emilyspoppy

OH NO! I hope I have not perpetrated a new myth! { 188.5 } I'm strictly a "Para-Boy". I was only busting on my buddy, "Mish Moneypennee" ! Jim's Cousin, Dave

I believe that a wiser business/shop operator will stock a more eclectic offering of fragrances than someone who is crafting for there own use or gifting. It was interesting reading some of the comments that some members simply could not decide between suppliers even though they were only buying a fragrance or two from each one. Only one member said they bought all of their fragrances from one source. I don't believe she is a casual crafter either. I'm ashamed to admit that I've stocked about 300 FO's that I bought straight from about 7 suppliers. We have nearly 400 fragrances available if you add in the custom blends that I do. We have over 100 fragrances in our shop depending on the season. I actually believe I can narrow that down, now to five suppliers while still completely giving up what used to be my main source for FO's. I plan to cut my inventory to no more than catalog 200 F/O's by year's end. That will include my own custom blends. I hope to be able to claim at least 20% or more of our "catalog" fragrances will be exclusive to us. LAST CALL LAST CALL LAST CALL PLEASE!!!!!! THANKS !!!!!

I've done a "tally-up" subtotal count on the suppliers mention on this "VERY UNOFFICIAL SURVEY" thread. To date 45 board members have claimed their favorite FO suppliers. Two suppliers are virtually tied for first place with only one "vote" seperating them. 22 & 23 "votes" accordingly. I'd say that it's a "dead heat" for that honor. So far second place honors would go to a supplier who has 16 "votes". If you would like to contribute to this informal poll, please post ASAP. I will wait a period of about 24 hours without any additional voting posts and then report the results. One member has painfully not participated in the poll yet. The forum moderator, "SCENTED" would make a very welcome and appreciated addition here. I hope she checks in. Thanks to all, including "Scented" for paticipating in and/or allowing this thread. LAST CALL, PLEASE !!! Dave

Not sure if this is Polysorbate or not. I ordered a bottle this morning. It should be here in a few days. If it's labeled, I'll report back. http://rusticescentuals.com/Fragrance-Oil-and-Essential-Oil-Modifier.html

CS "Lovespell-Type" is our #1 Best Seller. It outsells our second best by twice the amount. We have a very strong younger female customer base, but my 42 year old daughter also loves it. I keep hearing it bashed on the board, but "LS" is almost always on supplies best seller lists. I will state this; We dye ours a nice pretty pale pink. It sold poorly when we dyed it to match VS's purple shade. Maybe a "new look" might help. JMO/FWIW "Smore's" sells fairly well but other chocolates do poorly. "Fudge Brownie" gets "Ooh's and Ah's" but winds up left on the shelf. I wish I had a buck for everytime I've overheard "Too fattening"! I combined "Merlot" & "Pinot Noir" (slow sellers) and renamed them "Country Red Wine" and it's on the top ten list. Sometimes it is about marketing.

Karen; I don't think there is actually a simple answer for you that wouldn't be subjective. Amber glass is the best container for photosensitive chemicals until you accidentially drop one. Price is also a factor. I transfer most of my FO's to PETE plastic bottles similar to those Peak and CandleScience ship their FO's in. There is a reduced tendency for osmotic shringage with PTFE and the bottles are much less likely to be damaged if dropped. I prefer Boston Round-Type due to their tendancy to remain upright better than the tall cylinders some companies ship in. If you keep your bottles in a cool, dark place you should really not notice any major degradation of quality of the FO's. Remember if the FO's smell OK they are most likely still good regardless of age, Use by dates are not only subjective, they can be quite misleading. If you are using any type of plastic bottles to store your FO's in, don't forget to examine them regularly. If a bottle has "sucked-in" due to osmotic pressure, remove the cap or open the spout to solve the issue. Bottles that are severly affected can split. Some FO's are worse than others. If you find you have some that behave badly you might want to transfer them to a more durable container like PETE or glass. If you want your candle "lab" to look "cool and uniform", go ahead and spend the moola with U-Line. If you're looking for the best investment for your resources, save yoour bucks to spend on more FO's. No girl (or boy) can have too many FO's to sniff and wax-up. JMO/HTH Dave

