Kimberly

My sales have been pretty steady. I thought I was in line with last yr, until I read this thread and sat down and looked at my records. Seems my sales for Jan and feb this yr are up 34% over last yr. I have picked up 2 new Wholesale Accounts and have a fundraiser starting soon. My outside sales are up. I pretty much do Wholesale and Fundraisers exclusivly...this yr I have had several customers call me from out of state to order cases of candles, Salt Scrubs and soaps. The economy here in my area sucks right now becuase the leading employer, Corning Inc, has laid off over 700 people. I just hope my sales can stay up! I know, I need to get off my lazy arse and finish my website, but I swear, my heart just isnt in it.

You know I am there girl! I had a great time last yr and learned so much!

I like your names! I rename a lot of Scents just to offer my customers something "different". I also rename scents to give them a local flare. Here is an example...I live in the Southern Tier of NY in a sweet little touristy town...I renamed Peak's Cornucopia to Southern Tier Splendor...FLIES off the shelf!!!! Just a tip...make sure to keep a master list of the scent names vs what you renamed them....dont ask me how I know...lol

I like #1. No, I didnt realize it was a candle at first...but it looked different. To me, #2 looks too much like a "stock" logo.

Yeah, luckily I use J50...lol Way to go on the FundRaiser!

Oh how I love my Turk n Surf...let me count the ways...lol For those of you who have one, you know what I am talking about...for those of you who dont have one, you are missing out! I got an order from a new Wholesale Account. They wanted to start small, so they ordered 20 cases of the 9oz hex, in 40 different scents. (The order started out at 8 cases but I kept telling them that they were missing the Best Sellers.) So, 20 cases of candles to pour...I started pouring at around 7:30 and I finished all 20 cases at 9:02. There is no way I could have done that with the trusty Presto Pot. Turk n Surfs RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course there are Business Umbrella Policies, but the normal Joe on the street will not pay the premium for a Business Umbrella, nor do they need it. A large percentage of the population have Personal Umbrella Policies, so that is what I was addressing.

Just an FYI...this differs with each company and each state. Always ask your Agent.

Yep, Agent right here. No. A Personal Umbrella Policy will not cover a business venture. Makes no difference if it is candles or if you are a Consultant of some sort. A PUP is meant to cover PERSONAL liability exposures like home, auto, boat...NOT business. Hope this helps!

It is just the fact that YOUR Agent cannot write your policy. Obviously, your Agent is in the same boat I am. I am an Insurance Agent and the company I write for will not cover this sort of risk. Luckily, I had a contact who specializes in Business Ins and he was able to hook me up. Look in your local phone book...or ask around...Who does most of the Business Ins in your area? Most major companies will not cover an exposure like Chandlers....look at some smaller Mutual Companies. Afordable Ins is out there, it just takes a little work to find it. Good Luck!

Like Trish said....have the school give you the final totals. Also, I always round up to the full case. Yes, they pay for the extras. This way when I deliver, I deliver by Scent and a representative from the group is there to count the total # of cases and I dont have any problems with being short or over. And the group can fill those stray orders from the extras. The groups I deal with usually end up selling the extras and call me wanting more.

Yep thats pretty much it!...lol Like someone said...everyone has their own way of doing things. I use the turk n surf and I dont know what I would do without it! I use hex jars and I know that it takes 5lbs of wax to fill a case of my jars. I use the big pouring pots from BCN and if I fill the pouring pot to the top line it is 5lbs of wax. I then add my scent, and color...then pour. The way I do it is basically the same way you described.....only difference is it sounds like you weigh the hard wax out then melt it. I weigh the melted wax in my pouring pot. Get a turk n surf....you will not be dissapointed!!!!!!

Mystical tends to shy away from the camera...and I do too usually. Thanks! I love my back yard which is where that last pic was taken from. We have 120 acres here. I wanted to post that pic for all of those who have never experienced the beauty of upstate NY. Seems like everyone thinks NY is NY City...NY is a beautiful state! Scented....oh girl give me a microphone and I will sing anytime! I am singing the National Anthem at a local Basketball tournament this week coming up....I am excited but scared to death too! And yes, I have a lot of room here. My big hunk of man redid the basement for me and my business. I have my candle/kitchen area that you saw in the pic, a living room/office, bedroom, bathroom and storage area down here. It worked out nicely, was scared I wouldnt have enough room...but it was perfect!

LOL...It was Paradise by the Dashboard light. I get tired of people butchering that song...so I do the Meatloaf part and Tabatha did the other. Chrisasst...I do the Fundraiser with Northside Blodgett every yr.

OK guys, some of you have been asking me to post pics of my big Fund Raiser. I have a few to post. I have a new space this year to do my candles in and it worked out nicely! mystical_angel, tlc26 and I got all the candles poured and labled way before the deadline. My order was down a little this year compared to others, but I expected that because of the economy. At first the school placed an order for 270 cases and after we had poured all of those and all my help had left ....they called me telling me that they had several orders turned in late and wanted to know if I could add them....SURE, NO PROBLEM! money is money...right? I poured and labled 42 cases in 2 evenings after working full days at work. The process is getting easier each year! I am posting pics of the process and of us having fun in upstate New York! 1. Pouring table full of freshly poured candles. 2. Finished candles ready for Delivery. 3. Set Up for Pouring 4. tlc26 & Kimberly out having a few drinks and Wings 5. Kimberly & tlc26 singing Karaoke 6. Pic of outback while Kimberly and tlc26 were 4wheeling

LOL...you bad girl you! Nice soap there my friend....now come on back to my house and we can have fun soaping instead of making candles 24/7. BTW guys...tlc26 doesnt get online much...she is banned from WSP because of silly things ....but still BANNED! NO WSP for you 1 year! LOL

Hot Baked Apple Pie Dreamsicle Cinnamon Stick or Red Hot Cinnamon Cinnamon Bun I use a few of their scents and they throw great....just wondering if anyone has had any experience with any of the above Fo's. THANKS!!!

I TOLD you you would love it! I would be so lost without this thing now...I dont know how I did these FundRaisers without it. I have 2 of them, but the pouring and melting goes so quick, I dont need to fire both of them up...and you wont either...just keep dumping the wax in and you can keep pouring my friend!

My name is of the place I live in and it sells a lot of candles for me. I live in a tourist town and they like the fact that it says the name of the town on it. I even have several accounts in the state that still like the name as a marketing tool because it shows it was made in NY state.

Really, I am not being harsh here so dont take it that way. It shows that you put a lot of time into your flyer and the product, however the labels dont. I, personally, wouldnt buy something as a gift to where the label was taped on. You definitly need to have your contact info on there. I am sure you make a great product and will have people wanting more...they need to know how to get in touch with you. Good luck! Your product looks nice...as well as the flyer.

I am lucky...I am able to use 1 size of wicks for all my candles. I buy thousads at a time and I store them in a plastic container. I get the container from Target and it is a white cube with a lid to where you can flip up one side of the lid at a time. Cute, compact and easy.

I have a used grapeseed with great success. Paired with Avacado oil made one hell of a soap.

If you find a Soy recipe that works...please share! I have tried a few...when I plugged into the Soap Calc it looked great but everytime I try to soap the recipe I get a false trace instantly!!!!

Ok...I'll bite...."Boilable Baggies"??????????????

I dont think it will. I cut mine in half. My wax comes in 11lb slabs and I can get 3 1/2 slabs in at once. Man oh man, during my big Fundraiser that thing is like a coal furnace...we just keep feeding it wax and it goes 24/7.