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jbradshaw

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Everything posted by jbradshaw

  1. Awesome, thanks! My sister loves rose gold so these would be perfect.
  2. Are you going to pour in them or just use for votives? I’m looking for rose gold containers for a gift.
  3. Candleworks came up in a search for candle containers today but I’ve never heard of them. They seem pretty expensive, has anyone heard of or used this vendor?
  4. I use 464 in a tin and never have to do a second pour - but in general my experience with 464 is sooooo different from most people on this forum. I think it must be my climate/altitude or something because I'm definitely not as experienced as most here.
  5. I can't believe how reserved I just was with that sale! I needed a few things and only grabbed one to try - Vanilla Oak sounded so good.
  6. I haven't done 'remote' exactly but I have done markets where I set up, leave for days or weeks while they sell and handle everything, then come back when the market ends and take down my table/stock/whatever is left. Great experiences so far, and I have two going right now.
  7. I've only been doing this a couple years (and the first year was just as a hobby) but right now my plan is to rarely add new fragrances. I do this on the side, I'm expecting a baby, I just don't have the time/energy to put into testing many new fragrances. I'm thinking about trying to add a new container, in one or two scents I already know well, but even that feels daunting.
  8. I've only been doing this a couple years, so I don't have too much to add but thought I'd chip in on a couple things I do. 1. I always test for HT in the same circumstances (I use my bathrooms because I have dogs and a kiddo and I can shut the vent without impact to the house) 2. I don't try to wick the container unscented since I don't sell unscented - so I'm really just concerned with the right size wick for the right scent. I typically start with my standard wick size and only mess around if it's not performing as expected with that scent. And honestly, there have only been a couple times I've had to wick up or down and I didn't end up doing anything with those because I wasn't getting the burn I wanted (ie, they were over or underwicked). 3. I do one entire test burn of a candle trimming the wick, and another entire test burn of a whole candle without trimming, and incorporate a power burn (6+ hours) into each of those tests. I will also say that I really don't add many fragrances to my line - I know there are lots of makers on here that have tons and tons of scents, but I rarely add anything new. I did a ton of testing to get to the scents I have now, and I just keep using those. Although now I am reordering I have to retest since the reformulation of many oils.
  9. @TallTayl Exactly why I put natural in quotes - it has no concrete meaning.
  10. I'm following this conversation - I use soy and haven't had problems with it, but at some point I do want to try others (not this year, new job + new baby means I need to stay the current course). One thing about soy - people do comment on how it's more 'natural' and my go-to response is that most anything produced at that kind of scale can have a negative environmental impact. It's up to consumers to decide which impact they'd rather support.
  11. I've only ever used GB 464 - I switched containers and wicks about the time folks started seeing an issue with that wax but I was already re-testing with the new wicks and containers so it wasn't an issue for me. Started with ECO wicks and moved on to CD and I'm still using those.
  12. Seconding the love for Aztec's Volcano, in fact I'm about to order more (and hope I can trust Aztec with the reformulation). I've also had folks tell me CS's Grapefruit and Mangosteen smells like a sweeter version of the Capri Blue candle and that sells well for me. I personally love it, and at markets it's a scent that is immediately recognized - it's a top seller. I rename it though.
  13. I'm about to order some of the Peak inventory from Keystone (Tuscan Nights and Vanilla Bean Nectarine are the only ones I religiously used from Peaks), but I thought I'd pop in and see if there were other favorites from Keystone and/or Peaks I should grab? I searched and couldn't find much about Keystone oils prior to all the Peaks news - but apologies if this has been discussed prior.
  14. I have a wholesale account who wants me to dupe Illume's Coconut milk mango (it's also one of my favorites). Anyone have a great FO for something like this? Description from Illume: Indulge in the luscious tropical cocktail of your fantasies. Island pineapple, freshly-sliced mango, lush papaya, and coconut milk infused with sugarcane and Tahitian vanilla. I don't necessarily detect any pineapple, but it's a really lovely scent.
  15. Misbehaving- No matter the fragrance, fragrance load or temp and stirring the oil would seep out during curing and settle on the top. I switched back to 464 from CS and no more issues. I never finished the bag from flaming.
  16. See it's funny for me because if I order 50lbs wax from CS - it's $33 to ship, gets to me in 2 days. If I start adding on oils (I just put in 4lbs), the shipping jumps up to $49 whereas I just put the same in my cart at Flaming and from 5lbs wax at $42 to ship, it went up to $43 when I added on the 4lbs of oils. So much more economical if I'm ordering multiple items from Flaming (which is a vendor I don't really use except for wicks). But, trying to be as environmentally friendly as I can be, I try to order as much from CS as possible because it's so close to me (and I'm happy with the quality) whereas the only misbehaving wax I've ever had was from Flaming.