My Amish Farmer's Market shop is quite blue collar. We have no sales on pillars of any size. We move containers (8 oz / JJ's) and melts principally. A show or event may mean a different customer base though. Pillars could attract customers to your stand, too. I don't see any reason why you would not want to try some. There are no absolutes in this racket. JMO/HTH Dave @ Charlotte Hall Country Candles

Actually my misspelling of "help" was intentional! I was "testing" you to determine if you really were a teacher. I'm pleased that you passed my test. (Not!) This is the first time, I've mentioned this on this board, but I was, in a former life, a published writer. It took, however, a team of no less than three proof readers to get my work inked and on paper. I'm working from a wheelchair on a computer that a buddy was going to throw away. It has no "spell check" function. I need glasses, too. All in all, I'm pretty disadvantaged now, so I hope you will take pity on an old, decrepid, poor-sighted, confused and crippled MORON who's good intentions far exceed his meager capabilities. I suspect that if you can overlook my shortcomings, we will be "board buddies" until they haul me off to a great big oven. Excuse me please! I need to go do; "Number One"!!! Pathetic Dave

Dearest, Angie! You have it all wrong! It's "Dr. No" not "Dr. Moneypenny"!!! Now I'll have that vision etched into my memory bank forever. My "files" are almost filled-up, too! YIKES!

You did hekp me, by reactivating this old thread. I was needing some printed packaging. Thanks! Chefmom is really, really nice. When I first joined the board a few of the "board bullies" ganged up on me, but CM wasn't one of them. I can understand why she may have thought you were a "plant" for "The Original Box Company", though. You really did "come off" as a commercial. (lol) Now that we all know you're really a third grade teacher, I'm sure that most of us, including me, will be on our best behavior when we post wit ya'. (Poor grammer is intentional. Please put your red pen away) I'm a real old dude, but I would like to ask a silly question; Do you require your students to raise a finger or two to let you know what function they need to perform before you will allow them to go the "wittle boy's or girl's woom"? :embarasse I'm still traumatized from that embarrassing policy and I'll be 64 in September. (lol) Keep posting away. You'll be very welcome here, as long as you don't correct our spelling. Dave the Dunce

TKS! Dave

Dear; Karen; IMO; A very reasonable, logical and intelligent reply. I hope you untimately find what you're looking for. I hope I do too. Dave

I am unable to offer any worthwhile comments on shipping charges by CW other than you might want to contact them directly if you feel you are being overcharged. My suspicions run to an issue with their shipping calculator. I would find it difficult to believe that CW is trying to profit from shipping. As I have stated, I personally have never felt I was overcharged. I also regret that the comments about shipping charge issues came after I had emailed Bill and he reviewed the postings in the thread and replied to me. Therefore he did not offer any comments on that subject. Bill did, however, give me permission to copy and paste his reply about his custom blended waxes. The reply is attached. I hope this will be a satisfactory explanation for most interested members. I do suspect, however, that not all of you will be enlightened or content with the response. For me, however, I am ready to test the prodiucts he suggested I try. As I have stated a number of times; I trust him! JMO/HTH Dave QUOTE: Dear David; Thanks! I did read over the post and do appreciate your comments and efforts very much. The one thing we do like to protect is our custom wax formulas. Our CBL-129 is a very popular wax and if the formula is exposed, a competitor may try and duplicate it and then "market it” as the same as CBL-129 even though it may not meet our high quality standard. I can tell you that it is a hard petroleum wax which has some micro and other components to help with scent retention and hot and cold fragrance throw. Comparing waxes may help customers generally know about the wax but without trying them they may be short changing our waxes. If we state a wax is “like” IGI "such and such" and someone did not like it they may not be willing to try our propietary wax. In terms of availability; An outage or discontinuation could be true with any supplier they use. I can assure everyone that CBL-129 and CBL-141 are our best selling blends and they are not going anywhere. I believe we can make that claim better than any of the “refiners” can. The candle market is huge for them but not their only business. If their operation changes for some reason there is no assurance they will continue with a particular wax. Thanks again and "happy chandlering" to you and all on the Craft Server Board! Bill END QUOTE:

