When I trotted into Hubba Hubba, a well-known fetish store and Central Square staple, I was greeted by deep moans and the jingling of shackles. Not necessarily my choice of music to blast through the speakers, but it got the point across well enough. Browsing through the latex dresses, the mesh shirts, the bondage gear, and the thorough and colorful selections of sex toys, I found myself completely absorbed in this little dimension where almost anything goes. I felt underdressed and all too normal.

On this particular occasion, I came to Hubba Hubba in order to meet its owner, Susan Phelps. When you head off to meet the owner of a fetish boutique, you have to be ready for anything and anyone. But when I met Suzi, it became clear that I was in good hands. Suzi is a middle-aged woman whose unassuming attire conceals a much larger presence. She exudes a motherly air, but in a don't-fuck-with-me kind of way. As she rang up a customer, I couldn't help but think how distinguished she appeared, standing behind a counter full of pink vibrators and various bondage gear. I had to admire her presence.

As we sat down in the back of the store, next to a mannequin dressed as a naughty nun, I learned her commanding presence has developed over her 24 years of experience as an independent business owner. Over the years she has gathered some strong opinions and some valuable insight into the business world. Ever wondered how one gets into the fetish business? Well, for Suzi, it was more of an evolution than a lifelong dream. It was more smart business strategies than a kinky hobby-turned-career. When you push aside the latex and the strap-ons, Suzi is a businesswoman, plain and simple.

She began her business before she even had a store. Starting with vintage clothing, antiques, and collectibles, Suzi rocked out the flea market scene, bringing her treasures with her on the road. Eventually she got tired of the constant setting up and taking down, and looked for a permanent location. From there she set up a vintage store in Cambridge with similar items, selling zoot suits and other one-of-kind finds. Settling in at a location between Harvard and Central Squares (where she remained for nearly two decades), Suzi's shop underwent constant transformations as the times changed and the trends changed.

And then Punk hit. This was a major turning point for Suzi and for the shop. She recalled, "I loved the music and I loved the whole ethos of it. So I started doing contemporary punk clothing, too." Her store had a mix of new and old-Manic Panic and Doc Martins alongside vintage dresses and accessories. "I noticed that everybody who came into the store gravitated toward the new stuff," she said. So her vintage boutique successfully evolved into a punk and new wave store. Leather filled the racks, and studded collars became the jewelry of choice.

From there, it was a sort of "organic evolution process," as Suzi called it, that led to Hubba Hubba as we know it today. The punk and goth scene are still well represented in the boutique. However, they are now overshadowed by latex and handcuffs. You don't have to be part of a subculture to shop here, you just have to dig sex. Suzi is very tuned in to her audience, and she has adapted unbelievably well as the sex and bondage side of her business have become more profitable than what she formerly sold. Sex sells, and therefore she has become an authority on sex toys, accessories, and clothing. During our conversation, Suzi showed me one of the catalogs she orders from. I guarantee you it is bigger than any novel you have ever read or ever will read. Just imagine a Ulysses-sized book full of dildos, cover to cover. Anyone in doubt of the magnitude of the sex industry only needs to thumb through this dildo book. Suzi deals with up to 90 suppliers, each having its own voluminous catalog for any number of fetish needs. The industry is huge and shows no signs of slowing down.

When many people think of the sex industry, they think of phone sex and freak porn. But when you walk into a place like Hubba Hubba, you don't feel creepy or foul. In fact, I'd argue that you feel liberated (so if you haven't gone there, get to it!). It isn't like the porno section of the video store, where you have to slip behind a squeaky door and put your video in a black plastic bag so the "normal" shoppers won't see your shameful purchase. Hubba Hubba is more a celebration than a dirty secret. The crowd Suzi caters to is incredibly diverse. She sees a lot of older couples come in for the intimate stuff. People are safer these days, when it comes to sex, she said, and a large portion of her clients are established couples looking for something to spice things up. She also gets a lot of men looking for female clothing and accessories (like fake boobs and "gaffes," which effectively hold one's nuts in place under a skirt). Some clients are dominatrixes, as well. Gay, straight, male, female, and anywhere in between, she's seen it all and has developed a great appreciation for those who choose the more eccentric path in their personal lives.