  17. I'm entering in my second wholesale agreement, and doing a private label line for a local store. My 5.5oz candles I wholesale at $5 (it costs me about 2.30 to make them, depending on the scent) and retail at $10. Right now, it's really not much profit - however, I am still new in my business and know that as I operate at a larger scale that will help somewhat bringing costs down. I'm also not dependent on this income, I just do it on the side of my day time gig so I don't strictly NEED to do better than break even. I also agree with olives that I would be happy paying over $20 for a 16oz candle.
  18. @kdmorgan I think I have some rosemary mint and lemongrass prior to the reformulation that I have no plans to use if the reformulated doesn't work out for you. Maybe just a couple oz of both but let me know if you get desperate. Olive Oil and Bergamot sounds amazing to me - I need to put in an Aztec order so maybe I'll give that a shot.
  19. Aztec's Brazilian Coffee and Sugar Cane is really nice - true coffee but with a bit of sweetness, but not caramel, or vanilla or anything.
  20. So weird - I had never heard of issues with CS until this thread, apart from the painted tumblers. They are my main supplier - I get my wax, tins, and majority of my FOs from there. For me, the shipping is fast and cheap as I'm one state away. I honestly can't get supplies shipped cheaper from anywhere else (with the exception of ordering wicks from Flaming in their flat rate envelope) and there has only been one time that some of my supplies had to ship from NC instead of NV. I'm sorry to hear of so many issues - but happy that CS read and responded @Kerven I have only ever used the AAK/GB melt blend from CS as I joined the melt game after Ecosoya PB went out of stock and I've been happy with it, but have nothing to compare it to. No issues with frosting (I don't use dye) or getting it out of the clamshells, but I have to work super fast because it seems to set in an instant.
  21. Oh man...I think I might end up skipping everything until spring/summer scents. Our whole family has been sick and we just moved and it feels overwhelming to even set foot in my workroom lol But all of these ideas are making me want to get pouring! I had ordered a ton of Fragrance Buddy 1oz to check out, as well as a few from NG and I haven't even unboxed them! I have a white tea ginger from somewhere that is very nice OOB that I want to try - it might mix well with a pear as someone was looking for a ginger pear.
  22. I love... Cinnamon Peppermint Creme Cozy Cabin Brazilian Coffee and Sugar Cane Sparkling Pear Reisling Volcano
  23. I'm running into this problem as well (in Utah). When CS doesn't have 464 in their Nevada warehouse I basically can't get wax. My husband has several times said we should start a place in Utah to distribute - but that seems like an even bigger headache. At this point I've compared the shipping and costs at every supplier and CS is our best option out west.
  24. They did sell well, and maybe I could increase the price but it just didn't seem worth the effort. I dipped large(ish) pine cones in re-melted scrap wax, and also poured some into little cupcake tins with smaller pine cones. I just don't see myself offering it as a regular part of my line.
  25. I'm just rounding out my holiday markets so I thought it would be fun to post what did well and not so well. I always love seeing what different parts of the country are drawn to scent-wise. I rename pretty much all of my scents, so these are just the oils I used. I mostly sell candles - no matter what fragrance melts go slower for me, which is surprising because Utahns were really into Scentsy a few years back. One of the things I noticed that seems unique is that bakery scents don't do well for me. I thought I'd try some but they were mostly the ones that didn't sell. BUT bakery scents sold faster in melts than in candles...not sure what that signifies but it's good to know Bestsellers CS Frasier Fir (customer favorite - kind of expected based on what I've read from others here) CS White Birch (my favorite) Aztec Volcano CS Apple Maple Bourbon CS Mistletoe (I was shocked b/c I don't love this one) Middle of the Road CS Christmas Hearth Aztec Cinnamon Peppermint Creme CS Cranberry Woods WSP Vanilla Bean Noel Aztec Cozy Cabin Aztec Sparkling Pear Reisling Aztec Coffee blended with CS Toasted Pumpkin Spice Didn't sell/last to sell JS Chestnuts and Brown Sugar Aztec Sweet Potato Brown Sugar CS Toasted Pumpkin Spice (I actually love this one and ordered another pound, even if no one will buy them I'll just burn them for myself ) Oh! I also added in pinecone firestarters and they killed it! I don't know if I'll do them again because they were sort of annoying, but it was fun to offer them. I also made some scented salt that I am IN LOVE WITH but need to figure out packaging. I had it in plastic lined paper bags for a week and it did fine, then got to the market and the paper bags were soaked through. So frustrating.
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