I disagree, "Mish Moneypenny" !!! Fragrance should be added at 188.5 degrees! (lol) GF! Glad to see you in here and sharing! Post away and lose that "New Member" handle. Luv ya! (It's not so lonely knowing you're in here, too!) I'm working on your "box". DW is out of town until Sunday PM. I need her to mail it for me. Your decrepidly old pal; "Dumb Dave"

Yeah, you're right, but in this shop all I can say is; "Adios old Mulberry" . . . "There will have to be a new MB here when you're gone!"

Your SECRET is safe with me!

Thanks for the reply. Perhaps more than one supplier will read it and consider what some customers feel is important when they decide who they are going to spend their resources with. JMO Dave

I've already sent a link to this thread to Bill. I hope he reads this. We talked about shipping charges, too. He told me his company has the 200 lb. discount that CS has. I wonder if that was a factor in why I got so much for so little. Maybe his company's shipping calculator isn't working properly or off somehow. Regardless I hope he reads your post and is able to comment on it. I'm sure he wants to make as many potential customers as happy as possible. He did tell me, however, he really doesn't expect too many customers on the West Coast to be interested in his heavier items. Texas should be in the park, though. I wasn't aware you were from the Lonestar State. I'm just curious why it wouldn't be cheaper to buy wax from say, LS or BCS rather than CS or Peak? Really; No sarcasm or obstinance intended. Just curiosity? Is their shipping cheaper even though they are farther away? I usually buy IGI-4630 from CS. The reason, being price, service and S/H charges. I do know that CW does run sales bi-weekly. They include deals on wax and 25% shipping breaks from time to time, too. They have a Two-Week "Truckload Sale" on waxes that ends today in effect. It applies to waxes that are bought in case lots. HEY BILL! READ THIS TOO, PLEASE! THANKS! Dave

I'ze CornFused! I quess I'll sample both. I was looking for an identical match to "Yuletide". It's a component in one of my own blends; Our #2 best seller in our shop. It's an all-season blend I created. I have a fair amount made-up and on-hand, but I am working to get it replaced. I already have a very nice "Spiced Orange" that's my own blend, but I'll try their's too. Thanks, again!

Ouch! That hurts! I'm only a state away, but I have to claim I've never felt "ripped-off" by CW in anything I've purchased from them and had shipped by UPS. I've bought a bunch from them too over the years. A number of cases of wax and many FO's and supplies, both from their online store and their eBay sales. I was checking out a another suppliers small six-section clamshells out and discovered that it would cost me $111.00 to have a case of 875 of them shipped to me by standard UPS ground. Yikes! Nothing doing! I've had five 50 pound cases of wax plus other "goodies" from CW sent here for less than that! JMO Dave

Quote from Puma; { I have gotten the Yuletide as a sample before....I GUARANTEE you that you will LOVE these fragrances from Cajun....About everything actually But, I love the Christmas Memories, (love this scent and will DEFINITELY replace the Yuletide), } I sure do appreciate the reply. I've managed to replace all of "that other company's" FO's except "Yuletide". I've been looking at a number of others with similar descriptions, but since you know both, I'll try your suggestion. Thanks again! Dave

Curious! Candlewic owner, Bill Binder, suggested I start with their clear bases, too. I'm a bit of an adventurer. I like the company, the owner and the price. I think I'll put one of each in my cart. I'm also going to try the goat milk base. I'll be trying CW's dye and molds too. I will follow Candy's advice and make sure my FO is also CP "friendly". HMMMNN! Now what FO should I try first? So very many to choose from and already on my shelves. Thanks! Dave