Clear Black

Ok thanks. I use 444 and its rather hard in its natural state and I have no issues with ugly tops so I do not think USA would benefit me. Thanks for the info

@birdcharm Like I said above, if you start watching at the 1:50 mark you can hear and see them adding FO when the batch in the stockpot is cloudy. No mention of actual temps, but when soy gets cloudy its typically below 110*. Mine gets cloudy at 105* and no way in heck am I adding my FO at that temp

@Trappeur I already supply the customer with uncolored natural ones, but was asked to do colored as well. If I cannot provide them she will look elsewhere for another brand but still carry my natural soy ones. Oh well. @kandlekrazy Is USA the same as UV inhib? @Crafty1_AJ Even with the UV do you still get the bloom/frosting? I might just offer this customer a paracoco alternative to the colored soy. Thanks all

How do you combat the frosting and discoloration issues? Ive never colored my soy (444) but have been asked to by a customer. I have been at it for a while now and now matter what I do the colors start to whitewash and frost. Are you folks using additives to help reduce the natural frosting that occurs in soy? Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

There is also another company on youtube that suggests the same thing. Skip to about the 1:50 mark in this and have a listen. Video:

I have thought about this as well. If you actually watch another of their videos he goes on to explain that if you add your FO at higher temps and let cool before pouring, you are essentially burning off all of your fragrance during that cool off period. His advice is to cool the wax THEN add your fo when it begins to set up which to me sounds opposite considering that the wax will be too cool for the oil and wax molecules to combine properly on a scientific level. I really wish TT could watch this and chime in and science the snot out of this for us, since she knows the actual SCIENCE involved in this. Video:

As a truck driver who drives that exact same setup of a truck ( just not for FedEx) It is quite feasable that the box is empty and was either placed there at his previous location or ended up there by accident. Most truck drivers do not even get out of their cabs during off loads and will just jump in the seat and start driving once delivery is complete. On a long nosed Freightliner like that, the front end of that truck is a complete blind spot for us. So the driver literally cannot see that box there. Nor could he feel it. We haul 100,000lb loads up hill and our trucks are very powerful. That box in the front there has the same effect a fly would have on the driver. So he most likely could not even tell he was pushing something. Most people dont realize the true nature and danger of these trucks and all the blind spots we have. With that said, he should have done a proper pre trip before heading down the road. If he had done so he would have seen that box stuck to his front grill! 😂😂

HAHA!! It hurts my brain to Trap!

You may not be having great luck with your HT because of using 12% FO load. I learned this here years ago when I first started that more does not equal better. You wick may not be able to handle that much FO load and act as if it were drowning. Best bet is to ask TT and she can science the f*** out of that situation for you regarding FO load and no HT. There are many factors besides FO load like container, wick size, cure time, pour temps etc etc.

Just because it can hold 12% does not make it a great idea to use 12%. Speaking from experience I thought that at the beginning more FO=better candle. Not only is that not true AT ALL, but if you plan on selling these down the road at fairs or markets, using 12% FO load will ruin any profit you may get. It wont ruin all of it, but its just not needed. Most people here use around 6% FO +/- 1%. Fragrance oil is the single most expensive cost in making a candle. At 12%, you are now using 2x the amount actually needed to make a great candle. If you stay around the 6% target, you not only make a great burning candle but you save money and that will mean more in your pocket. Also, I use 444 so if you want this information and much more as Trap or TT. I know they both use 464 and can explain more on your wax. But the above statement holds true for most waxes anyways. Unless of course you want to market your candles as holding as much fragrance as humanly possible then by all means go ahead. Best of luck. -Cheers

If I dont trim perfectly the mp gets about 1/2” deep rather than what you see in the photo. The side effect being that the untrimmed wick will begin to soot. Ive learned after this to be ok with the mp as long as its throwing the way it should

Hey Trap. The jar is basically a 16 oz mason type with a slight shoulder. So standard wide-mouth opening for that type container. What I meant by "full full MP" is that even though the wick is centered DEAD ON im still getting a deeper MP on one side vs the other. One side of the jar has about 1/4" deep MP and the opposite only an 1/8" deep MP. There is maybe only about an inch of wax to be burned and I will be at the wick clip, so I was figuring the MP would be noticeably deeper at this stage of the container. Scent throw is about where it should be, but I would like a bit more of course, which is why I was questioning if it was getting a full enough pool to really throw the scent up. I think I will stick to my CD-20 for now since after reading comments here I feel most are correct in assuming the CD-22 would be too hot and too much.

Yes the MP is much bigger but I am pretty dang dilligent on trimming the wick. I usually test in phases where I wont trim the wick like most customers unfortunately and then another phase where I trim it like it should be. Its always a bigger MP when not trimmed but also gets hotter naturally.

