KrisS

I can't like this response enough. Make certain you're in compliance before you attempt to sell a service to someone.

Lonestar's leather is amazing OOB. I can't get it to throw to save my life.

I would dance a happy dance if you have Bitter Creek/Wick Your Wax Goddess.

I assumed as much, but I had to say it. Being informed and choosing to not act often moves things from "oops, home biz, sorry" to willful negligence in the even something negative does occur. It removes their ability to claim they didn't know. That probably seems harsh, but doing things they've been told is endangering others makes me angry.

We need to pay forward the time and guidance that the chandlers who came before us gave us. The most kind thing we can do is refer new people to the ASTM standards, The National Candle Association, and suggest that they get insurance and explain why.

I think it depends on the wax and wicks you're using. Some have issues. Others don't. It's like everything else in the candle world--test, test, retest. My jars are currently in a storage bin with 95% of my property--yay, prepping the house for sale. Your comment about packaging is exactly why I made the statement I did about them. While I feel like they're seeing challenges simply as a small business, I feel like they're also seeing things held up in customs, which is completely outside their span of control. Until the import situation improves, I'm not willing to attribute stock and shipment dates to anything other than border delays.

I bought from them initially when their warehouse was in California, and I got a smokin' deal on jars when they relocated to Tennessee and were liquidating. Based upon what I've seen, they're a small business doing the best that they can. I wouldn't feel comfortable depending on them for JIT supplies. If I were the type to stockpile/hoard in advance, there wouldn't be an issue. No suggestion for alternate suppliers.

While testing, please make certain you place a few melts in a bathroom that gets super steamy and let them sit for a few weeks. (People store things weirdly, and who know if you'll be selling on a super rainy day.) I've occasionally, not frequently, seen melts with sprinkles whose colors bleed into the melt. I played with it, and the best I can figure was cheap sprinkles and high humidity. I'm not saying "don't do it"--just test a little bit to be sure the product doesn't get weird.

Hmm. That leaves me with the desire to check which fragrance manufacturer has been in business for 25 years vs significantly more or less time...or making a post about it so others with more ambition look and I benefit from their efforts in knowing.

It definitely makes a difference with the AC. I'm finding that family and friends from out of state aren't comfortable at 78* in the house, so I have to adjust temps for them. That always makes me curious as to how candles burn long-term in their 72-74* (not joking ) houses.

I agree with everything TT mentioned. However, this one is something most newish folks don't consider. I want to know how this wax looks a year from now. I had found a tart wax that was awesome. It worked well. It looked great. I continued testing, opened the goodie box six months later, and the melts had bloomed a little bit. At the year mark, it went from bloom to cracked and powdery. Definitely NOT the impression I want to make.

Something additional to note is that most of the coconut waxes do have a smidge of paraffin in them. Otherwise, they'll be melty around body temperature. I've played with coconut in conjunction with brittle soy pillar wax, beeswax, and with palm. I like palm from a performance/throw standpoint...but it tends to leave an air pocket mid melt. there's not enough profit margin to heatgun it and do a repour on melts. Beeswax is expensive. Soy pillar is inconsistent. Blarg.

I'm in Arizona. 100% not necessary. When I was in Indiana 20 years ago, I did. The only real impact was wet spots. Wax and FO have changed significantly since then, so your mileage may vary.

Bingo. You need to meet or exceed this standard and make certain to document your temperatures during burns.

Welcome to the world of coconut. It can be an oddball fickle mistress.

I'm hoarding a few of my favorite scents so I can have them duped at a later date if they don't...

This will pass, and life will go on.

The KY Candle Supply fragrances can be found at Rustic Escentuals. Some of the old Bluegrass Candle oils are at Elements Bath & Body.

LOL. They've denied for years that formulas are changing when they obviously do. I'm not sure why they'd be honest now.

"Wooded dough bowl"...maybe it's not actual wood but another material treated to look like wood. Otherwise, no way on earth I'd do it.

Have you thoroughly tested without the dye?

I don't use Parasoy, but I've never experience a wax melt not hardening because I closed a lid too quickly--it's temperature dependent. Was this a new batch of wax perhaps? Is there any way, you could have grabbed a wrong box? (If you're like me, you have dozens of sample boxes.)

I haven't used Nature's Garden since the early 2000s--I quit making for a decade and came back as well. Alabaster is now Community Candle--I used them back in the day, but I haven't picked them up again. I'm not a fan of Lonestar--pretty smells, but they won't throw for me. Elements Bath & Body carries some of the old Bluegrass fragrances. Rustic Escentuals carries some of the old Kentucky Candle Supply fragrances. Pure carries some of the old Tony's and Southern Garden fragrances, along with a few from Moonworks.

Accu-Blend makes me crazy because of the changes they make. Ages ago, they had an apricot wax that was truly to die for--amazingly high end. They made changes, ruined it, and ultimately discontinued it. I have a sick feeling they're ultimately going to ruin the Coconut 83 as well.

Hi, Monica. Always good to see new people posting. I don't use those waxes, so I can't speak specifically as to performance. That said, if it were me, I'd math it out with a container blend to hit the 133* melt point that you're used to seeing. No fragrance initially. Let it cool and check the consistency without the FO. I don't feel like most melters are hot enough to successfully work well with 143* melt points.