After chatting online with Ariel Anderssen online in early 2010, I asked her if she would consider doing an interview for me because I’d loved all of her work at www.RestrainedElegance.com, she graciously agreed.  I think she gave me a great interview.  Hope you’ll all enjoy it!


1.    I'll start off really easy.  How did you come to choose "Ariel Anderssen" as your modeling name?

I was a theatre actress before I started modeling.  I was cast as 'Ariel' in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' in my first year out of drama school, and had a fabulous time.  Ariel is the slave of a super-powerful magician who lives on an island, and I really enjoyed being a slave!  At the time it was the most powerful BDSM experience I'd had, and I got to play it out, night after night, in front of an audience.  Wowzer!  So when I chose a modeling name, it was easy to decide on Ariel.  Anderssen was just a made-up name - people often think I'm Scandinavian so I chose a name that hopefully suits the way I look.  I think I was vaguely thinking of a tribute to Hans Christian Andersen too - my fantasies have always had a bit of a fairy-tale quality to them (over-blown and melodramatic!) and I've always liked the lurking threat in his stories.

2.    On your www.RestrainedElegance.com bio page, it says that you were a trained fight choreographer before you became a model.  What led you to move from that career to modeling and then into the adult modeling business?

I loved fight choreography, but my main enjoyment was performing sword-fighting scenes, rather than choreographing them. Unfortunately, in mainstream theatre there aren't many roles for women which involve combat, so I spent a lot of time making up lovely fights for men to perform, which made me a bit sad.   I didn't really get the variety of interesting work that I wanted as an actress, so when a press photographer who met me at a theatre show invited me to model for him, I jumped at the chance, and realised that modeling was a really fun second career to have - I did a different job every day, instead of sometimes being stuck doing the same play for 3 months at a time.  It suited me really well, and soon I started modeling full time and turning down most acting work because modeling was just more varied.  I did miss the fight choreography, mainly because it had been a good outlet for my BDSM fantasies (I always lost fights that I choreographed for myself!).  So I was absolutely delighted to discover that there were photographers who wanted to book me for bondage shoots.  I still remember the first bondage pictures that I saw - I'd been taken to a gallery opening by a photographer, and some of the photographs on the wall were by fetish artists.  It was brilliant, so there was no question in my mind that I should start fetish modeling too!

3.    How familiar were you with bondage and Internet bondage websites before you tried bondage modeling?

I'd seen very little of the internet bondage world, mainly because I hadn't had my own computer so I didn't have the privacy to search!  So my first exposure to a bondage site happened when the webmaster contacted me about working for him.   What a lovely surprise!  It was such a relief to know that my fantasies fitted into a well-represented genre.  I spent a LOT of time on the internet for a while

4.    You've worked with European bondage sites (like RestrainedElegance, BondageBob and ModelsTied) as well as American sites (like AmateurBound, RopeModels and EroticDistress).  What, if any, differences in styles or techniques have you observed between American and European bondage producers?  Do they approach shoots similarly?

I worked only in England for my first year as a bondage model; and I gradually realised that I'd need to go to the US if I wanted to work for most of the well-established sites.   So, having got some experience in the UK, I set off for Los Angeles.  The first thing that really surprised me was how many people were at the shoot!   Most UK producers tend to only book one model at a time because of the expenses associated with having multiple models on-set, but at my first US bondage shoot, there were 2 models, 2 photographers and a separate rigger.  I was amazed, actually.  It felt as though I'd arrived in Hollywood. And of course, it was also fascinating because I had the chance to watch other models, and learn more about how to do a good job (the US models seem better presented, quite often, and I went back to England with more ideas for clothes and styling).  Now I've been modeling for longer, I've realised that there are UK photographers who work on a large scale, and some US producers who'll have a crew of one person.  So I'm not sure if the differences are really as pronounced as I first thought.  I think people let me talk more on video in the USA though, because they find my accent funny....


5.    On your RestrainedElegance model page, it says, "In 2007, Ariel accepted her new role as Restrained Elegance's probationary resident slavegirl."  What exactly does that mean and what has it entailed for you?