Im currently using a CD-20. I feel as if I need to go to a 22 because I am down near the bottom of the container and still struggling to get a decent FMP going. You cant really tell from this angle, but if you look close enough on the opposite side near the label, there is still the wax hanging up on that side. The wick is perfectly centered, so thats not my issue. Its just not getting to a FULL FULL melt pool this far down. This picture is of the 2 hour mark after being lit. So after 2 hours, this far down in the container, I should have a bigger melt pool I would think. Problem is, even with the current wick my temp readings are at 150* near the neck of the jar. I feel going up a wick size would only add to the heat reading. Thoughts?

That is still a significant increase in prices even if we do jot see it change the actual cost of the products. How soon after they remove the cart discounts will they raise the actual product prices is what I am curious about. Hmm

So far they seem like an overall solid supplier other than not offering 1 oz sample FO's. I dont think I will be able to get the 2 oz bottle at $7+ just for testing. Not in my current budget anyways

I just did the same thing and for BRV WSP vs Candle Science it was a $6 difference as well. Which makes it WAY more easy to swallow and maybe better knowing that they may perform better than the cheaper retailers. Lets hope I can locate some CC brand 1 oz samplers now

Good point on the shipping. Had not thought of that factor. Next problem I am having is how to start testing fragrances when they do not offer 1 oz sample bottles. Is there another supplier that carries CC brand FO's in the 1 oz samplers? As always thanks TT

Do any of you know what makes Crafter's Choice™ brand FO's so much more expensive than other brands that suppliers offer? Take Black Raspberry Vanilla for example. Candle Science offers their version in a 16oz bottle for $19.97. Wholesale Supplies Plus sells Crafter's Choice™ brand in a 16oz bottle for $35.95. I guess I am confused as to why there version is nearly 2x the cost. Is it a concentrated FO or are they just re-sellers marking their end up and selling to people like me? Take Monkey Farts FO again as an example. The Flaming Candle sells a 16oz bottle for $18.99. WSP sells the Crafter's Choice™ brand of Monkey Farts FO in a 16oz bottle for $36.95. Again, nearly 2x the cost. I ask this because there are some Crafter's Choice™ brand FO's that I really like and cannot find elsewhere but I cant get myself to pay nearly 2x the cost of normal FO prices.

Thanks all so far!! Very good suggestions and I am playing with the idea now of just keeping the font black and just changing up the flame color. Good input, appreciate it!!

Also coming in late on the barcode issue. I use all mine from https://www.barcodesmania.com/ The prices are good and it was instantly available to me. I cannot confirm yet, but they also are registered with G1 to work instantly on Amazon. I was referred to them by a friend who had been using them for years with no issues.

Just to clarify, I have currently 25 different fragrances I carry seasonally. Each label has the exact same design and logo, I just interchange the colors to match with the fragrance. So these are all the same logo, just the color will be different for each label. I only added different colors to show you or rather ask you if it works as different colors or not. Hope that clarifies that for you and thanks so far for the critique

Im not a logo designer by any stretch of the imagination. I need to update my current logo and am leaning in this direction. Depending on the color scheme for the particular label, I can swap the colors out depending on that labels color pallette. Its just something I came up with in Adobe Illustrator while adding some info into my current labels. Let me know what you think if you dont mind

This exactly. And what TT said as well. I get people at trade shows who dont buy but will ask for a business card. I fugure the 3 cents i payed for the bc is worth the potential sale if they decide to shop online or phone an order in.

Thanks for your reply JG. To answer your question, they have been selling great at trade shows at or around $20+ retail. And ive never had a complaint about the price point. Mostly just some modest compliments on the packaging. I feel they could retail for a few dollars more, but in a retail store maybe. The demographic at the local trade shows arent willing to go much higher than $20 retail so I keep it around or near there depending on the current location I am selling at. For wholesale, I have actually gotten my price per container down from $7 per to $6 per by switching label companies. I can drive that further towards $5 per container once I start getting more items by the pallet like my FO for example. Im mostly just a one person show in my shop, so my main goal isnt national accounts, but a few local retail stores that cater to candles and handmade gifts. There is big business around these parts during tourism season, so Id like to get just a few wholesale accounts for the summer. I still work a 9-5 so anything more than that is not feasable due to time constraints. I think if I approach those wholesale accounts looking for $10-$11 per, they can retail them for $20-$22 per. They already carry 5 other brands of candles that retail between $20-$25 per so I feel mine fit in with what the other brands are doing. Who knows, they may tell me they arent interested, they may like what they see. I will know in about a month when Im ready to approach them