Sue Ellen

Yes Doglvr - I am sure he would say that I am challenging too. LOL. He was single for 15 years before we married. We are both the ones who didn't think we'd ever get married again - both of us had really bad experiences in our first marriages. But we happened to meet at a mutual friend's house and we both knew immediately - it was really strange and shocked the poop out of us. (It may have shocked our friends and families more.) You are absolutely correct. We have several marital issues that we are having to work through and are pretty much trying to tackle them a little at a time. There is an old saying about how to eat an elephant - one bite at a time. But I can definatley see that we have to be careful not to get stuck on one issue and allow the remaining issues to linger too long.

I can so relate! Except that my bigest challenge is my husband. He is wonderful and I love him (here comes the but), but being married is hard. I am 47 and had been singles for 25 years when we got married a year and a half ago. I know it would be an adjustment, but I had no clue as to how much of an adjustment I was in for. After the marriage I have learned that he did present himself as one thing and then after the marriage I have learned who he really is. Not saying that he is horrible, but just that he is not exactly what I was expecting. I am extremely independent and thought he was too. I have learned that he requires a lot of my time and feels very neglected when I spend too much time away from him. I am hoping that as we get more time under our belts this will level out a bit and we will be able to find a balance, but in the meantime I feel like we are having this constant tug-of-war, and I just don't have enough time to do what I want to do.

Moonshine - hope the other businesses get more profitable so you can hire someone for the office and get busy with the candles. Making candles is so much more fun than typing! justajesuschick - I am with you on the OCD thing. My studio is the one room that I do allow myself to have a mess though. It is very organized, but I am accumulating a layer of beeswax droppings on most everything. I think of the droppings as my personal artwork just for me and I enjoy remembering each spill/drip and what I should do differently in the future to not do that again.

Oh, and good luck on the potential new client!!!!

Hire help - oy! - that is one thing I do not want to even think about having to do. But I am very far away from that, so not going to worry about it just yet. You are right that things ebb and flow. Gotta save during the good times to live through the bad. When I was young I was self employed and hadn't learned that lesson yet. I remember a time when bologna was a major treat. I was so sick and tired of peanut butter sandwiches back then.

Yes, I do have the steps planned out. I am a major planner. (My husband will agree with that. LOL). He realized I was serious about doing this when I told him I was going to turn our living room (which was never used because the "live" in the florida room) into my studio. I sold the furniture in the room last fall. It is a big room, and now it is completely taken over with my candle stuff. I am so sorry to hear about your business dropping so drastically! You are so right about things changing! Drastic change, that I didn't necessarily want to happen, has happened to me a few times. Do you still have your business and is that your only source of income?

I am just in the process of moving from a hobby to a business. I have always loved anything “crafty”, I just love making stuff myself. For many years I have been a paralegal. The attorneys I work for will be retiring soon (one is 64 and the other is 74). There are 3 of us secretaries in the office and I was the last hired. We are all just waiting for the announcement of when they will retire and shut down the office. I don’t know how much of a “warning” there will be or if they will want me to go part-time for a while or really what to expect. I do absolutely know that I don’t want to start over at another law firm and keep doing this for the rest of my life. I am good at what I do, but I do mostly family court law and it is extremely depressing dealing with people going through divorces and fighting over kids every day. So I thought about what else I might want to do, did a lot of research, and had many talks with my husband. Prior to our marriage I had been single for 25 years and always supported myself, so working and making my own money is definitely something that I want to continue to do, but now that I am married and he has a good income, I have a little more flexibility. So, I’ve decided to go into business for myself making and selling items that I make. The first product that I am doing is beeswax candles. I have a lot of products in my mind and in different development stages, but I intend to add them one at a time. With the exception of a bit of tweaking I am ready to start going to markets to sell the candles and will begin doing that in May. I want to have plenty of time to go through the trial and error phase and at least begin to break even before I lose my day job. It is so much fun attempting to start up a business. I am nervous and excited at the same time. I get frustrated sometimes, but I still love it.

Cool, Moderator. I think I get the picture of what you are explaining. I will give it a try Saturday and let you know how it works for me.

Moderator, how can you level them while still in the mold? And by the way, I love your pic! Is that your cat? Sue Ellen

thank you pcbrook, I will keep trying it, unless I come up with a better idea.

