FROM rock and roll star to international business owner, Tommy Crooks, former member of The Fall, is continuing to grow his skincare business year on year.

Mr Crooks, who lives with his partner and 15-year-old son Hunter, started his business The Edinburgh Natural Skincare Company in 2010 in his home in Tranent.

He has since grown it into a business with markets across the world, including in Europe, Asia and the USA.

Tommy moved to Haddington from Dundee in 1994 before later moving to Tranent, where he has lived for 20 years.

The skincare business now has a factory in Prestonpans and continues to produce products including soap and hand cream locally for sale on a global level.

Tommy said that he became obsessed with the idea of making soap after seeing an unusual bar in a shop and was amazed at how quickly his business had grown.

'A global brand'

He said: “I remember being outside a shop and seeing this massive bar of soap in the front window with a honeycomb in it.

“I was just fascinated and that made me eager to be able to produce a high-quality bar of soap.

“When I started it just in my kitchen, I was having to wait until my son went to bed and I was sitting up late just experimenting with different soaps.

“When we started crafting, we had no idea there would be worldwide demand for our products.

“Currently we have two stores in Edinburgh [in Cockburn Street and Victoria Street] but are selling to the world through online marketplaces such as Alibaba.com takes our business to another level.

“It’s just grown so much more than I expected. We have a good relationship with Germany, where there is a lot of market for our soaps, and have also expanded into Japan and China. It’s a global brand really.

“As a 100 per cent natural handmade skincare business, we’re also very well placed to take advantage of the quality and heritage associated with British brands. It’s incredibly exciting to be able to turn our export ambitions into reality.”

The Fall guitarist

While Tommy is currently focused on a career as a global businessman, he has also had experience as a musician and was briefly a guitarist for influential post-punk band The Fall in the 1990s.

Reflecting on his time with the band, he said: “It was a great experience.

“It was one of the strangest things: I ran into [lead singer] Mark E. Smith on a high street, I was a fan of the band and just said hello.

“I told him I could play and one thing led to another and I ended up being a part of the band briefly.”

Tommy reflected on his time in the music industry, looking back on some of the things he missed and did not miss.

He said: “I don’t miss touring. Touring was such hard work and it’s non-stop and very tiring. But I miss the crowds: stepping out on stage and hearing them.

“It’s something you can’t put into words; it’s a very unique feeling and it’s incredible. So I do miss that.”

Shop locally

Tommy hopes that his skincare company can continue to grow in the years to come but says he has no plans to leave East Lothian.

He said: “East Lothian is the best place to live and work. It’s right by the sea, there’s great people and a great community here.

“Despite us now being a global brand, we are first and foremost a local company and that is something I will always support.

“I think it’s important to encourage people to shop locally too and support local businesses.”

The business has a stall at Edinburgh Christmas Market, East Princes Street Gardens, which runs until January 3.