Clear Black

Fundraisers for schools? I know most of the schools up in this neck of the woods do a Yankee Candle fundraiser like 3 times a year. Its nuts

No Trap, more like the cardboard ones that just sit on top of the wax. I know you have seen them, just seems like those plastic ones are the new style, but I would use the cardboard/paperstock ones Like these: https://normansprintery.com/candle-dust-covers/

Do you find that the scent lingers enough in them a few months after they have been poured? I am trying to decide if I want to ditch my lids and go with a cardboard dust cover. Actually, in order to get into a retail store in the future I may have to as my lids arent the type you can simply just plop off and smell the candle. Im just curious if you find that candles w/dust covers retain enough smell a few months after they have been made. Thoughts?

@Trappeur What size jars are you referring to in the above post? Are those your 8oz mason jars that the stores are retailing $26-$28?

Agreed 100%, but since it was my very first show ever, and my mom was next to me selling her knitted baby blankets, I decided to just laugh it off and give that lady her moment. Luckily it wasnt crowded and during a lull near lunch time so only a few customers were nearby.

This, sooooo much this. I just wish they would zip tie or heck, even scotch tape that blue bag closed. The last box I open flung the soy flakes that had bounced out of the opening all over my kitchen. My cat seemed to enjoy the taste of a few flakes before I shooed him away lol

I had a woman a few booths over from me at a vendor fair come over and start harassing me and asking in a very loud tone "WELL WHAT MAKES YOUR CANDLES SO SPECIAL??!!" "HUH, WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY??!!" My response that she asked what I had had said was, "Actually nothing maam, my candles arent special at all and Im sure other candles can be bought that are better than mine." Confused the heck outta her and I chuckled as she stormed off back to her booth

This is the main difference for me as well. I still have my 9-5 M-F, although at some point I would love to be able to quit that and pursue this (candle making) full time. Hats off to you folks who rely on this for full time income. Lots of work and little profit on the wholesale side, makes me wonder what other source of sales are coming in from those who do this full time. So most have their own retail stores? Craft fairs? Etsy? Probably a combination of all to make ends meat

This is the conclusion I may have to grasp unfortunatly. Wholesale may not be for me. It sucks because there is this one really nice store a few hours drive from me that sells candles made by people like us. You walk into the store and you can shop from no less than 20 different candle brands, all hand made and no major brand name/factory made candles. Its such a nice shop and would love to see mine sitting on their shelf. Maybe I can go in there and speak to the owners and hear what they have to say. Maybe shed some insight on how their end of wholesale works so I can better judge if its feasable for me like you said TT. Thanks.

Thats the thing, Ive been retailing them for $16 and doing really well. I set them at that price knowing that people in my area do not go to craft fairs looking to spend $25+ on a single candle. I will have to re-think this strategy as I now feel I am selling them too low. This was my issue transitioning into wholesale. How could I make money wholesale by retailing them myself at only $16. I think if I bump the retail up to around $22 and try to shave $1 of my per candle cost, I will be happier and feel more confident approaching wholesale clients. Thanks

Thanks a bunch TT. I can always count on your advice and expertise. I know youve done some wholesale business so I was hoping you would respond. I may have to hold off on the wholesale end till I can drive those prices per candle down a dollar or so. I am also becoming increasingly aware that I may be pricing my candle a bit low. Im hoping to get on to ETSY soon and have been doing a lot of "price matching" and see most sellers there selling their 8oz, 10oz and 12oz candles for more or the same price I was going to sell my 16oz. I think I have to re-think my selling point . I just dont want to scare away customers with a price point I cannot back up seeing as I am new to the market(ETSY) and have no customer base to justify that price per candle. Ughhh

As of now, my 16oz candles cost $7 to make. A few of the items are pricey, but I hope to drive that cost more towards the $5 per mark when I can afford to buy raw mats in bigger bulk. So for now im at the $7 per mark. Im thinking they will retail between $18/$20. So if they cost me $7 to make and retail for $20, what should the wholesale buyer be getting from the $13 profit on each candle? Would it be $3 me, $10 buyer? Does the buyer typically get the larger profit portion? Hope this makes sense in any way. I know a bunch of you folks have wholesale accounts and can maybe shed some light here. I really do think the $7 per candle cost is hurting me when it comes to wholesale and I am ok with that knowing I can further cut costs in the future by making bigger material purchases. Thoughts?

You can go to your local Home Depot or Lowes and replace that ball valve with a 90* elbow valve. They come with a rubber handle to avoid getting scorched and cost no more than a few dollars. Get some silicone tape, apply to the threads and then re-thread into presto pot. Would take you all of 10 minutes maybe after getting ball valve out Your best bet is to remove the current valve and take it with you. Someone at the home center can match the thread size and get you a proper valve with insulated turn lever

There is a classified section to these forums, you may have better luck there selling the melter. Maybe add some photos and description of it as well.

I hate to say this, but with a 48 hr cure time, these tests are fairly useless. They will not be true to anything sadly, whether testing for scent throw or container burn. Sorry to be the pessimist here, but I fear you are wasting your time and materials.

