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Clear Black

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Everything posted by Clear Black

  1. Im beginning the journey of taking my longtime hobby into the business phase of things. For all of you seasoned business folks here, what do I need to do in order to get started and be legal? I know I need product liability insurance for starters. I am the only one making/selling the candles currently, so do I make my business an LLC, Inc, etc etc? I also will be launching a website to sell online, what do I need for that in regards to taxes and all that. Do I need to apply for a tax ID number from the IRS or what is it. I read through TT's sticky in the business section, but it mostly just covered insurance. Im sure there are other things I need to do in order to run a business other than insurance. Thanks for any information!
  2. How did these perform during testing? Was this 1230 wax + 6.25% stearic? If so, was there any seapage of FO?
  3. I tested 3% Stearic per pound of wax last night. At 5% FO the stearic eliminated the sweating 100%, but it also eliminated the mottling 100% 😂 I will try 2% stearic tonight and wrap the jar in foil, try and slow the cool more
  4. Does stearic provide the same reduction in fragrance sweating that the vybar 343 did? I have a mottling wax I have been trying to get to work, which says it can hold 6% fo. I am down to 3% fo and it is still sweating out the fo. Im about to give up and look for another mottling wax. The current wax Im using is the 1286 from Aztec. Im really sad it cannot hold FO even at 4%, trying 3% tonight but the 4% tester was rather weak on Cold throw.
  5. Are you still using this wax? If so, what are your thoughts? Just received a test slab and making my first tester now. Im going 70/30 6098/444 just to bump the soy content up a bit. Id like to know the actual soy content of 6098, but cannot find that info anywhere.
  6. Ya, that is what I have been thinking all along. If Yankee, Kringle, Village sell boat loads of paraffin still then it must be ok. I just have to realize that "those people" are those people lol
  7. Just got done with a summer music festival and did great for the weekend. However, I am noticing more and more customers just outright bashing paraffin candles with wild claims of how toxic they are. Currently my candles are soy/coconut, but when trying to defend paraffin they tend to look puzzled as to why I am not bad mouthing paraffin wax along side them. I then go on to try to explain that no matter what wax, as long as it is properly tested and wicked it will be just fine. But they do not want to hear it and have their mind set. I usually end the sale with them saying something like "Thank god your candles are soy, or else I would not be buying it" So..do any of you currently sell all paraffin candles? And if so, do you have to "convince" people that your candle is perfectly safe etc etc?
  8. Sorry for the late reply, but I did test these at one point and found the bigger issue besides heat, was rust. I tested cans from different sources and tested with a variety of fo's. What I found was that they tend to rust very easily and I just couldnt live with knowing that. You may have better luck with whomever you sourced yours from, but I moved on and just stuck with the tin cans most suppliers sell.
  9. Looks great! What wax are you using that you need a double wick in that container might I ask?
  10. If you watch any of the candle reviewers on you tube, basically its them telling everyone that a FMP needs to happen ASAP. They give bad reviews if it doesnt "pool out" immediatly. There are many, many candle reviews with hundreds of thousands of watchers, who then go and tell their facebook groups and friends and so on...its REALLY unsafe to have a FMP so early on, but thats what these reviewers are telling the masses. I will continue to make a safe candle vs a quick burning one tyvm
  11. Thanks. I plan on testing some of the coco-apricot wax blwnds ive been reading about and will maybe get the sample pack to try
  12. Any updates on these wicks Moon? I need a shorter/fatter wick for my blend, currently every wick I try in my blend has a straight/tall flame and it starts to throw soot at the slightest flicker
  13. The wick is a zinc core, so the wick itself is standing upright its just the flame that is bent over itself. It does the same thing on the Kringle 2 wick with their wicks also which are not zinc core, more like Premiers. Ive tested the both candles in the middle of the house, and in a small bathroom with door closed and its the same either way, flame is just bent over and scorches the wax. Bummer
  14. Jar: 31 ounce Libbey cylinder. 5.5" tall by 4" wide. Double wicked. The wax is about half-way down burned now, and the flame instead of standing upright, is now just bent over. Its bent over so much that it is now touching the wax pool and causing discoloration from the burnt wax. I also have a 2 wick Kringle jar in their "status" style which is almost the same dimensions as listed above. I am also at the half-way point in the burn and the flames ALSO bend over in that jar. Everything else is working fine, throw is fantastic, but the candle just turns discolored and looks like turd. I am starting to think I have a drafty house? My house is old and most definitely has drafts, but could these drafts be the cause of this issue, or is this issue because my container is too tall and this is just the natural air flow after the mid-way point of any jar this tall? Any insights would be helpful and if anyone of you folks have also experienced this what did you do differently. Thanks.
