kfintoni

So I received my order from Pure Fragrance oils and they all smell really good but I am not a fan of some of the names. I am looking for suggestions for the following:  

Guinevere's Attraction

An Affair to Remember 

Suede

Has anyone ever renamed any of these?

Thanks,

Karen in MA

I agree with the Fireside one. The one I have used is from ICS and it was great. Also I love the Aztec one Autumn Flannel. 

Karen in MA
 

Great like I needed to order from another supplier like I need a hole in the head. I ordered the following: Green Cactus, Almond Milk Honey, An Affair to Remember, Guineveres Attraction, Midsummer Dream, Morning Sunrise, Suede, Orange You Sweet.

I am hoping the An Affair to Remember can be a good substitute for RE White Velvet Bow, they have been out of it for awhile. I never really used any MW fragrances as she was slowing down and ended up closing up not long after I started making candles. I have a bottle of Fairy Garden that I have never used due to the color of the oil, I know it is silly of me. It is just sitting there. 

Karen in MA

This has been an issue for me from time to time with the very Earth Crunchy types. I have posted this same question and comments for years. My big pet peeve now is other candle makers that emphasize the essential oil part of their fragrance listing to get that crowd many omitting the fragrance oil part or putting it in small letters. The all natural essential oil Banana Nut Bread or Bubble Gum candle. 

Karen in MA

21 minutes ago, Shari said:

Those are great as always. 

 

@moonshine  No, the glitter doesn't stick when used in the shower.   It's a bear when using it dry but I've never come out of the shower looking like a glitter fairy....I use glitter on almost all my soaps.  My husband wishes I didn't as it has a tendency to get everywhere when making the soap.  He usually has a sparkle or two going... ha ha

"Glitter" the herpes of the craft world, it never goes away.

So I went with Sweetie Pie for now with a valentine label. Will see how receptive people are to the name and scent before I decide if I will keep making the scent. I was very similar to the Serendipity I use which is my all time favorite by the way. 

Karen in MA

On 2/2/2019 at 9:31 AM, Trappeur said:

This is the jar with the copper lid I'm using charging 12.50 wholesale

 

This picture makes me want to order these jars now. I had been on the fence about them but I guess I will just bite the bullet and do it, this is beautiful.

1 hour ago, Quentin said:

You'll get better at this part the more you do it. At first, it is quite overwhelming. I would get so confused that I would make huge mistakes like pouring the candles and then realizing that I poured all those candles and forgot to put in the fragrance that I had measured out earlier! That's probably why so many of my first candles had no hot or cold throw at all. Then I would post endless questions on this forum asking why my candles had no throw. I must have been driving these people crazy. I think I actually did drive one lady crazy. Seriously though, as time goes by, it will all fall in place. Most of it at least. You will find yourself doing some of these things automatically. I promise.

The down time I was talking about is not a problem it is just hard for me to figure the labor when there is actual time I am not say doing anything candle specific. I have been doing it for years so I have a great system in place but I pour my candles at a much lower temp than you so a 6 pound batch of candles takes longer to cool before pouring that is the down time I was referring to. Yes there is always label printing, computer bookkeeping or ordering more fragrances to keep me busy.

Karen in MA

1 minute ago, Quentin said:

This sheet (with stopwatch) does a good job of tracking the time to make the product and does an excellent job of keeping me from making mistakes. However, it doesn't help me at all when I try to decide the question of "What is my time worth?" Should I pay myself minimum wage, less than minimum wage, $45.00 an hour, or not pay myself at all? That's where I'm stumped. How much can I pay myself and not make the candle price so high that I'm pricing it out of the market? I don't have an answer for that. 

My problem is the down time in making candles is hard to account for. Wax melted to certain temp to add fragrance then waiting for it to cool to pour then waiting to set up to cut the wicks and label. Yes I do other things in the meantime but it is not always candle related.

Karen in MA

25 minutes ago, Quentin said:

Then I would say you are doing it the right way.

 

That is a BIG bonus. I wish I was in the same situation.

