Pressman PR

They say size doesn’t matter but as every woman knows when it comes to real satisfaction a good fit is absolutely crucial.

That’s what Bingham woman Jess Cash discovered when she and her pals went shopping for shoes.

While petite Jess had no trouble slipping into the latest fashions some of her larger footed friends struggled to find appropriate footwear.

Now Jess, 31, is set to launch her own company, Sole Expression Ltd, to tackle the problem.

The business gets underway with an exclusive shoe party at The Living Room on April 10 and the Sole Expression online shop will be ready for business following the bash.

The launch is the culmination of many months of preparation for Jess who honed her business plan with the help of mentors at The Hive – Nottingham Trent University’s centre for new businesses.

Jess said: “Shopping for shoes can be a nightmare for women whose feet are larger than average.

“It occurred to me that there was a gap in the market for high quality fashionable ladies shoes in larger sizes at affordable prices.

“Thanks to the team at the Hive I came up with a business plan and now I’m striking out on my own with Sole Expression.”

“After studying the market closely Sole Expression will offer ladies footwear in beautiful dimensions from sizes 4 to 11.”

Jess has been sourcing stock from suppliers across Europe and now her Bingham home looks a little like Imelda Marcos’s favourite closet.

Jess said: “Ideally as the business grows I’d like to move it out of the home but everyone has to start somewhere.

“We are stocking three brands, two German, Marc and Mustang, and UK brand Emotion, which specialises in wider fittings.

“Marc is full Italian quality leather, built with German craftsmanship and sold at an affordable price. The range we’re stocking from Mustang is a more casual, day to day, leisure and trainer wear.

“The Emotion shoes include a mix of summer wear and dazzling evening attire so there’s a good mix and offers something for everyone.”

The Sole Expression shoe party is open to all and takes place at The Living Room from 6.30pm on Thursday April 10.

Jess added: “I hope anyone who’s ever had trouble finding fashionable shoes in the right size will come along and join me for a free drink. I will have a selection of shoes from the brands available to buy on the night and will be able to accept cash or cheque payment.”

For more information please visit http://www.soleexpression.co.uk/ alternatively call Jess on 07879 402277 or email Jessica@soleexpression.co.uk

A website is threatening to name and shame the biggest slob in London.

Accommodation finder http://www.housemateheaven.com/ has launched a competition to find the best and the worst person to live with in the capital.

They are asking London’s many renters to visit the website and nominate their pals if they think they may fall into one of the two categories.

One lucky housemate will be crowned Housemate From Heaven 2008 while one not so lucky individual will be named Housemate From Hell 2008. Winners of each category will be announced on 28 April.

The lucky winner of the Housemate From Heaven title will win a bottle of Champagne while the Housemate From Hell will receive a bottle of washing up liquid and some rubber gloves.

Both will be named online – and in the case of the Housemate From Hell – publicly shamed.

Housemate Heaven founder Emily Hill said: “Most young people living in London have to share a house because they can’t afford to buy.

“This can be problematic because there are good and bad housemates. There are some great people out there who are a real joy to share a home with.

“We wanted to celebrate these Housemates from Heaven and give them some much needed appreciation.

“Unfortunately not all housemates make such delightful company. There are some terrible slobs out there who make their housemates’ lives hell and we want to reveal their behaviour to the nation.”

She added that http://www.housemateheaven.com/ aims to prevent nightmarish flat share situations by introducing an internet dating-style questionnaire within people’s online profiles.

It means house hunters across the UK will be able to find like-minded mates to share with while landlords and sitting tenants will be able to specify what kind of person they’d consider renting out a room to.

Founder Emily, 25, decided to launch the site after seven years of house sharing – and a few unpleasant experiences of her own.

She said: “HousemateHeaven.com is the first website to give you a good idea about the lifestyle preferences of your potential housemates.

“Like most young people I’ve struggled to get on the property ladder due to crazy house prices so I’ve had to share houses.

“Living in a shared house can be great fun as long as you get on well with your fellow housemates. But it only takes one rotten apple to drag the whole atmosphere in the house down.

“There have been one or two people I’ve ended up sharing with who I wouldn’t have chosen as friends yet I found myself stuck with them under the same roof.”

A TV producer turned writer today vowed to continue fly-posting bookshops despite being thrown out of a central London store last week.

Big Brother producer Shed Simove was unceremoniously ejected by staff at Waterstones in Piccadilly last Thursday (13 MARCH) after plastering the shop with posters promoting his latest paperback.

