By Shayna Mace | Photography by Shanna Wolf
With its clever name, downtown address and loyal fan base, and familiar. The bath and body product retailer was established in 1972 and has occupied its current space for 41 years.
The store’s lovely patina shines through in its original details — from the mosaic tile floors to the built-in wood shelving imported from Australia.
Founded by Chuck Bauer and Chuck Beckwith (or “the Chucks,” as current owner Stacey Scannell calls them) the duo were deeply connected with their beloved shop. When they decided to sell it, Scannell (who was a regular customer), approached them to buy it. Scannell officially took the business over in 2016 and she’s slowly shaped it to reflect the current retail climate.
She started by phasing out product lines that weren’t eco-friendly and brought in more collections with skin-safe ingredients. Scannell tripled the product offerings in The Soap Opera’s private-label line and started manufacturing its products onsite in the shop’s basement. (The Soap Opera’s products are sold in-house, at other retailers nationwide and on its website.) She also implemented eco-friendly packaging in the line. And, she expanded the shop’s skincare offerings.
“I love skincare, but when I purchased the business, it didn’t have a wide variety of skincare products,” says Scannell. “So, I created new products … and changed a lot of our packaging from plastic to … biodegradable materials, [such as] wheat straw, bamboo, glass and aluminum, that customers can reuse or recycle.”
The custom scenting counter is another fun touch to the shopping experience here. Scannell says she has customers that come from out of the area to the shop to create their own scent. The whole experience hearkens back a simpler time — when shopping in person was the norm, and in some respects, a customized experience.
“[My customers] want this shop to be preserved because it means so much to them,” says Scannell. “So much so that they’re willing to travel here on their day off because they know how good it makes them feel to be in this space. And that just warms my heart.”
319 State St., thesoapopera.com