  15. That depends really on what the changes are. To make any changes to the vector graphic itself you would need the original .ai file, and even then any design changes may be more than what I am capable of doing. I am teaching myself bit by bit Can you maybe link a .jpg image of the vector graphic and explain what changes you would like? And as far as being transparent, if there is access to the .ai file, all that needs to be done is to set the background as transparent Hope this helps, but probably not lol
  16. Can you share any more information Candy? Thats a bit vague tbh, but I am always working in Adobe Illustrator so I might be able to help. I am no graphic artist though, I just make my own labels instead of hiring someone
  17. I have heard this mentioned before...does this actually work? And yes, my first tester indeed had a cavity just below the surface which I poked at and then refilled with the leftover wax. How does the "flip" work with having my wick retainers in place? Is it ok by this point to remove the retainer and do the flip? Hmm The 31 oz Libbey cylinder is indeed a massive jar. I really love the 2-wick status type jar that Kringle offers, the one with the nice big label ya know. So Im using that as an inspiration for a tall multi-wick jar that is also straight sided and that 31 cylinder seems like a good fit. You can get the Libbey Cylinder jars at your local Michaels craft stores btw, which is awesome for just picking a few up at a time for testers
  18. Wow, such a thoughtful and intelligent response. Many thanks TT. For starters, I believe I went well over the FO% I should have at 8%. The next one I will for sure drop to at or below 6% and see how that is. At 8% the CT was amazing, stronger than most soy blends I have been using. As for reference, my "endgame" will be the 31 oz. Libbey Cylinder Jar, so it will indeed be taller than wider. I will either double wick, or if need be it can be triple wicked. Although once you start going 3 wicks in this jar you have to be pretty darn sure about not over wicking as it is a tallish jar. I purchased a 10lb bag of the Glass glow from Lonestar to blend with some J-223, which makes a great HT but on the weakish side for CT. While working with the palm I found it to be very easy to use in the granule form and started messing around with a straight palm in tiny testers. So far its a very different experience but one I would like to look into further. The 31 oz Libbey holds about 27 oz of finished product, so I want to test some more smaller ones before I start wasting product in those bigger jars. Thanks for all the tips and assurance that palm is worth looking into. Ive said this before and will say again, I am about at the point where I want to stop selling soy altogether and just forget it exists lol. Ive spent the better part of a year trying to move on from soy and the last of my stock is about sold, so time to maybe reformulate with something that does not vary as much batch to batch.
  19. Ive been making candles for many years now and have never considered palm candles to be a "contender" in the market compared to either Paraffin or Soy. So my question is, do palm container candles have the ability to compete, meaning...do they have a good enough scent throw and are they able to hold scent like Soy or Paraffin. I only ask this because I am confused as to how palm does with fragrance, whether it be hot or cold throw. Some distributors claim max fragrance load is 3%, another claims it is 9.5%. (This is in reference to IGI R2322A GLASS GLOW PALM CONTAINER WAX) So I am not sure who to trust as I have never made any palm candles until last night. I made one with 8% FO and the FO VERY slightly seeped out, but after resting overnight those seepage's were no longer there. I can always lower the FO % no problem so I am not worried there. Basically, what I am after is does Palm container candles "hold up" against their more popular counterparts in regards to hot/cold throw? Cheers all
  20. Not exactly sure what caused all this..but a 24hr cure on 464 is no where near long enough for the wax to be fully hardened. The golden rule of thumb for this type soy wax is a MINIMUM of 2 weeks for a cure, then start your testing. If you want to, make two testers and burn one at the 1-week mark, the other at the 2-week mark.
  21. Recently I have been toying with the idea of making a specific line of wick-less/flame-less candles. Im curious as to what is all of your opinions on using hot plate type warmers vs a wick and flame. I personally prefer to use my hot plate and avoid the flame all together, mostly to avoid any sooting from store bought candles and secondly as a safety precaution around my cats who like to jump up on the table and get curious. I guess what Id like to know is, do any of you folks sell wick-less versions of your jars or make a specific wick-less candle? Do you personally like using a hot plate? Would you purchase a wick-less candle in store knowing it isnt a traditional wick burning jar? Lastly, is there a market or is there buyers actually looking for a wick-less version of candles for either safety or health (cleaner burning) reasons? Any input would be great, I am on the fence about even starting to pursue this new line of thinking. Time will tell I guess 😛
  22. A lot of that falls on the folks hosting said event too. If they market that event as crafts made by local artisans then thats what should be there. If they then allow companies from far away to fill empty booth slots, then they should at least make an effort to say otherwise
  23. Working on burn shots as I type this. I found a 100 year old piece of wood in the rafters of my garage, so I am refinishing it little by little. I will use that as a prop base to take some good photos on if it comes out the way I want it. EDIT: Also, Im not entirely sure if they are vegan or not nor have I ever understood the benefits of calling it that. A clean burning candle, whether vegan or not, is my main goal.
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