TxSioux

Do they still have the magnetic attachment for the chord? I so hate that feature & haven't bought a new one since they started making them w/o the prong plug-in. Susan.

They should let people know that, for whatever reasons, they aren't answering emails or returning phone calls ... because they aren't. I don't have time to babysit the people I'm trying to spend money w/ & there are too many suppliers that run their business smoothly. Even w/ GL's great fo's, JBN doesn't have anything I need that badly. I'll use up what I have from GL & move on. Susan.

I've bought a few fo's from them & they were all excellent quality. I highly recommend High Maintenance fo - I've been told it's the same fo Tyler Candle uses in their candles & it throws like crazy. It's easier to justify paying more if you're getting superior quality. Please give us feedback if you make the trip. Susan.

Forward the email to spoof@ebay.com - that allows them to track the sender & shut them down. Susan.

I'd never try to argue math & I'm sure you're right ... I'm just pointing out that Brenda & I are using a formula based on the variable being fo load ... which means 1.2oz-1.3oz would give you an 8% fragrance load & our formula is based on amount of wax x fragrance load. 24 x 8% = 1.92. My scale is fairly nice, but it won't differentiate between 1.2oz & 1.3oz, so I can't even weight 1.25oz. I've added your formula to my notes for accuracy, cause I definitely have to refer to my notes for all math! I appreciate the info. Susan.

Has the 415 ever worked well for you? If not, sounds like you might be beating a dead horse. If you add 30% of a wax that throws well to 70% of a wax that isn't throwing, the math isn't going to work. I've heard soy wax can vary w/ crops, but I haven't seen any threads on a bad run of 415. It's been quite a while since I've used 415 -- I'd rate it as one of the best soys. Maybe this wax just isn't for you. Personally, I'd jump off a sinking ship & try a different wax. Susan.

I guess I'm kinda freakishly neat. We paint professionally & I'm the only one that isn't covered in paint or mud (when we hand texture), so that carries over in my candle making. I cover mine w/ a small strip of packaging tape, but maybe you could either spray the label w/ a sealer or run some clear nail polish over them before you tape & that would help them hold up better. I'll keep thinking about it & drop you a note if I come up w/ anything better. Susan.

Bean -- is your HT dissatisfaction been w/ a lot of fo's, or are you just getting started w/ a few? Are all the fo's from the same supplier? I'm just asking cause maybe you've had the bad luck to hit a stretch of fo's that simply won't throw in soy. Susan.

I do it the same way Brenda does. Not that it makes 2 shakes, but I'm just in a voting mood these days - LOL. Oh well, all went a different route, but came up at the same place -- Top just used less gas! Susan.

I've only tried this fo from GL & it just isn't giving me the throw I want -- has anyone tried a straight Rosemary that knocks your socks off? Susan.

I actually have a few fo's that are 6 yrs old & they're still just as good as the day I bought them. Although, I've had several that did turn & had to be chunked out. You'll know if they're bad, they just get a funky chemical like twang that takes over the scent. I always put a sticker on every fo that tells the date I got it & the cost breakdown of price per lb - this just saves me from digging through receipts, in case I need that info. Susan.

Remelt. You're not going to burn off the scent. Also, you don't need 12 candles to test one wick. I'm not trying to be ugly, but that just doesn't make sense, as I think you've learned. I've made candles for over 6 yrs & I still make 1 test candle for every size I sell & document every batch. Yep, it's a pain in the butt, but you can't assume that every fo & new box of wax will work like all the past tests. You'll shoot yourself in the foot if you try to start selling at a discounted price for a flawed product. You'll set a low standard that people will expect. What happens if someone says your full price product burns the same as your discount product, & they push you to sell everything at the discount price? Then they badmouth you for jacking up your prices & tell everyone you admitted you were selling something that wasn't really 'right'. The old rule of sales is: a happy customer will tell 1 person about their good experience; an unhappy customer will tell 20 people about their bad experience. It's hard to get through the testing phase & evolve your products, but don't sell anything until it's fully tested & represents the very best of your craft. Susan.

I can't help you, but I do have a question. I don't use molds, but I've never heard of a glass mold. How do you do this? I ask cause I'm interested in making 'refills' for a container I hand paint. Could you share? Susan.

I can certainly understand your anger, but I don't feel any company should be expected to make exceptions -- that's where the real problems come in. Then word gets around & they really look like asses trying to explain how this isn't their policy, but they have done it, but now they won't do it ... better to stick by the policy. We're fast becoming a paperless society, whether anyone likes it or not. You might consider a separate checking account w/ a debit card that you only use for situations like this. Lots of local banks or credit unions will open accounts w/ as little as $25. & don't have minimum balance requirements, mine doesn't even charge a monthly fee. Everyone has a reason why their situation deserves special consideration, so I really don't think this warrants a bad mark against a supplier. Susan.

I've worked w/ 70/30, 30/70 & 50/50 & 160-150 is a workable temp for me. I had a couple reasons for wanting the temp as low as possible & found 150 to be as low as I could go before the wax won't give a flawless finished appearance. If you drop the temp too low on the blends it will be harder to work w/ & set up w/ jump lines & other funky flaws. Susan.

