UNDER THE RADAR/Dermot Devine, Claire Dickinson Soak:Family holidays can be memorable occasions for many reasons, but few people would cite such an event as the birthplace for their new business venture. Dermot Devine and Claire Dickinson, a husband and wife team who run Soak seaweed baths in Newcastle, Co Down, are an exception.
"We tried out the baths while on holiday in Enniscrone and thought they were fantastic," says Devine.
"Then we discovered there was another up the west coast just outside Sligo and went to that too."
That was seven years ago. Last year, Devine and Dickinson opened their own seaweed baths - the first such venture in Northern Ireland.
According to Devine, he and Claire always knew they wanted to own and run their own business, they just weren't sure what shape it would take.
"If it hadn't been this, it would have been something else," he says, adding that his wife is really the driving force behind it all. "I have never seen anyone with so much determination."
Still, when you're the first to do something, determination can be a very useful attribute.
One of the hardest tasks the couple faced embarking on their mission was persuading the Heritage Trust that they could harvest seaweed off the coast without causing damage or disruption.
"We had to do a harvesting plan for about 65 miles of coastline, when in actual fact we only need about two miles," Devine says. "In effect we were writing the rule book because nothing like this had ever been done before."
In the end it took about four years from the time the couple started looking into the project and actually starting operations. Devine has a licence to harvest about three wheelie bins' worth of seaweed two or three times a week from the nearby shoreline.
The couple received €70,000 of EU funding to help them along the way, a sum that provided a significant boost when seeking further support from their rather sceptical bankers.
Since then, though, things have gone pretty much to plan, except for the builder they hired and then fired, leaving Devine to do much of the refurbishment work himself, including fitting pipes to fill and drain the seaweed baths.
The business plan said Soak should attract 3,000 visitors in its first year; the guest book says it actually received 3,300.
At £20 a time (or £25 for two people sharing a bath), this should be generating a nice income for the business, though Devine says he can't say as the first year's accounts are not yet audited.
Despite having reached the target for the first year, Devine and Dickinson have no intention of slowing down. The two sets of baths they visited back in the year 2000 attract about 12,000 and 20,000 visitors a year respectively, so, in their eyes, the growth potential for Soak is vast.
As a result Devine is renovating the next door property with a view to expanding the seaweed baths and adding on more accommodation.
This new building will also house the new treatment area, which will focus on massage and other relaxation therapies, as well as providing a base for other services such as life coaching. (A hypnotherapist is due to start at the end of the month.)
In fact, if Devine and Dickinson's plans all come to fruition - they already have Snooze, the accommodation business, and are planning to open Sip, the refreshment facilities, and Soothe, the treatment rooms, by next Easter - the eight bath tubs that currently make up Soak will one day be joined by a raft of other activities in what Devine describes as a "wellbeing village".
While the clientele is varied, Devine says that about 70 to 80 per cent of the visitors return, with a particularly high rebooking rate among men. This, he believes is partly because there isn't much for men to do in the area of health and well-being, but also because there is "nothing girly" about Soak.
"We have motoring magazines and that sort of thing in the waiting room," he says to emphasise his point. "We cater for pretty much anybody who is game."
Despite Devine's need to emphasise the non-female nature of Soak, he is quick to point out that the main reason for visiting the baths is to do something for yourself. "It's all about relaxation," he says, adding that that is part of the attraction for him as well.
"There is a certain lifestyle that comes with what we are doing. We work for ourselves and we live by the sea."
It's quite a way from Devine's engineering and Dickinson's computer programming backgrounds, but if they are to fulfil all their ambitions then there is no doubt that while life may be picturesque, it will also be busy.
Name:Dermot Devine and Claire Dickinson
Age: 34 and 35
From: Carrickfergus, Co Antrim and Craigavon, Co Armagh
Background: Devine studied engineering at Queen's University in Belfast, while Dickinson studied English
Inspiration: The two seaweed baths they visited in 2000 in Enniscrone and Strandhill, Co Sligo
Inspired by: Devine by his wife's determination
Favourite band: Thin Lizzy