 

I'm still trying to figure out a practical way to do this. I've put together a "Production Sheet" with fill in the blanks and check off boxes for every step of making my candles. It works for containers, pillars and anything else and even includes the time it takes me to prepare the wax for the melt. I time every step in the process, with a stopwatch. I've broken it down into roughly 3 sections: 1) Wax prep time: This is the time it takes me to break down X number of ounces of hard paraffin or any other wax and throw it in the melt pot. 2) Melt & Pour. This section is the bulk of the entire process. I start timing this section from the minute I put the pot on the heat source. While that is heating up, I engage in things that apply to the candle I'm making (lubing the mold, wicking, heating the jars, measuring out the dye and fragrance). Since I'm doing this while waiting for the wax to heat up, no extra labor time applies. I set these parts aside and attend to stirring the wax and bringing it up to the right temperature to add the dye and fragrance. Meanwhile, while waiting for the wax to cool to pour temp., I can do things like start the clean up process. During all this, the stopwatch is working automatically for me. When I finish pouring, I hit the stopwatch. That is the end of section 2).     3) Second pour or top off: Whichever may apply to what I'm making, including any time I might have to spend with the heat gun. 

 

This may all seem a little anal retentive, but I'm getting more done in less time. It may seem a little robotic. In fact, each time I use the sheet, I seem to get a little better with the whole process and find that I'm paying more attention to proper temperatures. It's really just an elaborate checklist, but it works. I scan the sheet and post it here if anyone wants to see it. Actually, I'll scan it and post it here anyway. 

I would love a copy. I always am way more productive when I have things to check off or cross off.

Karen in MA

2 hours ago, Laura C said:

Hi @kfintoni. You mentioned shipping but didn't list the shipping cost and don't forget about packaging for shipping and like @Trappeur said, your time/labor is worth something too. I take it you don't use dye. 

Shipping is already included in the price breakdown of supplies. 

Karen in MA

6 minutes ago, Paintguru said:

While I'm still just starting, most of the suggestions I've seen is 2x for wholesale and 4x for retail.  This seems to be along the lines of what you're marking your candles.  I guess you need to learn your market and customers to see what they can accept.  

I tried the 4 x and I just cannot get $20 for a 16 oz candle around here. There are so many other candle makers around me. I also personally would not pay $20 for a 16 oz myself though I see so many people charging that for an 8 oz jelly jar candle and it blows my mind. Maybe in some kind of custom fancy jar/vessel but not a jelly jar.

Karen in MA

I know pricing is always talked about on here and I have read them all. With the increase in the USPS shipping rates recently I was going through my pricing breakdowns and was curious if anyone was willing to share their cost breakdowns. I am torn with pricing and using the cost of the materials per candle or if ordered in bulk if that makes any sense. I am just curious if I am in the right ball park on how I am doing y pricing and I know everyone is a bit different with demographics and cost of shipping. For me everything has to be shipped as the only supplier of candle supplies that is local is crazy overpriced. I did though find a local supplier of wax so that is a bonus. Here goes, here is a breakdown of pricing on a 16 oz mason jar:

Jar:    .90

Lid:    .65

Wax for 14 oz:   1.40

Wick:   .103

Fragrance using 2.00 an oz average:  2.02

Label:  .04

Warning Label:  .04

Label Ink:  .01

So my cost is $5.16  I retail them for $16.00 at markets and $15.95 on the web site. They wholesale for: $9.75 for one case or $9.00 for two or more cases.  The reason I ask is I regularly check out other candle makers prices, not including the big box candles, and am curious on some of their pricing either too low or too high. I have talked with many of my market customers and they think my pricing is fair for my area. 

Thanks, Karen in MA

Not yet. I was busy getting a big wholesale order ready and still thinking of a good name. 

Karen in MA

So I did call Fillmore yesterday and yes they did have a Key Lime Pie but they no longer carry it. Bummer because it was the best I have ever smelled. You could smell the creaminess of the pie and the yummy of the graham cracker crust. Trying to decide if I want to pony up the $ for 25 pounds or not. I guess I will check out some other samples first before I do. 

