TxSioux

I used to ask the same thing ... till 6 yrs of candlemaking proved that you can't trust any of your variables to remain the same. I have never had a bad batch of wax, but I have seen many posts on this topic. I have had 2 batches of bad wicks & am now looking for a new supplier. Every fo is different than another & has to be tested for how it burns w/ what you *think* is the right size wick. You always have to test a new container size. It can be very draining to do this right, but you can NEVER rest on past results when you change any of the ingredients. Once you create the perfect candle you have to realize there's a 50/50 chance you will sell it to an idiot who will burn it under circumstances you NEVER imagined. It takes a long time & seeing things that will blow you away before you fully grasp how very responsible you are for the product you sell. You will never be through testing as long as you're making a quality product. Susan.

I love your soap packaging -- really nice set up -- I would definitely be drawn to your booth & probably spend too much!! Congrats. Susan.

I think the weather is the biggest factor for soy -- jmo! We have a LOT of humidity here & I can get very different results from the same batch of wax if I wait to pour some of the wax during different weather conditions. I've said it before, but adding beeswax has helped me concur this problem more than anything else. Susan.

I also checked w/ my restaurant supply & they order directly from Libbey, so my guess would be that Libbey is discontinuing that size. That's a shame, especially since it's the 12oz size that won't burn correctly for the majority of candle makers! Must be a money issue, or they plan to introduce something new that is too close to that style. Susan.

I love Pinion Pine from Taylored Concepts, but then I also dream of winning the Lotto & living in New Mexico. I guess it may depend on your area, but that's my fav. Susan.

I hate those 'safety' cords w/ the magnetic connection. I returned the last Presto I bought cause I hated that cord & couldn't see working around it popping off all the time. Does anyone know if it's possible to get the old school cords anywhere? Susan.

I want to know this too -- I hate lavender, but this is my fav scent. So, I can see where it would be tricky to get a good blend that buries the lavender without bringing in a bakery note to the vanilla. There's definitely more in there than just those 2 scents. Susan.

You're prices are good -- lower than mine. I think this may be one of those things that differs by where you're located. Kinda like different scents sell well in different areas. I sell more votives than anything else & it used to bother me, but I sell a LOT of votives & have a larger profit margin on those little suckers. Containers sell well, but I have fewer customers that buy the larger sizes. I have found that the average person doesn't burn candles as often, so they buy the smaller sizes. The die-hard candle junkies burn them a lot, so they buy larger sizes. Because of this theory, I've seen a lot of candlemakers who will charge a bit more for the smaller sizes (since they sell better) & offer better pricing for the larger sizes to help sell more of them. You just have to find what will work in your area. Susan.

What a wonderful place! It's been yrs since we went there, but sure spent a LOT of money shopping. Susan.

I use zinc wicks & they work really well for this project -- the zinc core helps hold the wick up so it won't fall over in the melt pool. I just wind the cotton around the wick tightly -- you don't want to leave any of the wick showing. If you don't want to dip your fingers into the wax you can hold the cotton & wick together w/ needlenose pliers (they have the cheap ones at Dollar Tree) at the base then start winding the cotton around the wick. Get the cotton started around the wick & dip it into the wax up to the level where you stopped winding. It will dry quickly & you can take the pliers off. Continue winding the rest of the cotton & cut when you get to the top of the wick. Use the pliers to hold the top of the cotton & wick together, straighten the wick & redip in the wax. Once that dries place it in the container & pour. Geez, that was a long description for a relatively simple process!! The cotton will make a big flame they will burn off a little smoke. Also, for my bug candles I mix equal parts Citronella, Lemongrass & Lavender -- it takes the 'bite' off the citronella & works really well. Susan.

I've always used just regular old buckets from Home Depot or Lowe's. IMO, they look better over time w/ all the soot that gathers. The nice painted ones really start looking nasty fast. While you're there pick up the refill wicks for Citronella torches. I unwind those for a single strand -- they're just untreated cotton. I wind those tightly around a wick & dip it in wax, so it won't unravel. That makes the best smoking wick for an outdoor bug candle that I've ever found. I see lots of people using regular wicks, but those won't smoke & make a huge flame, which is what you need. Susan.

I don't have any great advice for you, just wanted to offer how much I feel your pain. I basically just have a cool hobby I love that turns a decent profit, but I have been to a point where the orders were too much & I wasn't having fun ... it was a chore I had to force myself to do. I scaled back & stopped trying to please everyone else. I would suggest getting your son in the shop, maybe he has a few friends that would like to join in & make a little spending money. You'd be amazed how close you can get when you spend that kind of time together & if you pull in some of his friends it could turn out to be really fun. Better yet, hire on a couple girls & you'll have helpful boys banging down your door!! Good luck -- I hope everything works out for all of you. Susan.