I am just not happy with the bottoms of my pillar candles. Can anyone tell me how you get them nice and flat and straight? I currently use a hot pan to "spin" them on to flatten the bottoms, but they are not always level, sometimes they are at a slant and sometimes they are rounded. I have been told by a former roommate that I should never hang curtains because they were all crooked, so maybe my head is on crooked. But I need a better way of making the bottoms pretty. Thank you! Sue Ellen

I have never ordered beeswax in pellets. The wax is processed more to make the pellets than it has when it is just filtered and molded into bricks (as I understand it). Because of this additional processing I have been told that pellet beeswax has very little or no natural honey scent to it. The lack of honey scent is one of the reasons why I don't buy it in pellet form. I've never heard of it smelling bad though. What country did the wax originate from, if you don't mind my asking? Sue Ellen

I have just been reading info on this topic. I am in South Carolina, so not sure if your states would be different, but as I understand it you must charge sales tax to anyone you sell to who's shipping address is located in any state where your business has a location. So, (again as I understand it) yes, you should be charging sales tax to all persons with shipping addresses in Minnesota and in Wisconsin (and if those two states have a different sales tax rate, you should be sure to charge the correct rate). The part in my reading that I found interesting (and this really has nothing specific to do with your question), but the customers who buy from other states should list their purchases on their end of year taxes with their state so they will then pay a consumption tax. (This is only for states which have a consumption tax, and I understand that most all states who have a sales tax also have a consumption tax.) As a consumer who likes to purchase stuff online I never realized that I was to be keeping track of my out of state online purchases so I could report them at the end of the year and pay a consumption taxes. (I'm thinking this is a bit nuts for the average person and should only be applied to those who purchase large amounts - but nobody ever asked me my opinion. LOL) But I did also see that as the seller, it is not our responsibility to tell the consumer to be sure to keep track of their purchases for the end of year taxes. Sue Ellen

What's your name? Sue Ellen - yep, that's my actual name, my dad named me, long story behind where the name came from, but it did not come from "Dallas" (the tv show). And no, there was not a Sue Ellen in the Walton's ,(there was a Mary Ellen), you'd be amazed how often I am asked that. There was a Sue Ellen in Gone With The Wind, (it amazes me how so few people remember Scarlett's little sisters). How old are you? 47 Where do you live? Greenville, South Carolina - I love it here! How long have you been making candles/soap/whatever? I've been crafting stuff since I was a kid, mostly sewing, started perfecting the candles to get ready to sell last year. How did you get started making candles/soap/whatever? I don't remember, just always loved doing all crafty stuff. Are you married? Any kids? Married 1.5 years ago. He has two grown children and four grandchildren. But most importantly we have 3 dogs; his (Ginger, 10 year old miniature beagle who rules the house), mine (Pepper, 16 year old chow/catahoula mix, she moves a lot slower than she used to, but she is still doing remarkably well for her age); and our newest baby (George, a 1.5 year old boxer, he is a total mess and completely lovable). If candle/Soap making isn't your primary job, what do you do? I have been a paralegal for over 15 years for attorneys who do mostly family court stuff. I am good at what I do and it pays the bills, but it is a depressing job, dealing with people while they go through a divorce is no fun at all. The attorneys I work for are getting on in age and have passed retirement ages. I am just waiting for the announcement of when their retirement dates will be, which will also be the date that I become unemployed. Having to start over at a new law firm and having to deal with more people going through divorce is just not what I want to do. So after much discussion with the husband, research, prayers, etc. I decided to do what I love and go in business for myself. So here I go. I'm just starting trying to sell my creations instead of just enjoying them myself and giving them for gifts. Anything else we should know? I love this forum, you people are very insperational for me, I love reading about your successes, failures, and questions, and I love reading that I'm not the only one who has tons of questions, heck, most any question I think of I can just do a search on here and somebody has already asked it and several somebody elses have already answered it. Thank you all!!!

