candlesinflorida

Thanks! It all looks so much messier in the pictures, than I thought it looked at the time. I need to get those tablecloths ironed!!

Finally did my first market!! It was super HOT out and a bit rainy...but fun nonetheless! It was great to see which area/candles people gravitated towards. Very helpful to see what caught their eye. We moved things around about 50 times because we noticed that people really like to "handle" things, and if we put the candles too far away, it wasn't as effective.

Just wanted to keep this thread going in 2019 and see if anything had changed in your mind? I have a store on Wix. Love it, works well and look great...but hearing a lot about shopify and wondering if I should research the differences. I have a square reader for the phone, for markets. I don't want to do Etsy, and probably not Amazon, for the reasons you cited above. To me, the customer has too many choices that all look the same bc they are all "in" Etsy and prices are too competitive and low. I love to shop on Etsy, but not sell there. Same with Amazon. I just set up my instagram last week (totally late to the social media party, I know) Learning all about instagram marketing and now, facebook marketing. So I guess I should set up a FB store and link to instagram and people can click instagram pics to go to FB store and BUY direct via facebook? (More direct for customers than linking to my website on Instagram because of the way Instagram sets it all up). And is Twitter a must-do? Are the companies mentioned in 2018 (B12 and other companies that manage these things) still a good idea? Not sure how any of those work or what they are. Doing this all myself is taking way more time than the candle-making

A store that is interested in a wholesale order just told me that they stopped stocking candles because if a candle sat in the store for a few months, it looked terrible. I imagine that maybe the a/c is off at night and transportation REALLY affects candles here in Florida. We did a market last week (90 degrees and it was a hot, humid rainy day) and when I looked at my poor little candles the next week, they looked like they had been through a (handcraft) war zone. Seriously, they were a disaster. They didn't have dust covers or packaging so that could be a factor, but they were crazy frosted in spots, bubbles and had all kinds of strangeness on the tops. A heat gun made them nice again...but it has me worried about how to create the best candle for Florida conditions. I don't want a wrapped, boxed candle in a store...to be opened and look terrible inside. Maybe that is why so many use paraffin. I have been using GB 464 or 444 and about 20% coconut wax and a little bit of stearic (maybe stearic is the heat-related frosting culprit) and 10% FO. (Yea, it is a lot I know). Any suggestions appreciated!

Yes, I have a cricut. The print and cut extends to something like 9.25 or 9.75...how were you able to make it longer? I have made labels via cricut that I really wanted to wrap all the way around the box, but they stopped short. Do you make the rectangle larger and then print? Every time I have tried, cricut says the image is too large.

Now this is getting exciting! A label printer!! How does the label quality compare to (a) high quality home laser printer (b) high end commercially printed label? Do you have many choices for the type of paper rolls used? UV or glossy or any special coatings? Or it just takes one basic paper? Can we please see some label photos Might be worth the investment!

Does anyone know about Plastic Wrap for boxes? The kind that looks like a clear cellophane wrapper, over the box, and almost looks like folded gift wrap on the bottom. I am wondering if I just use thin cellophane and wrap it like a gift box- and tape the bottom? Or is there a heat gun or spray adhesive involved? A machine? Edit to add: found this, but it is $ https://www.deltawrap.com/perfume.html

Our candles are twinning. mine looks just like that after one burn today...I couldn't figure out what I did wrong. Normally I use 464 but decided to switch it up and get 444. Hmmm.

I have seen high-end candle companies that have printed packaging and then in an area that is already printed white, they put a tiny label (on top of the white area) with the scent name. This way, at first glance, it looks like it is part of the custom printing, even though it isn't. You really can't tell that the white part of the label has a little sticker in the middle. So basically-you could design generic company labels and have them printed professionally, with a large white rectangle incorporated somewhere on the label design. Then put your teeny scent sticker in the middle of the white rect. so the label background blends in.

TWO THOUGHTS: 1) To make life easier, design the labels in a way that it won't matter if they are slightly off center. Be sure not to create any shapes or circular writing or anything that will look bad if it is not perfectly centered. I have done that when I am running low on time or feel sick of the process lol 2) This is a big learning curve...but if you can manage to learn how to use a digital cutter, you can design and print within the program and create hang-tags in any shape you want, with a hole (or a star or any other cut shape!) and you can print-and-cut together. (Meaning that the program sends the design to your printer and creates laser guidelines that cuts the precise, exact shapes in the right place). Everything will look perfect and you can easily do as many as you want, for super cheap per piece. (Btw, this is how I always do my labels and dust covers).

great-thanks!!!