Chuck -- have you tried the GreenLeaf site for lids? I won't swear to it, but I think that's the Crisa they sell & have a plastic lid to fit. Susan.

I've used Libbey drink tumblers for containers & did refills on several w/ no problems. The only issue I had was the bottom -- it had a serious cone-like hump that I couldn't secure a wick to, so I put fine sand in the bottom to make it level. Susan.

I also use the plastic lid & have a circular label. Susan.

Actually, I do think the price will drop. It may not drop as low as we'd like, but the basic law of economics says the price can't hold. Manufacturers would love to cash in on a retail price that holds high, while the price of raw materials drop, but the current dynamics of our economy can't sustain the asking price. Suppliers are dropping like flies & a lot of buyers are either going to a hobby level or quitting altogether. Of the remaining buyers (us), there's a few that will continue to buy their favorite premium priced wax, but a larger percentage of us are buying more cautiously & switching to supplies that offer a lower price. That means fewer buyers for the higher priced waxes & the manufacturers will be forced to lower their price. That leads to the lower priced waxes dropping their price to retain customers. Candles are a 'luxery' item. As we see customers cutting corners & buying less, the manufacturers see us cutting back on our purchases. They'll have to drop prices to stay in business. Keep in mind, this logic is based on the price of oil dropping & applies to paraffin. This is one of the reasons I jumped off the 'natural soy' bandwagon. Soy isn't dropping, so even if the manufacturers sell less wax, they aren't in a bind, as long as soy is still trading high as a commodity for other uses. So you better have a real solid customer base that demands a natural candle & is willing to pay for it. I'm not an economic scholar, but this is the theory of supply & demand. BTW, I've been paying $3.43 per gallon at the pump for the last 2 wks. Susan.

Yes. I had tested the GL 70/30 & am now on their 30/70 ... I think it's on the GL site as 7505. I'm lucky to have found a wax I love that's from a supplier very close to me. Susan.

I absolutely agree w/ everything Danielle said. I made pure soy candles for at least 4 yrs & just got tired of fighting against the natural quirks of the wax. Then I spent another 2 yrs tweaking the wax w/ every additive combo you can think of. I was very happy w/ my finished soy candles, but I did tire of trying to make it be something it would never be. Price was the final blow, so I jumped on a 70/30 blend. Just about the time I had tested that wax, it took a big price hit. So, I switched again to a 30/70 blend. I love the blend & don't see the benefits of bending to the 'soy trend' -- especially since the majority of people are full of misinformation & there aren't any real label requirements to regulate what is being sold as a true soy candle. I can still sell more candles than I can make w/ the goal being a solid quality candle, instead of bowing to misleading marketing hype. For me, the blend just offers more of the best qualities of each wax without being locked into a fixed perception that either one carries. Susan.

As a consumer, I'd question the shelf life of an olive oil product. I also think olive oil has a rather distinct odor, so I'd worry about the scent getting buried. Now that I really think about it ... how much olive oil could they really be using, cause OO is quite expensive & it's really dense ... I would think it would really clog a wick. Seems like another marketing ploy that will further scramble the public's reality. BTW, Bug -- are you in party mode for WestFest? Do you have a booth? Have fun & grab a turkey leg for me! Susan.

LeeAnn -- have you considered the GL 30/70 blend? I had gone through a few cases of the 70/30 & really liked it, but just couldn't take the price increase. I did a little reading, placed a few calls & decided to take a leap of faith & ordered 2 cases of the 30/70. It's the easiest wax I've ever worked with & required very little change to the testing I had already done w/ 70/30. I've eliminated all additives, it colors beautifully & has an amazing hot throw. I've eliminated all double wicks, have gone down 2 wick sizes in all candles I make, have almost doubled my burn times & can actually get a perfect burn from a 12oz Metro. I honestly have no complaints & love this wax. Susan.

This may sound stupid, but you can buy a digital scrapbook program at Hobby Lobby or Michael's called Digital Scrapbook Memories. It works w/ Photoshop & gives you very detailed step-by-step instruction for utilizing all the tricks of PS. The discs sell for around $18., but not so bad w/ the 40% off coupons. I find PS to not be a user-friendly program, but simply amazing once you get the hang of it. People who have almost no computer skills say the Digital Scrapbook program has given them the instruction to make it easy. I'm not a scrapbooker, but getting some of these for all the other stuff I do. Susan.

Stella's right, volume shippers get WAY better rates that allow them pass on the discount. My husband used to work for DHL & now works for Fed Ex. To give you a prime example: Dell is currently renegotiating their shipping contract. They've been using DHL, but DHL is shifting away from home delivery -- they've actually been losing money w/ the Dell account. So, FedEx won't match the current DHL price & Dell's trying to get UPS to work a deal. It just amazes me why anyone would value a customer that costs them money? I wonder if Dell has a whole division working overtime trying to figure out how to outsource this problem! LOL Susan.