Karen in MA

Okay so I was looking through a list of bakery scents I had and I was looking for Key Lime Pie. I know I had a great key Lime Pie fragrance that you could smell the bread crumb crust but now I cannot for the life of me remember where I got it. I swear it was from Fillmore but I cannot find it on their web site. I know Peak had a Key Lime but it was not a pie. Am I loosing my mind or did Fillmore used to carry a Key Lime Pie?

Karen in MA

Okay you wonderfully creative people has anyone ever renamed Sweet Tooth from RE? It is a nice super sweet scent that kind of reminds me of Serendipity. Here is the description: The base of this blend is a buttery cutout cookie, with a sweet frosting. But there is so much more! Candied cherries and fruits, along with frosting sprinkles and powdered sugar, make for a nosegasm!

Anyone have any good suggestions?

Karen in MA

2 minutes ago, Trappeur said:

Hey Karen,

 

I just made up some candles in the Red Apple and I hope it does well.   I'm really loving it so have to wait for a 2 week cure.

I really am set with pines and really don't need another one, but doesn't hurt to try out new ones.   Fillmores Christmas Tree (Balsam Fir) for over 12 plus years is my go to pine.   2'nd is CS Fraser Fir.  For another pine the 3'rd is CS Blue Spruce.   For 4'th Community Candle Balsam Fir which is not really a balsam but just a plain fir scent but oh so nice.   For 5'th is Bittercreeks "A Northwoods Christmas".....so I'm all set but I'm still trying out Fillmores.

 

I have one store that sells tons of a Jolly green apple which I have never really found one that is tart so I have been using Fr.Buddys green apple in the mean time till I find a better one.   Now that you just posted this green apple, I'm ordering from Fillmore today and take a chance and order a pound of their green apple.   So glad you posted this!

 

Trappeur

 

I don't think you will be disappointed in the Green Apple. When you get it let me know what you think.

Karen in MA

On 1/21/2019 at 11:10 PM, Trappeur said:

Would you say Karen that Fillmore's is a mac apple?

So what is your description of the White Pine???  Is it more or less just a plain ole pine?

 

Trappeur

Yes it is definitely a Mac Apple. Their Green Apple is also a great scent, nice and tart.  I will have to get my nose into a left over white pine candle and see if I can come up with a description. With all the pines I sell it just did not sell. I could not keep CS Frasier Fir in stock, I love that one. 

Karen in MA

On 1/22/2019 at 12:07 PM, Candybee said:

Hmmm.... I am going to have to try FB's Mulberry. I still use mulberry every year as a mixer but have been using CS' version.

I love the Fillmore Mulberry. It is the only one I use. I sell a ton of it over the holidays and call it Elf Farts.

Karen in MA

I see more and more people making candles with the dried flowers and herbs in them. I just see someones house burning down. They are beautiful to look at but not to light. 

Karen in MA

I love the Lav Sage and Rosemary and I hate most Lavender scents. I actually carry and sell both really well. It just does not compare to the Lav Cuc Sage. I guess I could try and mix my own but with a fragrance like that I think it is easier and I get more consistent results if I order it already mixed. I was just surprised this was one they were discontinuing.

Karen in MA

I think I have used every one of their oils, the only one I did not care for was their leather. I love the Red Apple and like you I was a huge CS Mac Apple fan. The Red Apple is the only one I get now. I was not a huge fan of the White Pine but the Mulberry Bush is a huge seller for me. 

Karen in MA

Hello everyone,

With CS discontinuing their Lavender Cucumber and Sage I am looking for a good replacement. This is a huge seller for me and also my husbands favorite. I did buy 5 pounds of it on sale this week but that will only last me for a short time. 

Thanks,

Karen in MA

Hello everyone,

Lebermuth has a sale right now on some of their all natural fragrances. Has anyone ever used them. I have a few "all natural" scents and I would like to add a few more. 

Thanks,

Karen in MA