The Kaminsky name is a very familiar one in the adult retail industry, associated with not just one, but two iconic brands: Babeland and Good Vibrations, under the auspices of Barnaby, Ltd. It should come as no surprise, then, that Barnaby’s recently appointed vice president, Casey Kaminsky, is the son of 47-year industry veteran and Barnaby, Ltd. President Joel Kaminsky.
Casey Kaminsky started with Good Vibrations in March 2012, pulling orders as a warehouse employee. When the company moved its facility to Oakland and began outsourcing web fulfillment a couple of years later, he moved on to inventory management, his first desk job with the company. Eventually he joined the purchasing department, working under Coyote Amrich before she departed in 2021. On the buying team, Kaminsky became involved with product selection, vendor communications, customer requests and locking down the formula to order for retail stores. With an economics background, Kaminsky says, he also brings number-crunching and common business sense to the table in his efforts to help keep both brands buzzing.
I am surrounded by experts, and the folks I work with make me better.
They are brands to which many people feel an emotional connection, and both have a storied history. Good Vibrations, which celebrates its 45th anniversary this year, was founded in 1977 by sex-positive progressivist, gender rights advocate and entrepreneur Joani Blank. Her mission was to create a safe and inclusive space, literally and figuratively, for women and the general public to access honest, accurate sexual health education and trusted products in a shame-free environment.
Good Vibrations became a trailblazing presence on the West Coast, going on to inspire other stores to create safe, inclusive environments. One was Toys in Babeland, which Rachel Venning and Claire Cavanah opened in Seattle in 1993, later renaming it simply Babeland. Sharing Blank’s feminist values, Babeland even referred to Good Vibrations as its “sister store” on occasion, long before the companies merged in 2017. Next year, Babeland will celebrate 30 years in business.
Between their legacies and social impact, both Good Vibes and Babeland have earned the respect, affection and loyalty of retail customers nationwide, vendors and industry professionals — more than a few of whom are likely to feel fiercely protective of these brands and how they are nurtured from the inside.
XBIZ spoke with Casey Kaminsky about team dynamics, core values and making his journey to vice president with humor and humility.
XBIZ: Did you initially feel the need to prove yourself to your colleagues? How have you earned their trust over time?
Kaminsky: For sure! Going back to over a decade ago when I was pulling orders in the warehouse, it was never a secret what my father’s succession plan was. Back then it was highly likely I was going to eventually lead the company — but not until I showed I was capable, and that I was ready. I truly believe I work with the best folks in our industry. I am surrounded by experts, true masters of their respective crafts. Many of them have been with the company for decades. I’m the young one of the bunch at 10 years. I’ve always looked up to them, been honored to work with them, and now have the privilege of leading them. It wasn’t so much that I felt I needed to prove anything to them as much as I needed to prove it to myself. I wanted to feel worthy. They’ve all witnessed my journey from the warehouse until now and there have certainly been some ups and downs along the way. But I do feel I have earned their respect, just as I feel they know how much I respect them.
Protecting the future of this company is important to a lot of folks — this brand matters to them, and I don’t take that responsibility lightly. All I can do is try my best and keep trying to do the next right thing. I often work late, and I often work on weekends. Luckily, I happen to love what I do, so it’s time well spent!
XBIZ: These days, what does a typical day in the office — or remote workspace — look like?
Kaminsky: There is only one rule: nothing happens before I have my coffee. Without it, many of my emails have missing words and typos, and that’s just a bad look in this new role. With our current hybrid schedule, we work remotely Monday and Friday, and Tuesday through Thursday in the office. I’ve fallen into a little routine for both settings as my week tends to follow a similar pattern. Using Monday as an example day, I will sit down with my coffee and examine all the sales figures from the previous day. We have a “stand up” meeting at 10:45 a.m. where everyone on the team gives an update on what they are working on. I put together all the reports for the previous week and send them off to the team with some analysis and feedback on the numbers. During lunch breaks I play my electronic drums, go for a run or work out at the gym. I tend to have many projects going on at once, resulting in Zoom meetings with various internal and external folks throughout the day mixed in with some team chats. And of course, I spend plenty of time on the tried-and-true, often unsung hero of workplace efficiency, email. For days in the office, replace my drums or workout with going out to lunch with my dad. I’m grateful for the opportunity to spend so much time with him. And to not pay for lunch for those three days every week!
XBIZ: What is one change you’ve implemented as VP that has made an impact on internal operations?
Kaminsky: We’ve torn down our silos and our departments are more involved with each other. Everyone is a stakeholder, everyone can give input and everyone is welcome in every meeting. Marketing, buying, web, retail and education all work hand in hand. We essentially are one big team. Also, while the folks I work with are experts at what they do, one thing I do bring to the table is my background in data analytics. We are now more focused on using data to help guide our decisions.
XBIZ: How does a collaborative dynamic and staff synergy contribute to day-to-day wins and the overall success of both brands?
Kaminsky: We have all worked together for a long time, and we know each other very well. We thrive as a group when we stay in communication with each other. When all departments work with each other, magical things happen. We are good when we work remotely, but we are great when we work together in the office. Things just seem to come together easier, and we laugh a whole lot along the way.
