KristinesShower

I don't do votives, but I do refill my tins for customers. We put them in a big ol pot of boiling water and dry them off when they have been in there for a good 15 minutes.

You can get all different grades at: www.uline.com The ones you get at the stores will nickel and dime you to death. It's better to just buy a case then you always have them - very reasonable too!!

I had gotten 10lbs of wax from a supplier, melted it and added a orange crayon & pumpkin pie FO. Poured it and discovered that crayon wax doesn't work that well. It gave me almost no color and choked the dear life out of my wick lol None before I tried, but looking back I guess I should of! Yep - crayon and pumpkin pie When I first started, it was my mini kitchen in my old house in the basement. Since then I have moved my candles to 3 places - finally settling in at my retail location in Utica where my shop is now. Honestly? It is all about testing and reading about what others have done. Do tons of research and read about all the mistakes everyone else makes & you will save yourself a bunch of money!! I would have to say out of all the boards and candle lists I have ever belonged to, this is the most thorough! Sometimes if you have a good supplier that you get your wax and fo/eo from, they will help you too. Doesn't hurt to ask other candlemakers as well for their advice. Exactly what I am making now because it took me a long time to perfect it. Soy pillars! I don't know what the deal is lately, but I am all about pillars & can't wait to try and do them. Of course, I haven't yet...still learning from others mistakes first!

I know they don't make the wax. Thanks for the supplier jacobSue - I will be calling there today.

This is what I took off of Nu Scents website. That is the reason I won't be buying from them. I'm not sure what you mean by what does this have to do with Nu Scents? This whole post is about Nu Scents I wanted to find a closer supplier and I was offered this site. I stated why I won't use it, I then stated my reasons. It has been over 3 years since I've had to do any testing at all on my products. I spent alot of money in my first year on testing and all that - I'm done & don't want to do it anymore. I want to keep my money in my pocket now. I'm sure you guys can relate!

I understand your point, but in the three years I have been using this supplier, I have never had to change my formula or do any extra testing. Personally, I think that months of testing and many $'s later I shouldn't have to test anymore.

Yes, every time you call them to pick up it will cost you money. Make friends with your UPS man now while you can - bribe him with candles and products

When I used cinnamon for color, the smell came through after a month or so, but when I use cocoa, I never get the smell.

I bought a roll of shrinkwrap tubing from: www.uline.com for my bathbombs and it fits the air fresheners perfect. I then put a folded over label on the top and staple. They look exactly like Bev's.

95% of my business comes from my website and I wouldn't be where I am today without it.

One thing that comes to my mind is that you should definitely concentrate on really selling your candles. Talk about why your candles rock and don't mention anyone elses candles or wax. If you say well, mine are better than most because of this and that - some shoppers may think you are trying to just sell candles. I agree though - if you are up against two ladies, you will probably be the most successful. Seems like the soap/candle business is made up mostly of women and when shoppers see something different, they tend to draw themselves to that. I did a show that had 20 participants. I had my soy candles, there was a lady next to me that was selling Gold Canyon (I think that is the name) and another candle maker that was selling straight paraffin. On the one hand I had better prices than Gold Canyon, but more expensive than the paraffin candlemaker. Both of them packed up 4 hours into the show because they didn't sell a thing. I sold out that day.

Good job on the lines separating the words on the front page. You singlehandedly are keeping me in by doing just that one little thing!

Well, I just spent about an hour on that website and this little paragraph will be keeping me away from that company: I have already done my testing and won't be interested in testing again. I made that mistake once with another company and needless to say I had to resell a pallet of their wax. That is too bad because I really wanted someone closer to home too!

Next time your UPS guy comes to pick up ask him if he would be interested in calling you a couple days a week or you could call him to pick up directly to save the cost of calling it in. That way you don't have to pay for the pick up cost every day. I have a UPS man that comes almost daily now as it is, but when I need him to pick up a package, I hang a flag outside the door. He has to come by all the time anyway, so if he sees that flag he stops. Before we did the flag thing, he would call me M,W,F to see if I had any packages. I don't have a daily pickup with UPS only Fedex, but sometimes people like UPS better so I have to ship with them.

I always have good luck with the Dollar General here in my town. They usually get their first Christmas containers after Halloween. Last year we got snowmen and santa jars. They also had the cutest coffee mugs (we got 100 of them in various santa, snowman, bears, christmas trees) - we sold all of them in one day at a Christmas show. We put hot cocoa in and a little marshmellow on top. They sold like hotcakes for $12.99 each. The candle cost itself was $3.00 (wax, wick, labor, mug, etc)

The first thing that captures my attention is that there is way too many words on the front page. If I have to read too many things, I am gone & usually won't give the rest of the site a chance. Maybe you could make all that information a link? First link I clicked on was soap because I love pics of soap. You need more pictures of your soaps & if you can, try to take them in front of a lighter background to see the details. Your site loads up quick (I am on dial up) and the pictures are fast too - good job!

It seems like at any given time I go to www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com They have all kinds of things in the surplus and sale bins. Last time I was there I bough 560 small lip pots for $36.00. Another good place to look is www.containerandpackaging.com I also shop regularly in their clearance bin. I am a clearance, overstock, surplus, sale junkie!!

That's exactly what I was thinking Robin!

I bought snowmen and santa clauses last year from Dollar General - was that where you got them?

I personally use the 100% soy wax because it took months of testing before I could make it work right. A lot of candlemakers & soy suppliers I know won't touch 100% soy wax because they just couldn't make it work. I take a lot of pride in conquering a hard thing that is why I use 100% soy wax.

Well...since that worked so well - does anyone have a closer source for 100% soy wax in Illinois? I am in central Illinois and would love to have a closer supplier!

I never have any problems with clumps because I don't add any of the EO until I am about ready to see a thick trace. I usually whip the heck out of it as much as I can so there is no clumps or uneven color.

I get my fragrances here: www.NaturesGardenCandles.com www.IncenseOils.com www.SaveOnScents.com

I like to add it at light trace - seems to incorporate making the bars look like stones instead of black soap. I also like the scrubbiness it gives as opposed to mixing it with oils. *If I want a black color, I always mix it with oils*

I have 30 scents and add a few extra during the holidays.