Quentin

18 hours ago, GailC said:

 

Oh I am using them.  People are liking the looks of the jar.  I can give customers a good price on an elegant jar candle since I got such a good deal.

You'll sell them. I've thought about adding that same size and type to my product line.

On 1/20/2019 at 5:29 PM, Candybee said:

Sure the sale is good but you are still stuck with the wrong size jars. So what are you gonna do with them?

Good point. Are you saying it's like getting a great deal on a size 13 shoe when you only wear a size 8?

On 1/6/2019 at 3:07 PM, Sebleo said:

 

That is true. But, if it were me, I wouldn’t want to go down that road. I wouldn’t want the potential hassle, possible embarrassment, and confusion for customers if I had to change the name down the line. 

 

You've heard it said, "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission".

On 1/20/2019 at 5:25 PM, Candybee said:

If they want to slap a label on the candles with "ABC Candles" instead of their pharmacy name because they want to have a line of candles called ABC Candles that is their business. That is typical of selling candles private label. As long as your warning label is on the bottom of the candle and states you as the manufacturer they can use whatever name label they want. There are guidelines for labeling you can look at on NCA's website.

I think you summed it up, @Candybee, at least in the real world. If I had this same opportunity come along, I'd jump on it. 

Just now, Quentin said:

It appears that what I thought was an ugly mistake finds favor here.  If this candle looks acceptable to the people on this forum, then it looks good to me too! 

P.S.--- All except for the off-center wick, of course.

It appears that what I thought was an ugly mistake finds favor here.  If this candle looks acceptable to the people on this forum, then it looks good to me too! 

First, let me say this is not my candle. This is an image I saw in an Etsy shop. I have had this happen before. Particularly the one in the back with the horizontal stripes. Since we know nothing about his pouring temps, frag. load, type of wax, etc. what are some generic possible causes for this?

8 hours ago, Paintguru said:

In some ways, I understand using the same name for traditional scents like "Clean Cotton" or "Apple Cinnamon", but for the more unique scents, why wouldn't you change things?  Part of the fun of this is coming up with names, designs, stories, etc. to set yourself apart.  

I like to come up with new names too. Even when it comes to things like "Clean Cotton" or "Apple Cinnamon", I at least consider another name. My thinking behind this is how many more "Clean Cottons", "Amish Harvests", "Apple Cinnamons" or "Pecan Pies" does the market need?

On 1/13/2019 at 6:56 PM, MilosCandles said:

@CorgiCaperI use GW 444 for my candles and melts,  works great for both.  GW 464 would never work.

I seem to have bad luck with both of these waxes. I like them because they hold large amounts of fragrance. What I don't like is I never get a nice smooth top from either. Maybe that's impossible. If so, I can accept that and proceed. Is that just the nature of the these two waxes? I hope I'm not opening up one of those contentious pouring temperature discussions again.

8 minutes ago, Candybee said:

 

Why not call it Don Juan?... There is a red rose named after him and I used to have a Don Juan red rose bush in my backyard. Everytime I think of red roses I think of Don Juan..sigh!😉

That's another good one that could be used. 🙂

25 minutes ago, kandlekrazy said:

I can't believe I'm doing this so early, but I haven't made anything in almost 6 months now, since well before our move.  I listed all my equipment & supplies and will consider my notes to go with it all.

I will, of course keep a case of wax and a Presto pot for myself but will not be selling when my stock is gone (only melts and warmers left).  YIKES!  it's scary in a way but I'm making way more $ selling vintage jewelry and I'm loving doing that even more than my zen candle time.  I guess it's my next phase?  Also keeping up on B & B and doing R&D for a company making CBD distillates so that may end up a full time job!

 I really hate to hear that, but if it's best for you at this point then you must do it. Stay in touch with us here.

16 minutes ago, Jcandleattic said:

this is my experience as well. 

 

I rename mainly because I have too. When I blend I rarely blend less than 3 scents, and typically it's usually 3-4, and if I named my candle all the names of the scents I use, it would take up the entire label, and people would probably just look at it and be confused (I have some really strange FO combinations, that seem like they shouldn't work, but they do) 

Many times I too HAVE to change the name just to get it to fit on label without making the type so small you'd need an electron microscope to read it.

14 hours ago, Candybee said:

The majority of my candle scents are my own blends, but I do have a limited few and at least a couple of these I keep the same name as the supplier's just because I like it. It just seems natural to me to be creative with names I think because there used to be so many other local chandlers I wanted mine to stand out. Now there are much fewer chandlers around but the urge to be competitive just stuck. Maybe I should count my blessings?!!

I do that too. With some fragrances like Patchouli, for example, I label it just like that. Then for people who don't know what Patchouli is, I label it as "Flower Child". Lavender is a little tough for me to rename. I usually just go with Lavender. If the color comes out differently than expected, I might call it "Purple Lavender", "Dark Lavender" or  "Light Lavender", etc. I tried to make a dark red rose the other day. I was going to name it "Reddest Rose". However, it never came out the right red I was hoping for,  so I named it "Enchanted Rose". 

A few months back I asked for information on where was the best website to buy plastic lids and dust covers. I'm also interested in kraft dust covers. None of the links panned out, but if someone has a favorite link to share, could you please post a reply here? To save you a little time, I will tell you I remember that Filmore was a dead end for me. Their huge selection still didn't contain what I was looking for.  