There is a major social element to being in a job like this. Anyone interested in opening a boutique of this nature should be ready to find that work and play often overlap. Suzi is part of a scene and part of a subculture, though this scene is not defined by one kind of music or taste or sexual preference. She has good relationships with places like Man Ray and Jacques. So, when I said that she was a businesswoman, plain and simple, I kind of lied. She is also an active part of a much bigger social movement; business aside, she loves the people she has met in the gay, fetish, and transgendered scene. In a way, she sees herself in the position of social or civil service for her clients. Without a touch of arrogance, Suzi said she "helps enrich people's lives when they want to take themselves in a certain direction." Many of her clients are newcomers to cross-dressing or fetish gear, and Suzi does her best to facilitate their introduction to such lifestyles. She tries to make all people feel at home in Hubba Hubba, and she does a fabulous job. As a result, she has built up good relationships with people from all walks of life, all of whom she refers to "artists" of one kind or another.

Suzi noted one of the difficulties of being in the sex and bondage industry. As one who supports unconventional ways of life, she finds it entirely upsetting when the media targets her clients as leading immoral or unhealthy lifestyles. Think back last year, to the incident of one dominatrix who hacked up the body of a man who had died in her home during a session, and you can see how a little bad media attention misrepresents the fetish subculture altogether. After all, her drag queens and "doms" are the same people as our accountants, police officers, and waitresses.

Anyone thinking of entering this kind of business has to be willing to take a little slack from less open individuals (of whom there are plenty). On a regular basis, Suzi's store gets its fair share of losers. When discussing the topic of Central Square, she freely tossed around the words "drunks," "garbage," and "intolerant." Her location on Mass Ave, which teeters between trendy and shady, makes the shop a target for obnoxious kids, thieves, and surly winos. Even during our interview, a group of teenaged brats waltzed around the boutique yelling, "Yo these people are freaks, yo," to anyone who would listen. Our conversation momentarily stopped as Suzi shot them a well practiced death-glare, and, with that remarkable ghetto gimp-saunter, the kids left without hassle. "See what I mean?" she said. She confessed that the never-ending flow of losers (my word, not hers) has made it really hard to appreciate her job sometimes. Or at least her choice in location. With brutal honesty that you have to admire, she said, "I'm becoming intolerant, and that means it's time to go."

She made no secret of the frustrations that plague a small business owner. At this point, after 24 years of trudging back and forth on Mass Ave, she admits that she's "fried." She noted that it's harder to make a living at it now, especially for the Mom and Pop stores in Cambridge. Suddenly shops like Hubba Hubba find themselves in the shadow of goliaths like Urban Outfitters and the Gap, who can afford the high rents.

Besides the outside factors, she stated that a job like this requires a lot of energy and devotion to keeping up on trends. Great for the young and ambitious. At this point, however, Suzi has pretty much seen all she needs to see, and done all she feels necessary with the boutique. She joked that sometimes she feels like a rat in an experiment "where people are watching me go up and down Mass Ave day after day, asking themselves, 'How long can she keep this up until she breaks down?'" On one hand, she has loved the freedom that her own business has allowed her. She makes the rules. But on the other hand, it can still seem like a trap, same as any job but with a different twist.

What next? Well, Suzi surprised me when she said she wanted to move on entirely, perhaps to a relaxing life on the Cape (where she owns a home). No more Cambridge, no more toothless drunks or experimental rats. Over two and a half decades, Suzi's evolving professional life has led her in many fascinating directions. Now she is approaching the point where her next change will be a personal one rather than a strictly business decision. She asserted, "I don't want to look at dildos anymore. I want to look at fir trees." Can you blame her?

If you are interested in checking out Hubba Hubba for yourself, it is located at 534 Mass Ave in Cambridge. Contact the store at 617-492-9082 or visit www.hubbahubba.com