thinkr

That is a great idea Chariste. Hadn't thought to get something like that fabricated locally and the shoot seems like it would work. Thank you.

Does anyone have a better way to take wax from the 50lbs box it comes in and put it in the melter? We use a Coogar pumper that holds 160lbs and it's rather tedious and time consuming to scoop it out one scoop at a time. It's also too have to dump it in any kind of controlled way. Thank you, Adam

Thanks everyone. We're kind of at a point where we are doing 300+ per day several days per week this time per year and the labeling time is killing me....especially since I'm paying workers to do it. I've seen manual label applicators to take labels from rolls and put on sides of containers. That seems to be the only way to speed up the process to me but was hoping someone had thought of some other solution. Getting all of my labels printed on rolls is rather costly, but maybe likely worth. Thanks!

I'd say build up the number of channels you sell on slowly. Make sure you are maximizing one to its fullest potential before adding another.

Hey everyone, Would love to hear how some of you are making the labeling process faster. It's pretty time consuming putting a label on top, bottom and side of every candle. And since removing any of those isn't an option currently I'm trying to find faster ways to apply them than by hand. I know there are impressive machines that do this but those are likely out of our price range at the moment. Thanks for your help!

When I used one it was always off when in use. My trusty thermometer stuck out of the pot so using a lid was impossible. When the pot was not in use I kept the lid on to keep dust and stuff out. I use soy wax as well.

Thanks Old Glory, these seem to be the same dimension as the metal ones but at a much better price. These poly ones are reusable, right?

Hi everyone, Does anyone have a supplier of a votive mold other than the flared type linked below? I just want a cylindrical mold that's straight up with no flare and not ornate in any way. I can find votives like this, but not the mold. Thanks for your help! http://www.lonestarcandlesupply.com/products/candlemolds_votive-mold.html

Happy New Year everyone! For those of you that have been around awhile in what order did you add product sizes? I currently have an 8oz tin, 12oz glass jar, and tarts...oh, and also a 4oz jelly jar a use for party favors through special order. Nobody is really asking for another size so I'm not bent on adding anything any time soon but it seems likely that I should probably add a votive size candle and perhaps a 16-17oz (100 hour) candle at some point. So, what order did you all add products in? How long did you wait between product launches? Or did you even wait? Thanks! Adam

I don't really bother with real time shipping for retail. I charge $6 flat rate no matter where it's going and send it USPS priority. Sometimes it costs me less and sometimes more. People are used to this flat rate shipping option these days. She think about some of your recent online purchases. Don't over think. $6 does the job and if you're setting the price of your candles correctly you should have some buffer in price anyway. For my wholesale customers I still send USPS priority but I did a lot of math based on weight and the size of my box that I use. I also include the cost of the box. Shopify can actually do live rates but, like you, I didn't feel like paying for that feature. You can add an infinite amount of shipping options based on weight so just enter (as an example) 0lbs - 10lbs: $5 | 10.01lbs - 20lbs: $10 | etc...I actually have this broken down by smaller increments and have entered 42 shipping options this way (up to 210lbs) but the wholesale customer only sees the one that applies to them. As an added helpful bit I entered some html code at checkout to show them their order weight and remind them what the most cost efficient shipping weights are. I should say I have a wholesale and retail website separate from one another. It helps organize things and very helpful when I export all the sale from Shopify to Quickbooks online so I don't have to do much double entry.

Shopify. Simple to setup and keep updated. Don't nee to know html but if you do you can enhance quite a bit.

You got it. Thanks.

Thank you both for the quick reply. Yes, our space is temperature controlled so we can stockpile. David, on your shelves where you stack the candles do you stack one high or have them stock on top of each other? If they're on top of each other how do you keep them from falling over? Any chance you could share a photo? Karen, we have one label for our candles. The only time I do custom labels is for weddings and such and for those they preoder/pay so I know exactly how many to keep to the side. Do you find it time consuming to have to open the bins every time you need a candle out of it? Thanks! Adam

