Bob Kaczmarek designed the Archer Bowchair for the love of his life: his wife, Lisa.
A few years ago, Lisa was diagnosed with a pelvic-floor disorder in which her pelvic-floor muscles were constantly contracting. She was experiencing a lot of pain and discomfort, especially during sex.
Soon after she started treatment, Bob, a custom-furniture maker and artisan, had an accident in his shop and cut off part of his middle finger on his right hand. The couple was holed up for awhile — Bob nursing his injured hand and Lisa practicing stretches and diaphragmatic breathing.
One day, while in a type of bridge exercise pose, Lisa experienced relief and relaxation flooding over her. That was when inspiration struck. “We should have sex like this,” she said. When he told her that he didn’t think gravity would allow it, she gave him a challenge: “Why don’t you build something?” Over the next few weeks, the designs for the Archer Bowchair were born.
“It’s been seven years [married], and I’m not in the least bit itchy, except for more,” teases Lisa, looking affectionately at Bob.
That was four years ago they designed the chair. Now the Pittsburgh-based couple is running their own business making the chair that Bob designed. Every model is custom-built from American-sourced materials and takes around 40 hours to craft. It was important to the Kaczmareks that the chair be functional, while also being discreet and beautiful so it can look elegant anywhere in a customer’s home.
Bob crafts each chair using flexible woods, like ash, cherry, red and white oak, mahogany and steamed walnut, that would be suitable for making bows. Faux leather is used for the coverings, and all of the seams are sealed for easy cleaning. Soon they’ll introduce an aluminum version that will be faster to produce and, therefore, sell for almost half the price.
The chair works by using carbon-fiber springs that silently help users create low-impact momentum from a variety of positions on the chair. The springs allow vertical as well as horizontal movement for varied positions and angles. It’s also counter-weighted and can hold up to 500 pounds.
Since developing this chair, the Kaczmareks have discovered the many ways in which their chair could help people experience pleasure that might have been previously inaccessible to them. Many of their interested customers have been older or have physical disabilities that may limit expressions of sexuality.
Chairs can be customized to meet the specific needs of customers, including extra supporting rails and sets of rings that act as attachment points. For folks who want to use the chair as a tool for exploration, customizing the chair with a moveable bondage bar, handlebars or a so-called “dick on a stick” are additional customizable features. The dildo is covered in Teflon to prevent chill and is compatible with interchangeable dildo attachments of the client’s choice.
The couple wants to reach as many people as possible. Their goal is to gather effectiveness studies from medical professionals in hopes of getting the chair approved by insurance companies as an assistive device and to build a catalog of accessories to assist differing levels of disability. To raise funds, in March, the couple plans to launch a MedStartr campaign (like a KickStarter for medical devices) to help raise money to meet these goals.
“Heterosexual, homosexual, whatever your choices and who you are, we still want to make a product that serves what you need. We believe everybody matters and human beings deserve to experience love, sex and pleasure in whatever way is most satisfying and natural to them,” says Lisa.
Looking for tips on how to use the chair? The website provides a handy position guide to help users get started or get creative. Positions are sourced from ancient texts that include the Kama Sutra (second-century India), The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight (12th-century Arabia) and the Ananga Ranga (15th-century India).
For more information: 412-944-6555 or www.bowchair.com
