SpaceGirl

Thanks for the feedback -- it's exactly those experiences that I wanted to hear about.

I may donate to a raffle basket just because I'm a nice person but I don't think I'll do the samples/sponsorship thing.

Another freezer chick here! Never had a problem with doing that at all. Of course, here in Colorado we get very little condensation on anything!

One of the nibbles I've gotten from doing a recent show is to provide product samples and/or donations in support of a charity event this fall. The event is called the Scream Scram and supports both Multiple Sclerosis research as well as pediatric cancer research and support. The event is in its 9th year, I've googled both the event and the PR firm that contacted me and they appear legitimate.

So while I am in no position financially to make an outright monetary donation I am considering some product donations as an advertising method. I could potentially get a booth near the start/finish line to display some product and information. My logo and information would be included in some press release stuff, etc... They are also looking for freebies to give to the participants, like lip balms.

Since the business portion of this is all still young for me (less than 1 year of being legitimate and online) I am always on the lookout for ways to get my name and product out there. This looks like a decent way to do that and associate myself with a good cause at the same time.

My question for y'all is have you ever participated in a charity event like this where you get no immediate $$$ return, in fact you put yourself out there with considerable product investment (could "cost" me around $500), and what has your experience with it been?

Not to hijack... but opinions in wax? I'm out of my CLV from NG and need a new supply.... am torn between Peak's (no shipping and great price) and Tony's (read some really good reviews).

yeah, you are such a slacker.... redeem yourself by sending some my way!

I really have no idea how you do that without ending up with mud soap... you must be magic woman! LOL!

LOVE Uline. If only they carried everything PaperMart does, I'd be one happy camper.

Amen sistah! I am a Papermart ho! :embarasse

I do like ULine, just got a new catalog... need to browse it.

Send some in a swap I'm in, pretty pretty please!!!

That's just awesome! Afternoon Delight MUST be the name!

Hmmm I was thinking maybe Citrus Passion? Although I like the Tea for Two suggestion.

awwww they're all so purty! Even those stand-at-attention-getters!

Not that I do near the amount of volume you're talking about.... but even at the level I do I know I would be SOL without an understanding husband. There really does have to be some understanding and acceptance that you aren't going to do as much around the house and he needs to be okay with stepping up. And whoever mentioned him benefiting from the $$$ was right as well. Just make sure that you really do take some ironclad time off when you are not accepting orders AT ALL and relax once in awhile!

(at least that's the advice I say I'll tell myself when the time comes)

I'm wondering if there is something with a carrier oil that buffers a fragrance oil... because I used a recipe someone else gave here.... FO ends up being 20%, FCO 20% and cyclo 60% and that worked sooooo well -- didn't bother any of my "testers'" skin.

I know with OS Commerce at least there is a little glitch that if the person doesn't hit the Return to Merchant button after submitting payment information then the order never really completes. My husband (webmaster extraordanaire) added in some code to prevent that and code to capture the information just in case the transaction goes awry.

Uhhhhh I don't use 8 oz jj's so can't remember what diameter they are... but for a ~3in diameter container I think about a CD-7? CD-5? That general vicinity.

Good luck!

And if you're going to order some from BCN grab some CD's as well -- I use mostly 415 (Ez Soy) in my blend and those work great for me! I think it's BCN that has the CD's...... not BCS.

Yesterday it was lotion because I have a show today! Am sitting here sipping on my morning tea.... have about 15 minutes before I need to go.

http://www.overnightprints.com/

They might not be the cheapest but I've ordered from them a few times, gotten free samples and NEVER been charged anything I wasn't expecting. And I've been very pleased with the cards I've gotten from them.

Sorry to hear that the experiences with VP have been so shaky.

I put some Femme Fatale and Dragonfly Moon in some body sprays and my testers LOVE them!

Her descriptions are awesome, aren't they. Makes me want to buy out the store.

I don't know about the shipping (since I tend to drive down and pickup myself unless I'm in a hurry) but Colorado Organics has 35 lbs of RBO for $55. Maybe someone from not Colorado can try to see what the shipping charge would be like. I haven't gotten the RBO from them personally but I've been pleased with the other oils I got in the coop I just did.

http://coloradoorganics.net

I usually go 20% beeswax, 40% butters, 40% oils and that passes the pocket on a hot summer day test.

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone.

I'm not as worried about the volume right now -- he knows that volume is NOT a part of my operation right now and is willing to start with small orders and if demand really does exceed capacity to talk about that in the future. And even without giving up my dayjob I can do a few hundred a month (small beans to some of you, I know) before I have to make accomodations and look for more help.

I sent him a follow up e-mail last night -- I figure this wasn't any different than a job interview and it's just good manners to do a follow up after those. He responded very positively so I have pretty high confidence that I'll be picking up some supplies next week to play with.

Oh and one of the things that won him over was attention to testing! So for the newbies there's another reason to test, test, test!

Without knowing for sure, I'd say it was probably a mixture of FCO or other light oil and some silicones? Like cyclo and/or dimethicone?

definitely try the FO -- sure to take permanent coloring off of everything you didn't intend for it to! LOL!

Definitely keep going with it -- the burn/melt properties will change as the wax level in the jar goes down.

This is why we all looooooooove testing!