Hey everyone, Been a while since I've been on here and even back when I was lurking I didn't post often. I have an issue with warehousing/storage of candles that I'm hoping some of you that have grown rather large might be able to help me with. A little background: I've been in operation for a touch over two years now and have grown up to having about 30 wholesale accounts and sold a little over 25,000 candles. I primarily sell the 8oz tins and 6 months ago introduced a 10oz glass jar. In 2016 I anticipate adding melts/tarts to the line as well as another glass jar size. I made the too often mistake of having too many fragrance options and am in the process of lower from 32 options to 25 and attempting to maintain that. When I first started I decided to keep a stock in order to ship immediately rather than make as orders roll in. This has helped me grow, I'm at a point where I'm not sure the best route for storing candles waiting to go out to my wholesale partners. I do have large stackable tubs for those we make waiting to be placed on shelves. Do I buy large shelving units and box candles and put on shelf? Do I get a bunch of shelves and set them only about 6 inches a part an have one shelf dedicated to a fragrance of candle tins? Not really sure. I do have plenty of space so I can get pretty large with the shelving. Please feel free to hit me with questions to better get at the solution. Thank you for your help! Adam

Thank you! Great information.

OldGlory: Thank you for the insight. Do you base your discount levels on number of candles they buy or dollar amount they spend? If it's by number of candles, how do you treat the discount if they order multiple sizes/types of product?

Thanks for the feedback. Will give it a shot!

Thanks, everyone. I'd like to use the CS tins but they cost a little over $.10 more a piece than the ones without the centering marker. Although I'm not selling them now I would like to think long term when picking the components and keep costs down. That $.10 turns into an extra $.40 at retail. Am I too concerned about this? Is there a cheaper place to get the marked tins than CS? ChandlerWicks, do you remove that diagram from the bottom of the tin once you place it or leave until the permatex has cured? I feel a little nervous that I'd knock the wick out of place when removing it. Or do you have a bunch of the templates so that when you're making candles you can just place it in all of the tins? Thanks, everyone!

Hi everyone, it's been a while since I posted my first post but I've lurking, reading, and trying to figure out the candle making thing. One thing I've still having trouble being consistent with is centering the bottom part of the wick (bottom of the tin). I've searched the board and haven't come across anything that really talks about tins specifically...glass jars seem to have a few good tricks since you can see through the bottom. So, at the moment I'm doing it by hand. I use permatex. When I was using the little glue dots I was able to use the wick centering tool that you plunge into the tin with a magnet, but now that I use permatex the magnet is too strong and just pulls the wick back out. I think I get pretty close to center most of the time, but would like a method that is very consistent at true center. SO, are there any tools you all use to center the bottom of the wick tab to the tin? Thanks!

Thank you for the feedback. Will definitely try a smaller wick to see if that helps with the pooling. (FYI: The wick I used in the picture is an ECO 10). I haven't seen any guidelines on how deep the pooling should be. Any suggestions? 1/4 inch? 1/8 inch? Thanks, again!

Thanks for your feedback RJ. All four of the pictures are of the same candle. The pictures of it burning were taken after it had been going for two hours, just before blowing it out. So, I'm new to this. To clarify, are you saying frosting can form after you begin burning the candle and not just during the initial setup? Thank you!

Hi everyone, This is an update from my first post but I couldn't figure out how to attach pics in a reply so I had to start a new thread... Below are two sets of photos at the candle's midway point. I'm using 464, pumpkin souffle FO (candle science), and orange dye. I heated wax to 190, added dye, let cool to about 180 and added FO, let cool to 160 and poured into jj that were preheated. Main question is about the white stripe that appears seemingly randomly on the side. Sometimes when the candle cools I get the line on the side and other times I don't. I experimented with causes and am not finding anything that would make it happen consistently. Help? Ideas? The throw seems to be diminishing slightly, but I might just be getting used to the smell. I don't know. I kinda like the look of the top after it cools but am open to opinions. Would appreciate any other feedback you have.

Thanks for the welcome and tips, everyone. It is definitely a fun hobby and can see an addiction forming. haha. I'm a data wonk by nature so I naturally record just about everything I possibly can and there are great lists of things to keep track of on this board that I have borrowed generously from. Already have a notebook that I'm recording the different temps and measurements for each batch. I also label the jars with the batch number since they look identical to me. Waiting 5 days to burn them seems like it will be the most difficult part of the process.

Hi everyone, I've been thoroughly reading (obsessing) over the threads on this board for a few weeks (thanks for all the great info!) and have made my first candles. They are made with 464, pumpkin FO, and orange dye in 8oz mason jars. I think they smell pretty darn good. Waiting until tomorrow to burn one. Looking forward to roaming around on here a lot more and learning. Please feel free to critique. Thanks! Adam