness
- we will be adding more sizes to our range in time
- a vegan option is also something we wish to add, as time + growth of the business allows
- I wear size XS/S in both harnesses
Your support, patience, and love of Ārdēo means the world:
thank you, thank you for your support: this is just the beginning.
For full details of the pre-order, please click here.
One day – Dreams come true ❤️