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Does anyone sell online? If so, what platform do you use? I've tried getting Magento (an e-commerce platform) configured but its proving to be challenging. Looking for an alternative at this point.

State Farm dropped me after I was hit in a car accident so I doubt I can get insurance through them again. :-/ I know my agent with Erie either can't access it or Erie doesnt offer it, not sure which.

Besides the crafters guilds, does anyone have insurance direct with a carrier like Erie, Nationwide, etc.? I have a quote from Capital Indemnity but I wanted to shop around first before I committed to this plan as it's a bit steep (north of 500$/year). Thanks everyone! James

My tester said Peak's smelled good in the wax but it was a bit weak. Likely because I used 1oz of wax to about 22oz of wax. Anytime I've made melts, it's always been 1oz to 1lb and it's always strong.

So, I've had one of my "testers" say that I should add some glitter to the wax on a few scents that she's tested to make them look "prettier". But I wanted to ask, a) is it possible? is it safe? c) thoughts on the idea and d) any risks that I should be aware of? Thanks!

I'm very lucky to be friends with a very talented marketing gal who works for a well known philanthropist here locally that has offered to all of my labels and graphics arts in exchange for discounted candles. She's very well aware of copyright laws and I've already told her everything has to be original. It's sad that people consider everything on the internet to be free and able to be used without recourse. I used to be a sports photographer and have decided that 2015 was my last year doing it since so many stole my images and refused to pony up cash when confronted. It just became too much of a headache to manage.

So I'll be the odd ball, but I've only used Peak's and I can't keep people out of my office or home when I decide to melt one of my scented melts. It throws well and smells amazing. I must admit I haven't tried anyone elses because Peak kinda has me spoiled great, now I'm hungry! :-/

Thanks for the help everyone, greatly appreciate it. I love making them so I want to be successful. Your advice is invaluable!

So I am currently burning one now and it looks like the wax is "sweating" out the oils. Hmm.. so I could cut out the colors and save on costs ha!

Ya it's soy. It's ugly. Thoughts/experiences on preventing it? Use a different wax? I'm using Ecosoya Container Blend Advanced.

So I've got a few jars poured under my belt and they all have a variety of things I don't like, but this one is most troublesome. Is this mottling?

It's gonna me a minute to figure out this weight thing. Thought I melted enough wax for four jars and instead I have three jars and three melts :-/

Thanks Candybee. I've started a "pour log" in one of my excel sheets that tracks everything that I used in that batch so I can figure out this whole wicking thing. Really hoping I hit the nail on the head for the wicks as I don't want to have a bunch of duds. Good thing is I have a few friends that are willing to "buy" their tester candles and help me perfect them. So that helps keep costs under control thankfully!

Melts were so much easier ha! At least on the plus side is enough friends/family have volunteered to purchase this entire batch, no matter how bad they are for retail asking price. So that helps so I can get more supplies! Going to have to do some cost shopping though, Peak is gonna break me!

Thanks for the info TallTayl. I about 20oz's of wax and it worked out much better. Cept I need to get better at dividing the little bit of left over up among the two jars. ha! I also noticed that this Ecosoya CB shrank a bit, not much, but i noticed it (sorry its the photographer in me). Would it be better if I poured much slower than what I did or am I prone to shrinkage no matter what I do. I poured the first batch at about 140*.

Could you share where you figure out the specific gravity of wax? I'm currently using the Ecosoy container blend 135 and would be helpful to know so I don't make this costly mistake again in the future. Just did a quick water test. Jar empty was 6.0oz. with water to the fill spot it was 1lb 1oz. so 16oz in a lb, plus 1 =17oz combined, minus the 6oz for the jar, and its 11oz. The jar is described as an 8oz jar. Did i just break physics? :0

I've found the two styles of jars I'm going to use for my brand. Now it's just figuring out how to get the right amount of wax to fill the jars :-/. Wouldn't using more wax cause the FO to be weaker? So I have dozens of 1oz jars because I was making melts it was fine for me, but now that I'm doing candles, not sure 1oz of FO is going to be as good in say 20-22oz of wax :-/

So, I created my first two jar candles. Used 1lb (16oz) of wax and filled the first container to the bottom of the neck, which appears to be the 6-7oz mark. Apparently not. Started to fill the second one and got about 3/4 of the way full and ran out of wax. So apparently 8+8 doesnt equal 16 anymore. But hey, it was my very first time ever pouring a jar. I consider it a success that a) didn't burn the house down, didn't burn myself, c) didn't spill anything, and d) i'm trying something new since I have the tart/melt business down to a science!

Thanks everyone. I saw they had large minimums which was a little troublesome but if I found some good ones, I wouldn't mind. I'm always open to other vendor suggestions as well! Want to have a good selection of scents available

Would you be willing to share a blank copy of this spreadsheet by chance? I am looking for something to help track inventory and this would be great. No sense in reinventing the wheel!

Greetings Everyone!! Long time no chat! Life has a certain funny way of keeping you distracted from the fun things of life! So I've finally decided that getting constantly rave reviews from folks at Christmas time with my little presents I make them, why not do it as a business in addition to my regular job. Well this task has been challenging! Trying to find suppliers for things has been one of the biggest challenges. I've decided to use Peak since they have just about everything I need at reasonable prices, but sadly their scent library isnt as large as I had hoped. I found Aromatic Fragrances International out of Georgia and they have tons of scents. I was wondering if anyone has dealt with them and what your thoughts are, good or bad. I know some scents are a dud, but I'm hoping not all of them are duds. Thanks everyone! James

I do not actually. I usually purchase my stuff from Peak sooo.... ya :-/ sorry!

I really need liquid dyes Really wish Peak would put them on sale.

So, CS has pushed out a (edited. Please refrain from giving specifics of a sale in the future. Thanks. Scented) sale on sample scents. Figured I'd bite, but I wanted to see what you pro's thought of these scents: Cinnamon Buns Hazelnut Coffee Red Hot Cinnamon Buttered Rum Meadow Christmas Hearth Blue Spruce Beach Linen I'd appreciate any feedback. My plans for these are to make tarts with ecosoya pillar blend. Thanks!

I cant say what Berts smelled like, however I've used Peak's Creme Brulee, and its amazingly strong in a 50/50 blend of soy/parafin as well as a 100% soy blend. Everyone that I gave these to to sample fell in love and have asked for them again. Good Luck!