Good morning, I was going to go with Soap Guild, but then I read that to have insurance with them you have to make some soap. I do mostly candles and some other stuff, but no soap. I understand that the insurance offered by Indie Business Network is the same insurance that the Guild offers. (Without the soap requirement, which is a Guild requirement, not the insurance company's requirement.) You may want to check into them. Sue Ellen

The Church where I used to go burned down years ago. A group of college aged kids were in the building on a saturday evening and somebody left a candle burning unattended in one of the sunday school rooms. The candle caught the curtain and that's all it took. It was an old building with wood paneling on the interior walls, so the fire spread very quickly. Everybody got out of the building and noone was seriously hurt, so that was a good thing. I lived just a couple of miles away at the time and heard the firetrucks, but didn't realize they were going to my Church until the next morning. I love my candles, but any open fire can be a very dangerous thing if not treated with respect. Sue Ellen

I've never mixed with coconut oil, so don't know if it is causing the problems. For me personally, if I had a candle that was acting that way and it was a mix that I wouldn't be using it again, it would be an outside candle. I wouldn't care for the smokey smell in the house. If it was a mix that I planned on using again, it would go back in the pot.

Mann Lake looks good. I will order from them. Thank y'all very much!! Sue Ellen

I make beeswax candles and have only used metal molds. I would like to try a silicone mold. I am looking for a silicone mold of a straight pillar - preferably 2" diameter. I have been searching around and cannot find any for sale in the U.S. Seems like all silicone molds are of fancy shapes and stuff, I just want a plain one. Does anyone know of a supplier? Making a mold myself I guess could be a possibility, but I just wanted to try one first to see what I think about it. Thank you! Sue Ellen

Hmmmm, hadn't considered that yet. Mine is working with it, but it is a unique one. I should go pick up a couple at wal-mart or somewhere and check them out. Thank you.

Thank you TallTayl. I have not experimented with color or scents in my beeswax candles yet, but I do see where there would be a market for it, so I probably will try at some point. (when I get extra time. LOL.) I have started to experiment with beeswax melts with natural scents in them. They are a work in progress, but I am hopeful that they will work nicely. Beeswax is definately a labor of love, but I just cannot imagine working with any other wax.

Thank you very much Debbie!! That is very helpful. My hubby is home sick and sick hubbys can be a bit needy/whiney; so today he is darn hubby. Sue Ellen

Thank you ChrisR. I find the topic interesting, most all of my clientele are concerned about the items they purchase being organic and I want to be sure to not give them incorrect information. I stopped researching wood wicks when I found that they do not work well with beeswax, so I did not realize that they also must contain a chemical process. Very interesting. I have clients who would pay whatever it costs for a truly organic candle and I would be happy to make such a candle, but, unfortunately, it is apparently just not possible. For some of my clients it us just a personal preference, but others have allergies, asthma, sinsitivities to different scents and/or chemicals, and some have birds.

Good morning, I am curious about something. I make only beeswax candles. Making a 100% organic beeswax candle is basically impossible and I would think that beeswax would be the closest to organic as one can get in a candle. I am not terribly familiar with either soy or paraffin waxes. I understand that by definition, it is impossible to have an organic paraffin candle – is this correct? But, is it possible to have an organic soy candle? From what I have found in making beeswax candles, the only wicks that are truly organic are the wood wicks (unfortunately these do not work with beeswax.). So if a candle has a non-wood wick, there is no way that it is organic? I wonder about this because sometimes I hear people say they can buy organic soy (or paraffin or gel or blends) candles cheaper than my beeswax candles. I don’t disagree with them, just wish them well, mostly because I don’t want to call another candle maker a liar, but is there any way that this is possible? If it is possible, would these candles not have to be at least as expensive as my beeswax candles? I’m thinking that if it’s a really inexpensive candle, then there is truly no way that it is organic. :smiley2: (And I am asking about those of us who buy supplies and make candles in quantities large enough to sell. Not speaking about a person who is willing to grow the soy, extract the wax, grow the cotton, make the wick, etc. I have never heard of anyone willing to go to that much trouble to make candles to sell.)

Hello KarineB, I have been reading this forum for several months. I currently make beeswax candles (no scents or colors), so I haven't needed to know many of the abreviations that I see on here, but I often wonder what they stand for. I have figured out some of them, but am still confused by others. One that I wonder about is DH - I'm pretty sure this means "husband", but I haven't figure out what the "D" is for. Darn husband, delightful husband, dear husband, ??? Sue Ellen