Has anyone used Zinc Insurance? It was the first link TT originally placed in this topic. https://insuranceforartists.com/#msie I just used their instant quote feature and it appears it would be less than $500/yr. Which seems pretty good. It also appears they work with you as many times as needed with the CoI's "Some of the shows and exhibitions in which you participate may require proof that you carry liability insurance. We will issue your Certificate of Insurance as evidence of coverage (free of charge) as many times as necessary during the policy term, including listing the show as an Additional Insured if required." Which is what I was looking for in the first place

Ok, disregard everything i said, seeing the tops labeled with the scent name changes everything. Well, well done on the packaging. Kudos to you for such a good job

One thing that stands out to me immediately is the lack of fragrance name on the front of the candle. If thats the look you desire, so be it. But as a consumer whom myself has purchased many a candle, its always nice seeing it up front and in your face as to what scent is lurking inside. Otherwise, the customer is left wondering or has to ask...which believe it or not may end up losing you a few sales. If you are a graphic designer, can you maybe alter the AI file a bit and add a fragrance name? Or is it just the look you want. Which again, is a good look I must say but I still feel at least a fragrance name is needed. By the way, where do you get your offset boxes printed at?

I test with only 444 as that is the wax I use regularly so take this as it applies to your waxes how you choose. With that said... Using a ratio of 444:Co92 I have tested 50:50, 60:40, 70:30 and 40:60 respectively. The 50:50 and 40:60 were way too soft. Just too much Co92. Here in coastal Maine it was a VERY hot day yesterday at 60*f (yes, that is hot for us folk) I placed a tin of 50:50 and 40:60 outside on my truck hood to expose it to some hotter, direct heat. The Co92 within 30 minutes was "seeping" out of the wax which indicated it was going to be way to soft to ship in summer climates. Now mind you these tests are less than 2 days old. The 60:40 ratio was where things started to firm up a bit. More soy obviously. So I looked at the 60:40 and the 70:30 side by side and thats when I noticed something interesting. All along in the ratios up til the 70:30 the tops of the wax, even after a few days cure, were still "greasy" to the touch. I contributed this to the Co92 being a low melt point (92*, hence the name Co92). But once I looked and touched the 70:30 it was no longer this way. It was much, much dryer on top and felt like a normal 444 top in the sense of feel. Regardless of ratio the tops are smooth as glass at a hot pour of 160*-170*. I really wasnt paying attention to when I poured because it really didnt matter tbh. I poured a few at 160, 165 and some at 170 and all the tops were glass like. Adhesion to wicks were perfect, and no seperation from the 8oz tins as of yet. These tests were strictly to test wax consistency in the above blend ratios and nothing else. I stuck a wick in there only to see how the blended wax formed around it while cooling. This years batch of 444 has given me new headaches of wax seperation from the wick and is a leading factor for me to finally rid of pure soy and go the blend route. I like 444, its easy to work with in flake form, its costs effective and I am familiar with it. This Co92 however seems to have cured a lot of the cosmetic flaws of the soy. I just hope it will help a teeny bit with HT seeing as that is lacking with soy lately as well.

For matches you can try: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MatchHouse?ref=l2-shopheader-name And paper I found: https://www.etsy.com/listing/514280214/match-striker-sheet-match-strike-paper?ref=listing-shop-header-1 Hope it helps

I hesitated writing that knowing you just might!

Can somebody ELI5 (explain like i'm 5) what she just said? O.o

Lol TT. Sometimes I think you like testing more than actually making candles and selling. Something tells me we all should chip in and get you a white lab coat and nerdy black glasses

For anyone interested, why not test with pure Coconut oil instead? Its a matter of choice sure, but do you really know the exact blend %'s of what is in Coconut 83 wax? The description reads, "Our Coconut 83 wax is an all natural container blend. This wax is predominately coconut blended with vegetable and soy waxes." But at what % are those additives at? And what exactly are they? How can you possibly test not knowing exactly what all ingredients are and how much? Just a thought..and just my 2 cents worth on this topic thats all. I asked those questions to myself and decided to go the route of just Coconut 92 oil. I needed to think of the end game of buying in bulk as well. The lowest I see Co83 selling for is ~$1.70/lb. I can get Co92 for lower than ~$1.40/lb. Thats a decent savings when buying 500+lbs, plus the added benefit of knowing its Coconut oil with no vegetable or soy based additives. This way my tests are more on point and I can know what the final formula consists of. Anyways, enough rambling lol. I'm sure you folks are doing great in your tests, it just made me wonder why I am the only one it seems testing straight Coconut oil. Maybe I shouldnt be? I dunno..I need my coffee Link to BA's Co92 for anyone wanting a look: https://www.bulkapothecary.com/coconut-oil-92-degree/

I can second what Trap says. I have for a few years gotten all of my 444 from them plus I use about 13 of their FO and counting. I also use the same number of FO from Candle Science as well, they are both great IMHO. If you want another good supplier of FO try http://www.candlesandsupplies.net/Fragrance-Oils/Fragrance-Oils-Listing for some great FO's. These are my favorite smelling out of the three suppliers I mentioned actually.