Some have had success, but a lot of us have thrown in the towel trying to wick this beast of a jar. I got all the other Metro sizes to burn correctly, but this one will burn to about the 1/2 way mark & either drown out the wick or leave so much wax hanging on the side that it's just not worth selling. I still love this jar style. Now you have me thinking I may go back & try double wicking, but just didn't want to do that. I'm stubborn & only like working w/ zinc wicks, but the thread bizzyb gave you & a few others have do list what has worked for others. Good luck! Susan.

I started w/ soy about 6yrs ago. Other than 'tweaking' additives over the yrs, I've never had too much desire to use anything else. I think palm is simply beautiful & use beeswax in my soy, but have no interest in paraffin ... sorry to those who love it!! I didn't know of any message boards when I started out, so I learned a whole mess of lessons the hard way. I respect & appreciate so much of the advice I read here, but I'm still stubborn enough to step outside the box & try things that aren't suggested!! -LOL- This is an amazing addiction that brings SO much satisfaction. I've had 2 customers/friends that bought my candles for dying family members who said my candles were on the short list of things that brought them joy -- you can't buy that kind of satisfaction. I'm no where near a serious candlemaker in a business sense, but I love the it. I make money, but it is expensive to pursue. It sounds like you have the passion, so jump in & be part of the addiction. Susan.

Since I've never used them I can't say for sure, but odd shaped containers tend to give you more grief. I would guess these are difficult due to your wick needing to be able to give you a full melt to the end of each point of the star. Does anyone know the best starting point for wicking these? You're picking a tough 1st container to get started. Also, my Dollar Tree often carries containers from Anchor Hocking, Libbey & Indiana Glass -- nice when they have them. Good luck -- Susan.

What about mini pillar or test your candle to find the burn time & call it a (insert burn time) hour candle, or go w/ the weight of your votive - I would guess either 2 or 3oz mini candle. Susan.

Here you go http://tinyurl.com/28d687 & another http://www.tayloredconcepts.com/Specialty%20Glassware.htm . You'll have to call to get Candle & Supplies pricing. Lots of suppliers used to have these, but I think I recall hearing they were a booger to wick. Susan.

I think soy can turn on you if it doesn't like the color of your walls! <ha> Keep this is mind if you ever display in a shop -- you sure can't control if they keep the shop warm or cold overnight or weekends & it could really affect your product. BTW, if you ever figure this out you'll make a fortune. I gave up & embrace the unique qualities of soy. Susan.

Doesn't much affect me, but sounds like it could hurt anyone that mails a lot. Story on the local news said the new rates will be based on size AND weight of everything, including regular old envelopes. So even if your envelope or package is within the weight for certain postage the odd size of a package or thickness of an envelope will up the postage. Link http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2007/pr07_023.htm . This announcement mentions the shape-based pricing, but they went into more detail on our news & made it sound worse, so not sure how bad it will end up being. Susan.

Just the nature of the soy beast. I don't have much frosting since messing around w/ different additives (beeswax helped the most), but you'll generally get more frosting over time. Many customers know that frosting is a sign of a natural candle & have actually asked me why I don't have frosting! <sigh> Ya just can't please everyone. Susan.

I've had similar problems w/ other suppliers & never placed another order -- also made sure to tell my story when given a chance, so bad customer service definitely costs a company more than 1 customer. WSP isn't on my short list of suppliers I really want to try, but a story like this makes me certain there are too many good suppliers I'd rather send my money to. In addition, shipping is too much of a factor for any supplier to be acting like they're the only game in town! Susan.

No kidding -- they might as well send a q-tip to sniff. I've occasionally used those generally useless 'samples' for mixing, but haven't received too many good ones. There was an old thread about the samples everyone had from BC & we were all LOL at how many varieties of apple they send to everyone. They are an apple luvin' company, or maybe just getting rid of those crappy fo's .5oz at a time -- LOL. Susan.

I've always heard that a sense of smell is not universal -- like, if you smell fuel, someone else may not. Whatever your nose tells you one scent smells like is not what everyone knows that same scent to be. It has to do w/ the receptors of the nose & how many high/mid/low notes of any given scent you can detect. I've heard that those who can pick out the fuel smell have more of their receptors in place & are detecting more of the chemical notes that make up the scent. I do know I've had fo's that I hate because they smell like fuel & others think it's a wonderful true scent -- a lemon comes to mind. Susan.

If you want to eliminate wet spots ... make votives & pillars! -LOL- Susan.

Because wicks are evil ... items made in Satan's Workshop. Suppliers won't tell you this, but all wicks come from Hell. The only purpose is to torture us until we offer our soul in exchange for a single wick that behaves properly. Beware of any candlemaker that tells you they get a perfect burn w/ every wick -- they have already made a deal w/ the dark side. Other than that ... trim your wick, check for a draft, or consider you may also have an evil container that has an airflow problem (like the 12oz Metro/Status jars). Susan.