This page has been written to answer some of the many questions asked of me in the past regarding my website, photographs and love for fur. You can read about my past history and the origins of Mr Mockle and find out more about my early modelling shoots by clicking the links here and reading below.
My first memory of fur comes from my primary school days. I remember that two of our female teachers had gorgeous long dark musquash coats which they wore during the winter. I thought that they looked so beautiful in their furs and enjoyed seeing them during the outdoor play breaks. Although I don’t recall doing so, I must have touched their furs on occasion if I wasn’t too embarrassed to do so; if so, these would have been incredible moments.
During the following years I started to notice more women wearing furs on the streets, in church gatherings and on television. Television shows such as “Dallas” and “Dynasty” were just starting and I remember watching them secretly, expectantly waiting for the scenes of Linda Gray, Linda Evans, Joan Collins and other celebrities wearing their stunning furs. The short film “The Fur Coat Club” was also a big influence on my early days of fur awareness. In my teenage years I began to collect whatever fur information and images that I could find; I recorded video clips of furs on television and collected cuttings from magazines and newspapers. However, except the inital contact in the school playground, I had yet to feel a fur and had little idea about the different types of fur.
My collection of fur video clips and magazine cuttings was growing, but at some stage I would have to buy a fur of my own. I acquired my first fur shortly before my eighteenth birthday; a largish black coney jacket, second hand but in good condition. I bought it from a local market stall for £20 and I remember being so nervous when approaching the lady to buy it but the relief of having done so was incredible. I rushed home, smuggling it in past my parents, and remember spending much of the rest of the day hypnotised by it: touching it, stroking it and, I have to admit, becoming aroused by it. I spent many quiet moments in my life alone with my fur; it became a sort of comfort device and a means to relieve the frustrations of school and work.
However it wasn’t long before I had the desire to own more furs, and within a few months I had bought five other furs. I bought a long black fake fur coat from Selfridges for £225 which was truely gorgeous and had a great design, swing and feel to it and I also bought a black fake fur jacket and a small grey leopard print fake fur coat. I also started visiting furriers now, one of which is still open and I still shop in, and enjoyed looking at their bargain rails not only because of the furs there and their relatively cheap prices but also because of the chance to see female customers trying on other furs in the store. From one of these furriers I bought a small blue fox jacket and an afghan fox jacket – which I featured in my earlier photoshoots – for £50 each. I was happy with my collection then given my restricted finances, but hoped that I would be able to buy more luxurious furs in later life.
Although I had started to buy furs and collect fur scenes and cuttings, I still believed that I was the only person in the world with such a passion for furs! It never occured to me that although there must be women in the world with a large number of furs – the growing number of my Joan Collins clippings showed that she must have several furs – there must be other people who felt the same as me about furs. Shortly before I started university I decided that I might need a place to store my furs in case space or privacy was limited in my lodgings. So in an effort to find a suitable storage option for them, I placed an advert in a contact magazine looking for people with an interest in furs.
I received only a few replies, but one was from a guy who lived very near to my university and was to become a very good friend. He told me that he also loved furs and thought he might be the only one who felt that way. He also mentioned his fur collection; at the time this consisted of about 300 furs! This total did not include the 150 other furs he owned before his ex wife forced him to throw them out! I was shocked to hear that anyone could have that many furs, especially as he wouldn’t wear many of them in public, but some photos included in the letter showed me some of his collection and I was very impressed.
We exchanged details about our feelings for fur over several letters and finally met up during my first week on campus. I saw his collection in his flat, then rather haphazardly stored, and while it mostly consisted of coney, musquash and beaver lamb (mouton) coats and jackets, he did have a handful of lovely fox coats and jackets. He explained to me what he knew about the different fur types and even loaned me some while I was studying; fortunately I did have the privacy and space for my furs! While I did not buy any more furs while at university, my new friend continued to acquire numerous furs, mostly of similar types to his collection but I recall special ones in particular: a huge ranch mink bomber jacket, a large soft golden island fox chubby jacket, a breathtaking soft thick black fox chubby jacket and a huge silver fox coat with a big tuxedo collar.
At university also I started to use the internet and quickly found the various fur sites and communities of the time. I made many fur contacts across the world via email and newsgroups and in the years since returning from university I have had the pleasure of meeting a number of them personally.
My first attempt at fur photography was done while at university. I started a relationship with a wonderful and very beautiful young woman but at first was very hesitant to tell her about my feelings for furs. Fortunately, during a conversation before we started dating she had mentioned how she loved going in the fur salon when she visted Harrods as a child, so I knew that she wasn’t against furs. During a late night cuddle we began talking about fantasies we had and I told her about my love for furs. She was a little surprised but agreed to wear furs for me on occasion when in private. We used the furs during our lovemaking on numerous occasions and, for those of you that have not tried it, I can confirm that making love on a bed of furs is an incredible an unforgetable experience!
It was always great to see her wearing furs although the only fur she wore in public was my long black fake fur coat. But I wanted a way to remember how good she looked in furs when she was out of town, so I asked her if she would pose for a few fashion pictures in the furs. She agreed to do this so we planned a special night in and I managed to borrow some furs from my fur friend, including his big black fox chubby. I took a roll of photos of her in the furs and, although techincally my camerawork was awful, my girlfriend looked sensational especially in the black fox. Our relationship ended before I finished university but I can still remember how stunning she looked in those prints. If she happens to read this story, then I can confirm that I have destroyed those prints and that I still wish her every happiness in the world!
It was a series of photographs taken by one of fur contacts that inspired me to take up fur photoshoots more actively. The images featured the lovely Teresa May standing in a library posing in a huge thick black fox coat with a silver fox collar. When I saw these images I wrote to the photgrapher to ask him about the pictures and the experience. He told me about the session and gave me some suggestions about how to arrange such shoots for myself as I had wanted to see my fur models modelled again as my former girlfriend had done, but this time with an experienced professional model. I finally contacted HB Studios to organise a shoot for early October 1999, selected Tracey Coleman as the model I wanted and, after confirming via the studio that she would be happy to pose in furs, I confirmed the booking. There was no turning back now!
I took six of my furs to the studio, which was not easy on public transport, and fortunately arrived there on time. I decided on the backdrop for the shoot and was helped with setting up the lighting and scene by the studio manager before unpacking my furs and waiting for Tracey to finish her previous shoot. I was extremely nervous when meeting Tracey, who looks even more beautiful in person, but she was so friendly and helpful that I quickly felt more comfortable about the session. We selected a dark business skirt suit for the outfit and with the furs over it, she looked sensational!
The shoot lasted for two hours and the time raced by; I shot 15 rolls of film during the session and enjoyed chatting with Tracey about modelling, furs and our backgrounds. Spending such a time in the company of a beautiful and charming woman in furs is an incredible experience and it was a shame for that session to end but we said our goodbyes, I paid the studio owner for the shoot and struggled home with my furs. The photgraphs that I took during that first shoot were not too special because of my nerves, lack of familiarity with my camera and the nuance of the experience: was I actually photographing one of the UK’s top glamour models in my furs? However I had such a good time that I started looking at other local studios and models and arranged two more shoots that month, one of which featuring the wonderful Lana Cox became the first update to my website. Once I had performed a fourth shoot, with Claudia Casali, I had enough material to start developing my website and scanning the best of my images.