Kimberly

I am working on my new Flyers and website and I am sooooooooo tired of the B&B Scents I offer. Currently I do Lilac White Tea Almond Cucumber Mint Hawaiian Breeze Black Raspberry Vanilla And a few others here and there. What are your best sellers?

OMG...one of my Wholesale accounts called and told me he wanted to carry my soap. I have offered it to him on other occasions but he already had a soapmaker in his store...so he just carried my candles. Lucky for me, this lady decided to retire! He asked what I had ready to go and I told him what I had and he said SOLD! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! His initial soap order was 10 scents 5 bars each...5 Kitchen Soaps and 4 Shaving soaps! When I delivered the soap he took one look at it and was very impressed as he liked my packaging much better..he said people complained about the packaging of the other soap because it was totally naked. He sold 3 bars before I got out the door!!!!! I was asked what I had that wasnt ready yet, because he understood the whole "cure" time thing....I said Patchouli and 2 customers ran over and put their order in to him for when I brought that in. Patchouli is my best selling candle in that shop and it looks like will be my best selling soap! He ordered all 18 bars that I have curing! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! my first big soap order! I am so excited!

I know I am going to be told that my price is too cheap from some but I charge $10 per 4oz jar. I cannot charge an astronomical amount to my customers. To me, if I am base my pricing on stores like the Body Shop or Bath & Body Works, well they will just go there and get it.

Cool..Thanks Meridith. That was one of the scents the winery mentioned..ya wouldnt want to sell me an oz would ya??

Oh I have no gripe whatsoever with their service...their shipping costs an arm and a leg and maybe an ear!

I just got an account for a local Winery and I need some more Wine scents. I currently carry Cabernet, Grape, Merlot and Sangria. YOu guys have any suggestions on a good, strong wine scent??

Not everyone is like you though....lol The scent that I added is so natural smelling that most think is is just the natural outcome... KWIM?

I guess I am the opposite..I always discount if they are ordering a lot. Like my normal candle price is $7....if they buy 6 or more they get them for $6 ea. I also throw in samples of my B&B products. To me, I would rather have the repeat business and have this person order in qty then to just throw in a piddly little tart. To be honest, if I ordered 30 hurricanes from you and you threw in a tart...well, I would be offended and tell you to keep it....but thats just me. If I am trusting enough in your product and you to place an order that huge then I would expect some sort of discount. I would offer to do a free hurricane or give her a free full sized candle for that big of an order. You will be surprised how much business that little gesture will bring you. That way you are out minimal money...just mainly time.

I turned my Dining room into my main storage area. Have shelving on 2 walls that stores my finished products. I have several sets of stackable organizing drawers to house things like colors, additives, molds, bags. Under my pouring table has been a great storage space too. My supplies are spread thru my house too...but the majority of them are in my dining room. I usually keep my wax, jars and B&B containers in my bedroom. My bedrrom is huge so one half of it is committed to storage. I have one small counter and cabinet in my kitchen devoted to B&B and then a huge banquet table for candle pouring with storage underneath that. When you come into my house you cannot tell that I run a business...mainly becuase you are entering into the livingroom...but go into any of the other rooms in my house and it is painfully clear!

This is my Dead Sea Mud Mask...LUV this stuff! First pic is of the front label...Second is of the top of the lid with my B&B logo.

Wow...sounds like SunFeather is sort of selling out to me. I have a book by the owner of SunFeather, she is based here in NY. I cant believe someone would sell this sort of kit to a 12 yr old. I helped my boss's daughter with a class project last yr. They had to make something Colonial...so she wanted to make soap. She was 12 and there was no way I was letting her mix the lye! But, I guess it is all abou the bottom line and I am sure this is making a lot of money for her.

LOL...thats my Bath and Body Logo....It is my drawing.

This is my "Light As Air" facial Moisturizer. Feels like water when you put it on. It is lightly scented with OT Burt bees baby bees FO. PA made the label for me....very classy I think!

TriState's Home Sweet Home is STRONG!

