Portland Shibari Salon Presents Shibari for Lovers: Tying for Connection
a workshop with Jonathan & Sappho

This workshop is sold out, but you can click here to join the waitlist for tickets

Shibari is a living art of trust, tension, and vulnerability. Join Jonathan & Sappho at Portland Shibari Salon for a playful, supportive class where rope becomes a medium for connection, creativity, and shared exploration—curious hands, open minds, and space to learn together with your partner.

 In this three-hour workshop, we'll explore safe, beautiful, and effective ways to move away from just putting knots on your partner, and build skill and intuition for tying the spirit. Drawing especially on the traditional and beautiful ties found in the Japanese art of Shibari/Kinbaku, and core physical partner skills found in martial arts and dance, we'll explore exercises for building intimacy with rope. We'll also learn basic knots and ties needed to make your rope look and feel sexy on your partner, and of course, discuss safety and consent as well.

People Tying: This is a great class for learning those precise tying and key soft skills for making a rope scene hot.

People Being Tied: This is a great class for learning how to mesh and connect with your partner in rope! Expect to spend the majority of the class getting plenty of hands-on practice in a friendly, relaxed environment.

There is no prerequisite for this course, and it is definitely appropriate for all genders, sexual orientations, and body types.

Equipment & Dress: Comfortable clothing that is easy to move in and snug fitting. No nudity, please.

People Tying will need to bring:

(2) 26' to 30' ropes, and (2) 12-15' soft ropes 5-6mm in diameter. Jute is especially recommended, but hemp or cotton will work as well. It's also helpful to have some shorter lengths of rope in your kit. Need Rope? We have jute rope kits for sale for this workshop! Contact us for details.

To ensure personal attention to each participant, class size will be limited to 6 tying pairs. Due to the small class size, early registration is highly recommended. Please note that no refunds or credit will be issued within 14 days of the event.

About the Educators:

International rope artist Jonathan Ryan (Seattle Shibari) performs on stage, ties for photoshoots, and teaches the art of Shibari worldwide. He has taught & performed for sold-out audiences in 15 countries and 24 cities, including Paris, Rome, Tokyo, Barcelona, London, Shanghai, and Los Angeles. As a presenter, he draws on 20 years of professional work in education, specializing in curriculum design and differentiating instruction for diverse learning styles.

He has been deeply involved in Japanese cultural arts for more than 40 years, and holds a high-level instructor license awarded to him by Hajime Kinoko of Tokyo, Japan. Jonathan’s personal style of rope combines his knowledge of body movement principles, psychology, and rope art to create his distinctive style of tying. His website is SeattleShibari.com.

Sappho is an unabashed lover of rope who brings expertise in Latin dance forms and a spirit of sensual inquiry to her kinbaku. She and Jonathan have taught & performed together in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. 

As a medical doctor specializing in neuro-anatomy, Sappho expertly combines a dancer's awareness of physical movement  together with her professional knowledge of the body. She is passionate about sharing this knowledge with others. Together with Jonathan, she directs activities at the Portland Shibari Salon.

For Jonathan & Sappho, rope is more than a beautiful & sensual art form; it is the invisible connection between two people made visible.