You ROCK! Thanks!

It is interesting that they appear so successful..mostly based on the fact that the scent names are linked to literary things. I guess no one else is doing this...so any time someone needs a gift for a bookworm, a book club, etc., they have little direct competition.

Looking for any guidance on custom boxes. Has anyone researched manufacturers either in US or China? Any info about die-cut paper or foam holders to secure the candle or info about paper quality that can support the weight of a heavy glass w 10 oz fill.

I bet that those orange wrinkles are MIRROR images of your tinfoil wrinkles. (...hmmm maybe I should be wearing the tinfoil hat lol)

Btw I always use 12% FO with 464 (and now 444 too) and have never had kooky tops like those. Once in a while if I am lazy about stirring, the tops will be a tiny bit mottled or have a tiny little divot. But not anywhere near the grand canyon situation you’ve got going in those pics. Pretty sure it was the reflected heat.

I think those “wrinkles” on your wax could be thanks to the heat emanating from the foil above it. In fact, the wax wrinkles look exactly like tinfoil ripples. As the wax was cooling (and therefore shrinking a bit) the wrinkled heat areas caused the candle to solidify unevenly. No more tinfoil hats for candles

You’re awesome!! Thank you!

Thanks Trump. I will start stocking up a bit more...I was wondering how all this would affect us. Although in some ways can it be good for us because stores/consumers will be more encouraged to buy locally (from the US) and I bet that most of the fancy candle brands are either made in China or Europe.

I guess it is pricey...but really, it is the price of two lbs of fragrance oil. Plus, how much is your TIME worth :) I forgot to mention the best part....no clankety-clank from the kitchen as I mix with my metal whisk (clankety) in stirring pots (clank!) And no more balancing the hot wax swishing around in the pour pot while I hold a heat gun in my other hand to keep the mix warm as it combines.

Anyone have any suggestions on the best tape to use around wax? I seem to use tape for all sorts of things...keeping track of which FO is in which container, tying straws and chopsticks to keep wicks straights, labeling bottles....and wax/scotch tape is not a good combination. As soon as the tape gets oily, it slides right off. Just wondering if there are better adhesives or special kinds of tape to use around wax?

An update: I bought 7 of them and love them. They are like a little assembly line of worker bees, stirring away. I don't know about the CS commenter who said the wax got to 167, but I would imagine that it depends on the wax. It appears to be on a timer...so the lower melt point waxes will heat up more and vice versa. In any case, my 464 wax got up to 178. I have usually added FO at 155 anyway, so I am not terribly worried about it being "hot enough". It all seems to work fine.

Why do some drugstores perfumes often smell too sweet, or give a headache because they are just too artificial smelling? Is it the base materials, the fragrance material quality, or just the choice of scents? If high-end perfumes are using synthetic ingredients, just like lower-end brands, how do they make them smell better? Are they mixing in a lot of natural ingredients or are they using higher quality synthetics?

$275 and it is all yours plus shipping, of course.

I have noticed that high-end candle companies are now selling their lids separately! Of course, some like Jo Malone still include the lid. But I am wondering about this trend. And also wondering what they put on top of the candle, inside their box. Is it a plastic dust cover? Paper? Just seeing what the current trends are and whether it is worth the price of including expensive lids in packaging. NEST candle lid $22 sold without the candle https://www.neimanmarcus.com/p/nest-fragrances-silver-classic-candle-lid-prod179140088?ecid=NMCS__GooglePLA&utm_source=google_shopping&adpos=1o1&scid=scplpsku158090468&sc_intid=sku158090468&gclid=Cj0KCQjwrJ7nBRD5ARIsAATMxsvMMEqMEd8_8F2gq1F2YpJM0Df2xjm-fPdJ-680wga7qu9cj88rRR8aAjStEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds NEST candle in box (no lid?) https://www.nestfragrances.com/rose-noir-oud-classic-candle