Sorry I havent tried any of the colors you ordered but I do use the Kelly Green and Bright Orange Gel Tones and they stick really well in CP soap. To be honest, I dont have to use as much Gel Tone colorant as I do the Select Shades, and ones like that. Good luck with those colors...I would be careful with the blue as blue is really tricky and most likely will turn purple...but I guess you already knoew that... Let us know how they work for ya!

For my personal use would be 1. Salt Glow 2. Body Butter 3. Shower Gel 4. Foot Balm For Retail Sale... 1. Salt Glow 2. Body Butter 3. Elbow Grease 4. CP Soap

Havent tried any of the ones you mentioned except the Rose Boquet. Holdsup beautifully in CP and didnt accelerate or anything on me. I HATE florals personally, but this soap sold well for me. Thanks for reminding me...I need to make more...lol

Well, Insurance is not worthless. Yes, you are correct that you need Product Liability...not just General Liability. What your Agent quoted you is for if you owned your own shop...basically a BOP (Business Owners Policy). Being an Insurance Agent makes you see the importance of being protected. It is true that if someone sues you they can also go after your personal assests if you are not a LLC or Incorporated in some way, but this usually only happens to those who DO NOT have Insurance. Most judges will only award damages to the plaintiff in the amount of your total policy. You say your best friend is a Lawyer...ask him how much he charges for his services....it isnt cheap! The main thing, to me, about having PL Ins is that if I am sued my Ins company will provide a lawyer to defend me. Ins is not cheap in most states. Most companies will not take on this sort of risk. I write for one of the major carriers and I could not write my own policy. I had to go to a fellow agent. Please, whatever you do make sure your Agent writes you a good PL Policy. Things to look for ...you want at least 1million Liability PER occurance....make sure you have product coverage for if you do shows or craft fairs, what I mean is that you have coverage for your stock and if someone gets hurt in your booth, some companies exclude this. Good luck...let us know what you find as I am sure there will be other people from Indiana wanting Ins and need to know what companies will write it there.

OK...so maybe I wont ever go back to work...lol I am soooooooo enjoying the time off. First... Relaxing from IFT. I just cannot get the whole pouring side by side thing. What is the trick? Didnt turn out bad...just not what I wanted. Second....Blackberry Musk by BnL...mmmmmmmm luv this scent! Soaped beautifully. ITP swirl sucks big time on this one. I used my new Peacock Colors on these two soaps....jury is still out on whether I like them or not.

OMG...I am LOVING this time off work! I think I may go for the full 6 weeks recovery time instead of the 4...lol First is IFT Energy. Soaped very easy...I tried the pouring side by side thing. As you can see that didnt work out too well, but it doesnt look bad. Second is my FIRST GM Soap. OMH from Tristate. Used Pulverized Oats in the bar and added Honey at trace.

Like Scented said Peak Red Mac is great. Usually if you call Peak and explain your situation they will ship USPS. They have been great shipping USPS Priority to me if I need something in a hurry.

Here is another soap I have been wanting to make. The recipe I found calls for Kerosene....1 tbsp per lb. What do ya think?? I dunno about Kerosene. Do you think I could use the Fullers Earth as the degreaser in it?

Ok guys I am stepping into uncharted waters here ...well for me anyway. I want to do an OMH soap. I do one now but I just use FO with oats on top. My soaping bud told me how to add the milk, so I am good there. When do you guys add the honey? I am using PULVERIZED oats in my soap this time. I used my BULLET mixer for the first time and this thing is the Shiznit! I have a few more min before my milk is cool enough....so someone PLEASE answer me...lol THANKS!!

Cleaned and Ready to be packaged! L to R....Cucumer Mint (SoapnCandles) LUV this scent! Soaps beautifully! Pink Grapefruit (Candles & Supplies) Wonderful soaper....scent fades a bit but picks back up once ya get it in the shower! Cool Citrus Basil (Peak)...Best oil I know for a beginner. This one gives you PLENTY of time to get creative on the swirls if you wish. Black Raspberry Vanilla (Peak)...Awesome scent...this one traced a little fast on me. Man with all this free time I dont know if I want to go back to work!

Prairieannie made me another great label!