When these companies list diameters, are they referring to inside diameter of the lid, outside diameter of the lid or are they referring to the jar size it will fit? Does it vary by company how the list them or is it all standardized. I'd be surprised if it's standardized.

21 minutes ago, bfroberts said:

they aren't even bothering to rename the scents.  The large majority are even using the same containers. 

 

It's pretty flabbergasting to me that no one even tries to set themselves apart from their competitors.  

It's just a fact that some people are lazy and/or don't have any creative thoughts so they copy what they see. I always, at the very least, TRY to come up with another name. For example, I buy "Island Nectar" from Peek but I use the name "Island 40 Nectar" on my labels. It's sort of a local thing. I live just a hop, skip and jump from the Mississippi River. The section of the Mississippi River down south here is loaded with islands. So many islands, that most of them don't have names. They just number them on the river charts. Island 40 is a well known hunting area. I've never seen it. I can't even tell you exactly where it is! I've only heard of it. Even people who have never heard of Island 40 MIGHT have their interest piqued by that name. Some will. Some won't.   

The people on this forum are a little smarter than the average dog. That's why you're baffled when you see the stuff you described. I see the same things you saw when I go in the shops around here. I always ask myself, "Self, can't they come up with anything else?" I always answer myself the same way, "No, they can't."  All they can do is copy what they see and think that's the road to success. It doesn't mean they're not intelligent. They just aren't gifted with the creative mind for the type things we do. They may be talented in other ways and be able to do things I could never dream of doing. I can't play a musical instrument. I'm not good at any sport that requires good eye-hand coordination, so I ran track in school. Electronics is a mystery to me. I would love to be able to weld and I tried it. I just wasn't gifted in those things.  Rub your finger across the lid on one of their jars and see how much dust is there. You've hit on a very important point. If we don't do something to set us apart from the others, no matter how small the detail, our products will sit beside theirs and collect just as much dust.

On 1/7/2019 at 9:31 PM, Quentin said:

Yes I can do that. I'll post one here shortly. I'm using an Android phone, by the way.

On 1/8/2019 at 6:44 PM, Paintguru said:

 

All cell phones are basically the same.  You tap on the screen where you want to focus and meter.  Since it is setting the exposure so the flame is properly exposed, everything else will be dark.  It does this (I assume), by increasing the shutter speed.  The easiest way to fix this would be in post processing by increasing the exposure of the surrounding area and (ideally) leaving the flame as is.  

On 1/8/2019 at 6:44 PM, Paintguru said:

 

All cell phones are basically the same.  You tap on the screen where you want to focus and meter.  Since it is setting the exposure so the flame is properly exposed, everything else will be dark.  It does this (I assume), by increasing the shutter speed.  The easiest way to fix this would be in post processing by increasing the exposure of the surrounding area and (ideally) leaving the flame as is.  

The natural daylight method works as many of you suggested. These two pictures were taken right beside a window with the light coming in from the left (west) side within just minutes of each other.  Obviously there's plenty of room for improvement, but no more massive glare from the flame. These will do while I learn more about using a camera. I did pick up a little trick on my own.  Didn't change the position of the candle or camera. In one picture, you'll notice the little glare on the back top of the glass. In the second picture it's gone. I just rubbed a little Chapstick on the top rim and the little glare is gone. I love to improvise.

I'm happy to make people laugh anytime I get a chance. Glad you picked up on that joke. It's true, but even I like laughing at it.

Thanks @Sebleo and thanks @MilosCandles . I had misplaced this info also.

3 hours ago, Paintguru said:

 

If you focus on the flame, the rest of the image will be very dark without added lighting, so the daylight should help.  

You're right. I noticed that last night. I'm using a low end Android, the Samsung J3. So when you say "focus on the flame", I'm really not sure what you mean or if this cheap phone even has that capability. I've just never been one to take very many pictures. Either way, I started looking through the manual settings last night and found the metering function that you and some of the  others mentioned. You touch on the screen and the little circle pops up On this cheap phone, it seems to be limited in what it can do. I'm due for a new phone here soon anyway. 

7 minutes ago, Quentin said:

Yes I can do that. I'll post one here shortly. I'm using an Android phone, by the way.

In fact, I'll wait till the morning and see what natural daylight does for it, but I'm going to take one now using the light in this room.

5 hours ago, pughaus said:

@quentin  If you are using an iphone the phone should correct for any flame flare. I take pics of lit candles all the time in many light conditions with no flare or glare from the flame. Just tap on the phone screen right over the flame and the little sun icon will come up on your screen and correct any glare on that spot.  If you want to take square pics- without the need to crop a rectangular pic down-  you can also just use the "square" pic setting on your phone.  And if you want to crop further, use the iphone photo editor.  With a little practice you can take stunning pics using just your iphone and natural light that are great for web use.

I'm using an Android. Using the advice I've gotten here I'm getting much better pictures. Since I'm not using Iphone, I'll look around the Android camera app and see what I can find. Thank you.

7 hours ago, MilosCandles said:

Can you post a sample?

 

You lighting may not be good enough (bright enough) to begin with.

Yes I can do that. I'll post one here shortly. I'm using an Android phone, by the way.

I actually meant to say add the stearic to a low shrink votive wax to make a larger pillar but I think your answer applies to that as well. Thank you. 😀

On 1/2/2019 at 1:05 PM, CorgiCaper said:

If you start selling these, sign me up for 100 of them 😍

Same here. 

I think I'm just going to register as a "Not For Profit" corporation. After all, that's the business I'm in right now.