About Our Products
Our Philosophy
As a rope store connected to the vibrant shibari community in London - we're in the unusual position of seeing all our products in action in classes, workshops and rope jams at our studio Anatomie Studio. With over a decade of this direct feedback has enabled us to select and refine our products.
We only sell products that we personally use ourselves in play or tying. In fact in many cases we started stocking certain products because we wanted them for ourselves. The length of the ropes, the type of treatment and all the products we offer are a result of direct communication with our customers and observations on how they perform in our space.
Jute Ropes - Our Speciality
The history
Shortly after opening Anatomie Studio in 2015 we realised that our students were being held back by poor quality ropes, and ropes that had been either under or over-treated, or were stiff and prickly. We sourced our own supplier of high-quality jute ropes, which are made to resemble some of the best features of two popular Japanese brands: Nawaya and Ogawa.
How Our Jute Ropes Feel
Our signature jute rope is from our own supplier and is made to resemble a cross between our two favourite Japanese ropes; Ogawa and Nawaya. This is a single-ply three stranded jute rope, with a (nominal) diamter of 6mm that has become the standard for shibari and kinbaku worldwide. Our close relationship to our supplier gives us control over the consistency of our jute rope - a rope purchased 5 years ago from us should feel the same as one purchased today (once broken in).
For the connoisseurs, our ropes are slightly tighter lay than Ogawa but slightly looser than Nawaya. They break in slower than Ogawa but a lot faster than Nawaya. They typically last significantly longer than Ogawa.
Our own jute ropes are however comparatively low in JBO content (the petroleum smelling oils that are particularly evident in raw untreated ropes). Our treated ropes have very little odor.
For those who prefer it, we also sell Ogawa ropes in natural or dyed variants.
Our Coloured Jute Ropes
We offer coloured jute ropes in two varieties:
Anatomie Signature Coloured Ropes: Our own jute ropes factory-dyed at the yarn level. These maintain the same handling characteristics as our natural Anatomie ropes while offering beautiful, consistent colours that have been tested by our community.
Ogawa Coloured Ropes: Limited stock selections from the Japanese rope maker Ogawa. These are similar to our Anatomie ropes, but because the dying process involves 'wet treating' them (basically wetting the ropes), they are bendier at first use than our Anatomie ropes. Availability varies based on what we can source from Japan. We sell red, purple and black.
Both our signature coloured ropes and Ogawa guest ropes receive the same careful treatment before shipping out to customers.
Cotton Ropes - Perfect for Practice and Sensitive Skin
Cotton ropes offer a gentler introduction to rope work, making them ideal for beginners or those with sensitive skin. Unlike jute, cotton is naturally soft and doesn't require breaking in, allowing you to start tying immediately.
Benefits of Cotton:
- Softer on skin from first use
- Machine washable
- No natural oils or treatments needed
- Excellent for learning basic ties and techniques
- More forgiving for extended scenes
Our cotton ropes are particularly popular for bedroom bondage.
Linen Hemp - Alternative Natural Fibres
For those seeking alternatives to jute, we offer linen hemp ropes that provide different handling characteristics while maintaining the natural feel that shibari practitioners prefer.
Our linen hemp ropes offer durability and strength with a texture that breaks in beautifully over time.
Treatment Products - Maintain and Enhance Your Ropes
Why Treat Ropes?
Raw ropes can be difficult and even painful to tie with (for both partners), and it is for this reason that people prefer to buy ropes that have already been processed and treated.
The treatment process is however not strictly necessary for the ropes, but it does make the ropes more user friendly and your fingers might appreciate that. The treatment process mimics the natural breaking in process that the ropes would undergo by simply tying with the ropes over time - which some experienced rigger choose to do.
Our Treatment Process
Ropes can be 'wet treated' or 'dry treated', but in order to wet treat ropes properly the ropes must be dried under tension or they become so bendy that they are basically unusable for shibari. Because this process involves a lot of time and space, many people prefer to 'dry treat' their ropes. This usually involves a process of breaking in the ropes by rubbing it against itself to make the fibres more pliable, singeing the ropes over a flame to burn away the fuzzies, and rubbing waxy pastes or oils into the ropes.
Treatment Products We Use and Sell
The paste or "rope goo" we use (and sell) is a mix of beeswax blended with camellia oil. Ropes can be treated without beeswax, especially if you're vegan, or if you prefer lighter ropes, then you can simply use our "rope lube" which is a blend of camellia or jojoba oil. Both camellia and jojoba oil are commonly found in cosmetic products - camellia is lighter and rather running, while jojoba oil is essentially a liquid wax and therefore thicker with a slightly darker hue.
Note that we don't use rope goo on the ropes we sell, because we have many vegan customers who prefer to avoid beeswax.
For more information, check out our video on rope treatment.
Why Buy From Us?
As a rope studio and store operating since 2015, we continually receive feedback from our students and local customers. This has allowed us to refine not only our jute ropes and treatment methods, but our entire product range into items we believe you’ll be delighted to use and bond with.
We’ve been using and selling these products since 2015 and continue to receive fantastic feedback.
More importantly, when you buy from us, you’re supporting a dedicated rope space that creates educational opportunities and content, while also helping us provide jobs for our local community.
Thank you for your support!