Mr Simove, 36, denied being “too pushy” but admitted he had approached a number of browsing shoppers in an attempt to interest them in his book IDEAS MAN.

He also admitted placing copies of the paperback in prominent positions including the window, display plinths and the Harry Potter section.

But despite being dragged out of the store by the arm, Mr Simove today promised to continue fly-posting bookstores up and down the country.

He said: “I’m not going to let this stop me. I will be back out there again later this week armed with my posters. I don’t mean to be a pain but I just want people to know I have written this brilliant book!

“No bookshop is safe. I might turn up in Blackwells, Foyles or even WH Smith. It could be London, it could be Leeds. Edinburgh and my hometown of Cardiff are also on my hit-list.”

Mr Simove, a producer on Channel 4’s Big Brother for the past six years, wrote IDEAS MAN as a self help book for anyone who has ever had a great idea.

But he said public indifference to its publication had led him to go to extraordinary lengths to promote the book himself.

Last week he had hundreds of posters printed up each declaring: “DON’T PANIC! WE HAVE A FEW COPIES OF IDEAS MAN BY SHED SIMOVE LEFT.”

Some of the posters, including one in the window, remained on display at Waterstones in Piccadilly for several days after Mr Simove’s visit.

A desperate writer was thrown out of a central London bookstore yesterday (13 MARCH) after launching a one-man fly-posting campaign to boost sales of his own paperback.

Author Shed Simove walked into one of the UK’s largest bookshops, Waterstones in Piccadilly, yesterday afternoon armed with a pile of posters promoting his book IDEAS MAN.

As puzzled staff looked on Mr Simove proceeded to place posters around the store and even gained access to the shop window.

The posters told browsing shoppers: “Don’t Panic! We still have a few copies of Ideas Man by Shed Simove left!”

The 36-year-old author also moved copies of his book into prominent positions within the store – placing copies inside the window, on display plinths and even inside the Harry Potter section.

Staff at first thought he was an official merchandiser but became suspicious after the writer began accosting shoppers and pleaded with them to buy his book.

Eventually he was asked to leave by a senior member of the sales team and was led out by the arm when he resisted.

One of the bookstore’s staff said later: “It was quite funny. I spotted this shifty looking guy sticking posters up around the shop.

“I didn’t think too much about it at first but then I noticed he was behaving very strangely. He was looking over his shoulder and glancing this way and that.

“He definitely looked as if he was up to no good. When I saw him entering the shop window I thought there was something dodgy going on. Then when he started harassing the customers, I thought it was time to call security.”

A shopper, who did not want to be named, said: “I was looking for a Harry Potter book for my daughter when I noticed this man placing another book face forward on the shelf in front of JK Rowling’s books.

“I noticed the book had a photo of a man on the front and realised it was the same man who was putting it onto the shelf. He turned to me and said, ‘Buy this instead. I wrote it and it’s very good. Please buy it.’ I immediately found a shop assistant and complained about him.”

After he was thrown out of the shop a defiant Mr Simove vowed to move on to another bookshop and continue his bid to sell more books.

He said: “I’ve spent five years writing this book. Now it’s published I just want to let people know it’s out there.

“It was nerve-wracking putting my poster in the window. The Waterstones staff were all lovely, but after I started trying to tell customers abut my book and kept putting my posters up all over the shop, they rapidly tired of me.

“It was rather disappointing to discover that the bookstore only actually had four copies of my book in stock, compared with the hundreds piled high from other authors, so in fact my spoof posters proclaiming “we have a few copies left” were depressingly accurate.

“I popped a One Ego banknote – my own currency that trades on eBay and is currently worth more than the Euro – into some of the books too…

“I tried to get the customers interested in my book, without being too pushy of course. I must say, there seems to be a lot of beautiful women who shop in bookstores. I must go more often.”

Have you ever had a great idea for a new product that you’re sure could make you rich? Or maybe you have the plot to the next bestseller rattling around in your head? So what’s stopping you?

If you’ve ever had a great idea then Ideas Man by Shed Simove is the book that just might give you the energy and self belief to make it happen.

Shed has been described as a “modern day creative genius” and having read the book I’m inclined to agree.

This book made me feel that anything is possible. Shed refuses to listen when others say “That can’t be done,” instead he becomes more determined to do it.

Read this book if you’ve ever had an idea, or ever had a dream.