lisinka1

I'm not a candle maker but rather a consumer. When looking at a candle company regardless of which scents I want to buy, I always look first for a good pumpkin scent and a good Christmas scent. Hope that helps.

Hello Candle Makers! I have a question. I see that there is a lot of talk on here about wicks mushrooming and it seems to be a negative thing. Is this a sign of a poorly made candle? I buy candles from 3 different soy companies. Each company has its own uniqueness which is why I buy from each. I noticed that with two of the brands, the wicks always mushroom. I hate this because I quench the candles to extinguish them (if I blow them out the wicks smoke because they are 100% cotton). When I quench them the mushroom falls into the wax and I have to scoop it out. The other company's wicks never mushroom and rarely need a trim. In fact, if I trim the wicks they sometimes get drowned out by the wax which is strange because I always cut to 1/4". Anyway, can someone tell me if a candle that mushrooms is still a well made candle. Other than the mushrooms, the candles burn perfectly and have a phenomenal scent throw. TIA!

It really depends on what the label and jar look like. For example, Yankees look great with their label because IMO the Yankee labels are nice. The Yankee jars would look ugle without the label. However, there is one company called Pure Integrity which uses frosted jars. I think these jars look beautiful without the label (they have a label on the bottom). I also bought 8 oz. jelly jars with a nice label which I like and I've bought ones without a label and just a hang tag which I don't like because the jelly jars are not the most beautiful things in the world.

Congratulations! Which issue will you be in?

1. Cold throw is important because it helps me decide if I like a candle or not before I burn it. Although I buy all of my candles online now, when I used to buy Yankee's I would smell the candles cold in the store. 2. Strong scent throw is a MUST for me! I will not buy candles that I cannot smell. 3. Sometimes I buy a candle for its name and its DESCRIPTION. I think that both are equally important. 4. I like candles with color although I do purchase from one soy candle company that does not add color to the candles. They are pretty, I do prefer colored candles. 5. I don't really care for unique candles. 6. I only buy container candles, so finish really n/a. 7. I am concerned about prices in so much as whether or not I'm getting what I paid for. If I pay $20 for a candle it MUST be perfect and gorgeous. $5 jelly jars can have imperfections (although this may detract me from again purchasing if the imperfections are a norm) such as an uneven label and I wont be so bothered as long as they smell fantastic. 8. Style of container is important because it adds or detracts in my interior decor. 9. I'm not a scientist so I do not know if all the hoopla about soy is true or not but I always burn soy because it burns much better. If I burn the candle correctly, it never tunnels, leaves only a trace of soot, and for some reason they always have a better scent strength and throw. 10. I do not accept tunneling in any way. Reside (trace amounts) is fine. I use a paper towel to clean it. 11. I expect a candle to burn for a normal amount of time for its size. For example an 8 oz. jelly jar should burn for at least 50 hours. 12. Clean burning is essential. I do not want soot on my Ethan Allen furniture or in my or my family's lungs! 13. I don't really care for packaging of candles as it adds to cost. The only thing I do prefer about packaging however, is when I am buying tarts. I like individually packed tarts rather than a bulk amount of them (i.e. 6 per scent). 14. I like YC dupes because I can burn Yankee scents without the Yankee soot. I also like BBW scents in candles. 15. Polite and timely customer service is essential. Without your customers, you have no business. 16. BM and online stores should have a nice appearance. A bad look store, whether BM or online, is definately a negative. Maybe it's more of a negative when it's online because you really don' know who you're dealing with. 17. LOVE LOVE LOVE sales!!! Definately motivates me to buy more or to even buy at all. Shipping specials are also a great motivator!!! In order of relevance: 15, 2, 12, 1, 17, 9, 8, 7, 4, 10, 16, 3, 11, and so on.

As a candle consumer, I can tell you that one of the most important things is choice and variety. The more variety that you have, the better chance you have of making sales. I would think that this would be especially true with candle lovers because they want to try all of the scents. I know of one candlemaker who has over 340 in stock. I keep on returning to buy her small jelly jars because I want to try all of them.

I'm not a candle maker so I don't have the FO bottles. Instead, I have over 200 candles in my candlecases (a.k.a. bookcases...the books have been moved to the basement)...it scares me to admit this. If the electricity goes out, I have enough candles to light up the whole neighborhood...and boy will it smell great!

In response to the above quote, you can get your candle company names out there. I'm sure that all of you are candle lovers like I am. I am totally addicted. Understanding that, I am sure that a lot of you know about www.candlefind.com However, for those of you who don't and who want to get national and maybe international sales, try to get your candles reviewed by your customers on Candlefind or by the owner of the site Carolyn and her assistant Christina. They write very honest and complementing reviews of candles from large brands (Yankee...yuk) to small mom and pop operations. I go on this site everyday and so do lots of others who love good quality candles. If you are able to get your candles reviewed you must keep in mind that your sales will probably rise a lot and you'll get a lot busier. If you don't want to be reviewed by them, you can also advertise or just get listed on the review board (for free I believe) and have your customers write reviews for you. I do this all the time for the companies that I buy from. I'll never buy another Yankee. Also, one more note. Today I found a great candle company here. I was reading the messages (I don't make candles, but love learning about them) and saw the name of a company in the owner's CT ID. I clicked on her webpage and she made a sale because I liked what I saw. Good luck everyone and I hope that your businesses prosper because I know that you guys are making much better candles than the mass produced ones on the market! You all add the personal feel to them which as a consumer I just love!

If you're looking to advertise your business nationally, check out www.candlefind.com This is a website where the editors of the site write reviews about candles they buy and candles that are sent to them. Regular candle lovers can also post reviews about companies that they've tried. This is my resource now for finding the best companies out there. Before this website, I didn't know anything other than Yankee (or how a great candle actually smells and burns). Good luck everyone!

I turned the candle into a tart and it's smelling pretty good! It's not quite as strong hot as it was cold, but it smells like Pina Colada instead of crazy glue. I wonder why the wick and FO didn't agree.

I turned the candle into a tart which was very easy since the wax is very soft. It has such an awesome smell cold so hopefully it will be just as good in the tart warmer. I'll let you guys know tomorrow night. Thanks for you advice!

Can you put them in the dishwasher?

I have a question but I'm not sure if this is the right forum. I'm new to CT. I have a candle called Pina Colada. I lit it last night and when I leaned over it (it was only burning for 30 minutes so the wax pool wasn't huge) it smelled like crazy glue. When cold the candle smells like Pina Colada. But burning it smelled aweful. If I turn this candle into tarts but breaking it up, do you think it will smell like Pina Colada or crazy glue?

OVC has a video posted on their website of this candle burning. The candle in the center looks really pretty. At first I didn't like the jar, but when lit it looks nice. The jar to the right looks like the burn in out of control, but that may be the way it looks on my computer. The window showing the video was really small, so it may have looked weird on my computer. Anyway, for those of you who are interested, go to their site and click on the video link. It's on the homepage.

I like the Sweet Kisses and Passionate Kisses names mentioned. I'd buy a candle named those. When I first heard of Monkey Farts I was grossed out. However, since I've heard such great things about this scent I bought it. However, I have seen the same scent description with a different name on other websites.