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Women's World: Soap star drives women crazy...
Females are getting in a bit of a lather over Warren Booth.
The 34-year-old is the undisputed soap supremo of Calderdale, but you won't find him in Corrie or Emmerdale.
For Warren is a soap star with a difference. He actually makes the stuff, and his creations are going down a treat at his shop, the Yorkshire Soap Company in Market Street, Hebden Bridge.
Warren, who lives with his partner, Marcus Doyle, in Leeds, opened his business – which everyone intially thinks is a patisserie – six months ago and sells over 100 different soaps which all look and smell divine.
They range from cake slices to tarts, truffles and cup cakes with the crme de la crme, a 500 tiered wedding cake, which can be cut into 80 favours and the top tier left as a keepsake for the newly weds.
Warren started making his own soap five years ago for Christmas presents for friends when he was skint. He used a basic rose block and his soaps went down so well he was asked to make more for family and friend to pass on as gifts.
A former British Airways steward, he worked for Louis Vuitton in Harrods, London, for six years before becoming floor manager in women's wear at Harvey Nichols, Manchester. He was working for estate agent William H Browns when the market crashed last year, and it was this that made him decide to turn his hobby into a new career.
Warren makes his soaps at home on Mondays and Tuesdays and is in the shop Wednesday to Sunday. He says he has benefited from the credit crunch because women are cheering themselves up with little treats.
"Women tell me visiting my shop is a pleasurable experience and my soaps are luxurious but affordable. I struggled to keep up with demand for St Valen-tine's Day and Mothers' Day." Trade is so hectic that Marcus, who is the manager of The Birdcage nightclub in Manchester, is going part-time so he can help out in the shop. Warren says making soap is time consuming but fairly simple. He uses good quality essential oil and no harsh chemicals in his soaps and his range is growing all the time.
"I am always on the look out for new recipes. I chat with other soap makers on the internet and we exchange ideas. I love it when customers come in and think it's a cake shop which happens on a regular basis."
His best sellers are his truffles and his rose oil cake slice with real rosebuds on the top. He says a lot of people buy his soaps simply for the fragrance and don't actually use them.
He hopes to tap into the wedding market with his soap cakes which is a growing trend, and says other ideas in the pipeline include doing house parties and making a man's range.
"I've had a really good response to the shop from guys. They tell me they would like their own range which should be on sale later this year."
Warren also sells bath salts, candles, rubber ducks and other bathroom products, most of which are bought in, and where possible sourced locally. Some of his soaps are also bought in, but he would eventually like to make all the soaps himself and move to Hebden Bridge with Marcus.
"We have made lots of new friends since we opened the shop and both love it here so much, we hope to move into the town eventually."
Prices in his shop start at 1 and there is nothing over 20, apart from the wedding cake.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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