We work collaboratively on initiatives and we talk through everything as a group. Our buying team includes Mark, Jackie and Anthony and together we curate the selection of high-quality, body-safe products for ecommerce and every retail store. I work with our retail director, Laura, and our area manager, Amy, to guide our brick-and-mortar strategies, and I personally speak with every store manager to understand each store’s individual needs and respective trends. I work with our director of visual merchandising, Sharon, to help determine the visual aesthetic of our award-winning stores. Well, I sign off on her brilliant ideas, rather! I work with our ecommerce manager, Dan, for everything web: product setup, promotion planning, SEO, SEM, UX, email and SMS marketing, etc. Our education team includes Brand Manager Lisa, Education Director Andy and our magnificent staff sexologist, Dr. Carol Queen. I take no credit for the incredible, industry-leading sex education that they give to the world. Their contributions are what truly set our company apart from the rest, in my eyes. And while I’m at it, Jim is the best IT maestro in the game and our HR director, Elizabeth, is the unsung hero of our company who keeps the pieces together behind the scenes. I can’t say enough good things about our team here at Babeland and Good Vibrations. It has been a truly rewarding experience to work with these folks each day, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to grow this business alongside them.
XBIZ: While you’re surrounded by a supportive team to help move initiatives forward, your plate is understandably packed. Do you have a practice or routine that helps you maintain focus or resilience while managing work-related stress?
Kaminsky: Meditation. My commitment to it ebbs and flows, but the yearly subscription to various meditation apps remains. Funny how sitting still and thinking about nothing can cost money. When I do choose to commit to a daily practice, I find that I’m more patient and remain even-keeled through times of conflict. In general, I am a pretty optimistic and laid-back guy. I have always been good about rolling with punches. I want to live in the solution rather than focusing on the problem.
XBIZ: Who within the industry community do you look up to?
Kaminsky: It goes without saying that my dad is the easy answer here, but he knows how I feel about him. That said, I truly honor one individual who has set an example for the type of leader and human I’d like to emulate: Coyote Amrich.
Coyote was my boss for several years, and was our director of purchasing and product development at Good Vibrations for nearly two decades before moving out of state during the pandemic. I learned so much while working for her. I never knew someone who was, and still is, such an expert at what they do. Coyote is a connoisseur, a consummate professional and a true authority in our industry. I remember being in a vendor meeting with Coyote once, and the vendor gave us a product presentation on their new items. After they heard Coyote’s sentiments about the products, the vendor said that they wished they could just record her and use what she said in their presentations instead.
With an intricate knowledge of product design, brands, materials and industry history, Coyote understands our business on a deep level. When she talks, you listen. But more important than all of that, she is just a topnotch human. This is demonstrated in the ways she cares about her community and advocates for what she believes in.
I want to be like her. I hope to be like her. She is currently operating her own consulting company, A Million Ways Consulting, and I can’t recommend her highly enough for anyone who has the opportunity to work with her.
XBIZ: What does the short- and long-term future of the company hold?
Kaminsky: We have two huge projects in the works at the moment. First, we are interviewing various branding companies for Good Vibrations. Everything is on the table, and we are taking a look at ourselves with fresh eyes from the ground up and relearning who we are exactly. We are open-minded to a complete revamp, from the logo to the colors to the — gasp! — name. Second, we are looking to build an omnichannel loyalty program to add value for our customers and help with customer retention. I’ve personally been spearheading that project and we should be signing a contract shortly. Long-term, we will focus on the growth of all sales channels but in the short term, we’ve allocated more budget to improving our websites through improved SEO and UX, additional investments in SEM, and other methods of improving traffic to our sites and conversion of that traffic. Our competition has really stepped up their presence online and we plan to do the same.
I’m just excited to see where we go from here. We will ultimately expand all three of our brands — Good Vibrations, Babeland and Camouflage — with additional retail locations. When Joel took over Good Vibrations, we only had four stores in two states. Today we have 13 stores across four states, and that’s down from 15 after two stores closed due to the pandemic.
Honestly, between the pandemic and staffing shortages we are struggling to keep all our locations open seven days a week, so our brick-and-mortar growth is on the back burner for the time being, but we will always take a look at what opportunities are available to us. Our mission is important, and communities benefit from our presence, so we hope to expand into as many places as we can while still maintaining the integrity of our brands! I have no doubts we will expand our retail foothold, as our team has a proven track record of opening beautiful stores.
The new fun challenge is seeing what we can accomplish on the web, now that we have more staff dedicated to it and have made investments to help push its growth. One challenge we’ve always had is: How do we translate the amazing Good Vibes/Babeland in-store experiences onto the web? My hope is that our new branding adventure, loyalty program, improved blog with new educational content and donation program will help get us off to the right start. I believe in our team, and I can’t wait to see what we do.
XBIZ: Is the VP role different from what you expected? What has been the greatest challenge thus far?
Kaminsky: Previously, my experience with the company was mostly in the buying department. Talking about products and crunching numbers is where I feel most comfortable. There are aspects of this new role that are completely new to me — evaluating potential brick-and-mortar spaces, lease negotiations, insurance and benefits, HR policies, ecommerce technology solutions, merchandising/marketing and the list goes on and on. But growth comes with working through discomfort, and it’s been rewarding to witness my progress as time goes on and I learn more and more about our business. I jumped in with both feet and learned how to swim. It’s different from what I expected in that when I was in more minor roles, I thought the “boss” jobs seemed easy. I have a newfound respect for my predecessors and for leaders in our industry. There is a lot that goes into running a business, and until you are the one making decisions, it’s hard to understand all that the job encompasses. You don’t know what you don’t know, if that makes any sense.
What I’ve learned time and time again is just how little I actually know. Joel has always said he is the “dumbest person in the company.” I now have the distinct honor of claiming the role as “second dumbest.” I used to wonder what people with office jobs did all day. Now I understand. There is just so much that goes into every project, from planning to communication to execution. In many ways I am learning on the fly through trial and error. I am good at what I do, but I want to be great, and good is the enemy of great. Like I said before, I am surrounded by experts, and the folks I work with make me better. In time, I hope to make them better too.
