tamsoycandles

Would love reviews/opinions on COTTON CANDY FO's. Looking for a true Cotton Candy. Most seem too fruity, or too light, or too chemically. I like JS for wax, but not for bath & body products: too light. ICS is nice, but very fruity. WSP is nice OOB, but once in lotion, too light. Any suggestions? Thanks

At wix End www.atwixend.com has their Cotton Candy fragrance on sale right now. I've not used it. Don't recall if I've smelled it either. I might be going over there today. I ran out of warning labels, so I thought about going there to grab some. They're about 15 minutes from where I work.

Anyway, I might grab a sniff. If it seems nice, I might buy a bottle and give it a go. I could send a sample off if I think it is decent. I've not been impressed with most of their fragrances.

Tony

Check out Allan's web site:

These are suggestions for "affiliate" type solutions, but there seems to be some cross-over between traditional sales-rep and affiliate types.

http://www.associateprograms.com/search/howto.shtml

Tony

Just did some Cranberry Chutney from The Candlemakers Store. Not bad at all. I've only burned a flowerpot votive so far. I'll build a bigger candle and see if I can "fill a room" with the fragrance. The problem around my house is allowing a candle to cure long enough to truly test. My wife and daughter want to burn the candle as soon as it sets up.

Let me know how it turns out.

Tony

My wife used to wear Love Spell when she worked in our local Grocery store. A young dude in the meat dept. was having a hard time maintining control.

CandleWealth's Love Spell fragrance is a dead-on match.

Tony

Co-worker brought in a Yankee Candle, Rice Milk fragrance. To me smells like a sweetish Vanilla that I could probably come close to replicating. Just wondering if anyone has a close match out of bottle already identified?

Yankee's description:

Experience the difference in this Rice Milk scented candle - indulgent passion ... the creamy sweet smoothness of vanilla rice milk is accented with exotic cardamon and sandalwood for a touch of fire.

Thanks,

Tony

The Candlemakers Store has a nice Iced Pineapple.

Tony

Is there a ballpark idea of amount of product (soy container candles) to bring to a festival based on past show attendance? Figure 10x10 booth. This festival (Strawberry Festival, Troy Ohio) is one of the largest in Ohio and goes all weekend. I don't want to overstock (don't have the budget) but also want to be able to have enough supply to last the weekend. I know I can take orders, but people like to walk away with product.

Thanks,

Tony

Variables:

1. Container size

2. Pour temp

3. Ambient temp/container temp.

Wax shrinks when it cools. The wax will cool quickest where it makes direct contact with a surface. So, as you're pouring, the wax cools more quickly where it contacts the sides and the wick. It adheres to the wick and container and sticks there. As the rest of the wax cools, it shrinks. This will be more exaggerated in a large container with the wax poured at a high temp. Pouring slushy reduces final shrinkage.

Note: these are my experiences with my wax. Your's may act differently.

Yeah, right; but why? And why not all the time?

Gretchen

I just saw a flyer in our newspaper with a folding table on sale. Meijer. $39.95 for a 6' table. Check Meijer.com and look at your local advertisements (if you have a Meijer in your area).

Tony

Another option, especially if you're just doing one show, is to rent a tent. Try a local party rental place.

Tony

Dang. Wish I would have seen that site before I bought my pegboard hooks at Lowes.

You could always paint a wooden display to more suit your product. Gloss, flat or even metallic paint.

Tony

I know nothing about this company, but here is a supplier from the UK.

http://www.candleicious.co.uk/

Tony

Don't recall if it is skin safe. If I remember (a real feat) when I get home, I'll look at the bottle I got when I tested.

Tony

Just noticed that Lyschel is having an intro sale for Peony White Tea. Go check the supplier announcements section.

I was one of the testers for this fragrance. I loved it.

Don't let the name fool you. Does not smell like Peony (like I'd know what Peony smelled like anyway). I guess Peony White Tea is actually a type of tea plant.

Tony

Tony, what type of wax do you use?

Soy. Specifically, NVSoy (CandleWealth's soy wax). I'm a distributor.

They have excellent fragrances. I'm just rounding out my offerings by adding some other fragrances to my line. I already have a nice Wild Strawberry fragrance, but I wanted to try some others in case it is not available when the time comes for the festival.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll be ordering a few and testing them. Seems like it takes months to test and establish a line of candles. I'm fast becoming a fragrance addict. I think I blow through more wax just testing than I do selling.

Tony

I anticipate doing some outdoor festivals this summer. What are you all doing to protect your candles from extreme heat? I plan to get a tent of some type to keep off the direct sunlight, but what about 90deg+ temps? I'll be selling container candles, votive and tarts. Maybe this won't be an issue, but I thought I'd ask and plan ahead if necessary.

Thanks,

Tony

I live 10 minutes from Troy, so I'm lucky.

I'm usually not a festival person, but if I can make a few bucks, what the heck! I do love strawberries, however. We have a huge strawberry farm nearby that you can go to and pick 'em fresh. Mmmmm.. That's the smell I'm looking for.

Tony

Yeah, It might be useful to know if they even like the scent. Poop in a jar could have good hot throw and cold throw, but I don't think anyone would buy it.

Ok, so I'm disgusting.

Tony

We're going to be doing a booth at a Strawberry Festival this year in Troy, OH. I want to test a bunch of stawberry fragrances. Any recommendations? I tried Fresh Strawberry from NG, but didn't care for it. It threw fine, I just didn't care for the scent.

Load me up. If you've got samples to be rid of, let me know too.

Tony

.2 is 2/10. This is less than 1/4 oz, which is really 2.5/10. Here are some fractions and decimal equivalents. You'll just have to aim between the decimals to extimate for fractions. I've placed them in order from 1 tenth (.1) up to 9 tenths (.9). I've inserted the fractions in between the decimals to show you the order:

.1

1/8=.125

.2

1/4=.25

.3

3/8=.375

.4

1/2=.5

.6

5/8=.625

.7

3/4=.75

.8

7/8=.875

.9

Hope that helps some.

Tony

What business code are you using in your taxes to define your business? I have no store front, no web store. I sell to customers directly. Occasional show. I do plan to have a web presence, but mainly for convenience of my customers to see what I currently have available.

So, what business code are you using in your taxes? It seems like I'm to use 454390 (Other direct selling establishments (non-store)).

Thanks,

Tony

Edited. My example was way to complicated. But, see:

You can see the issue here. You probably don't get the kind of resolution on your scale to give you parts of tenths. You can always fudge it a tad.

You're better off working in grams if your scale does them. Of course you still have to convert ounces to grams.

Tony

Debated whether to include this or not because the product is mainly available to only Candlewealth distibutors. But, here it is anyway.

Type of Soy or Soy Blend you use? NVSoy (Candlewealth)

Additives if any? None

Preferred dyes? Candlewealth supplied dye chips

Preferred wick (Not sizes)? Cotton

Pouring temp you recommend? Between 100 and 110. Slushy

What you do to prevent frosting? Not typically a problem, except for batches with lots of red dye

What you do to prevent rough tops? Pour cool, but not too cool.

Do you do anything to prevent wet spots? Keep containers warm before pouring. Pour at lowest temp possible. Keep poured candle away from drafts. Basically, allow it to cool slowly.

Tony Vissoc