Ahhh, this has been lovely!  Hywel (the owner of Restrained Elegance) and I started playing together around that time.  After I became his girlfriend and slavegirl in real life, we wanted to show that dynamic on the site.  I started to take on some behind-the-scenes jobs like script-writing and planning shoots, and we started making movies with a more D/s element in them, because that's what were exploring behind-the-scenes ourselves.  And now we live together, so I really AM the resident slavegirl.   And I'm very happy!  

6.    You've done many outdoors photoshoots for RestrainedElegance.  What are those like?  Are they on closed sets or are they genuinely out in public?  How do people not involved in the production react to bondage shoots that you do in public?

We've shot a lot of outdoor stuff, and so far we've been lucky because we've chosen locations where there aren't many people around at all.  Sometimes that's involved driving very long distances, and spending lots of money getting the models to places in the middle of nowhere, but it makes the job so much easier if you're not constantly worried about getting arrested.  We've shot some more subtle bondage videos in busy town-centres too - and even in Central London once.  That makes me very, very nervous!  But although lots of people had a good look at us, no one seemed offended.  I think that's because we were fully clothed, though.  For nude bondage, I want to be far, far away from anyone who might disapprove!  It'd be brilliant to get a closed set and shoot nude bondage in Trafalgar Square or something, but we don't have the budget.  

7.    A related outdoors bondage question --  What was it like to shoot the "Naked Steel Bondage in the Snow" and "At Least She Had Her Hat" photosets?  Were those the most difficult shoots you've done?  If not, what was your most difficult shoot?

They certainly were challenging!  I loved the idea of being tied up in the snow - it seemed so dramatic, and I wasn't really thinking about how it would feel.  But when we arrived at the ski resort where we were staying, I started to feel very nervous.  On the first evening we shot on our hotel balcony and I was FREEZING even though I was partly inside the room.  And I wondered if perhaps it wouldn't be possible to do after all.   In the end, we only shot one nude set each day, and did clothed pictures for the rest of the trip (that was still quite painful, because of having bare feet!)  But while we were shooting them, I could see that they were probably going to look fabulous because of the beautiful light on the snow.  So it made the pain definitely worth it!  And I always want to do the best I can for Hywel, because I love him, and I know how much work he puts into the photography for Restrained Elegance.  That's probably been my most difficult bondage shoot so far.  We've made some videos with very challenging BDSM elements (like Long Term Bondage, Bondage Driving Test and others like that) but the cold was a less sexy kind of pain!


9.    There are currently 113 photoset or video updates of you on RestrainedElegance.  That's a lot of bondage!  What is your favorite position to be restrained in?  Your favorite material used for restraints?  Your favorite type of gag?

I like ball-ties best - I LOVE them.  I find them really comfortable, but I also like the feeling of being small - and a ball-tie delivers that sensation.  I also love most things which are strict and challenging - reverse prayer, and strict elbows-together ties make me really happy.  I like rope a lot more than I like metal for shoots because I enjoy struggling and trying to get free, and there's no point doing that with metal restraints.  But in real life I like both.  I also LOVE cable ties for some reason.  I think it's because they feel kind of official.  And my favourite kind of gags are the most invasive sort - cock gags, inflatable gags and big ball gags.  I've got a bit of an obsession with them!

10.    What are the best and worst parts of your work as a bondage model?

Ohhh, the best thing by far is that I've had the chance to try out so many of my fantasies in a safe, controlled environment, with people who know what they're doing.   The other 'best part' is feeling as though I'm producing the sort of pictures that would have turned me on if I'd seen them before I'd started modeling.  And they'd also have made me feel as though it was ok to like BDSM, I think.  That's really important to me.  I suppose the worst part might be that photographers in other parts of the industry might look down on my bondage work, but I'm proud of it - of all the modeling work I do, it's the work that represents the way I actually feel inside the most, so I hope I'll never feel ashamed of it, or want to hide it.

11.    Lastly, is there anything else you'd like your fans to know about you or any of your upcoming projects?

I'm trying to write a bondage movie in the style of a Jane Austen novel.  It's not going very well yet, because I haven't figured out why all the girls should keep getting tied up.  I'm sure it'll come to me though - we'll be shooting it for Restrained Elegance this Summer, in a fabulous manor house in the English countryside.  I want it to be quite CP heavy - I love mixing bondage and spanking, and I think this'll be a good storyline to facilitate it!