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pughaus

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Everything posted by pughaus

  1. I finally just got my complete WW sample kit so I can start playing around with different sizes and configurations on these. I'm guessing I can go smaller and sizing down might = a cleaner melt pool in the end. Looking forward to seeing what yours do!
  2. ew. This debris seems... excessive. I've burned a few of wooden wick candles from established candle lines and I'm pretty sure I didn't see this kind of cast off in the melt pool. Although I don't think I've ever burned one with a booster wick. Too bad since aside from the melt pool messiness, this has been a really nice burn. Anyone else get this much debris in their wood wicks tests?
  3. @KervenI just noticed a typo- I'm currently testing a small ribbonwick, not a medium.
  4. yes it is! Have you tried them?
  5. Hi Moonshine Re: Puffs of smoke- depends on the wick but I can't say smoke/soot is anymore of an issue with the beeswax blend than it was with coco83 alone. I am jumping around a bit at this point on beeswax ratios. I've poured and tested- 10%, 5% and now I'm working with 4% white beeswax. Oddly, I've had no cracking yet in any of the beeswax blends I've poured ( about 15 in total at this point). Not even the 10%ers. Here's where I'm at right now: On a 4% beeswax in a 3.18" dia. 10 oz. glass w/ 7% FO: Eco6- too tall flame and too much smoke - nixed the test after the 2nd 3 hr burn b/c it was just too smokey. RRD40- small, calm flame, moderate mushrooming after 2 hrs. This one's not going to make it. It's building a wall halfway through. Prob. need the next size up on this one. It might even drown on next burn. Med. Ribbon wick- I tried this a fluke and it's turning out to be the best by far. Go figure. Just the right sized and calm flame throughout. I can not make this thing smoke if I try. No mushrooming at all on these ribbon wicks , which is nice too. I'm 85% through a full test burn on this and if the cling that's left on the jar melts down completely in the next few hours, this will be a perfect burn.
  6. Hi Shicks and CinFL! My wholesale experience is with a multi-line urban sales agency that covers many states and has several huge showrooms. So as reps go, we're pretty big and that means we're really too big to be a launching point into wholesale for a small, new line. Why? A. it's expensive just to on-board with established rep groups: there are "showroom fees" and technology fees that off the bat will cost you thousands a year. These are recurring fees. B. We expect professional, color catalogs (hundreds of them) and photography to market your line. Catalogs need to be sent to every rep and to every showroom. C. Every 6 months, you'll have to freshly sample all showrooms- and send enough product to make a statement. Most candle lines will send at least 4-8 pcs of every candle they offer. You'll have to write those samples off. You'll also need to sample every road rep with an assortment of complete candles and fragrance samples. Did I mention we have 30 reps? D. Then, there's commission on every order written in our territory. 15% is the industry standard. All of the above can crush a small line that doesn't yet have significant working capital, strong cash flow and the staff and operations in place to turn orders around quickly and without drama. I think a rep group is great when your wholesale business has grown to the point where you can no longer manage it internally, you are ready for a more national presence and it makes $ sense for you to continue the growth by outsourcing the sales end to rep groups rather hiring an in- house sales team. We do an excellent job but we're not "line incubators"- in general, we sell lines that already sell well and are ready to take their sales to the next level and continue to grow. Our group is not unique in any of what I've described. The rep end of the gift industry has consolidated significantly since the recession. Many smaller rep groups went out of business and many local trade shows and showroom buildings closed down. The big rep groups that survived got... bigger. In many ways, I think etsy, all the "maker craft shows" like Renegade, Unique LA, Artisinal LA etc. and more recently indigo fair, have taken the place of reps when it comes to introducing smaller/ start up lines to retailers. That said, there may be independent reps working alone out there that will take on a smaller, newer line. They will have a limited geographic area and limited customer base. Personally, I don't know any reps that aren't associated with a rep group. The few I did know have long since retired or moved in to a rep group. However, there are some reps with a group like mine that also take on some side lines independently. Before going down that path, it is worth considering what other lines they are repping and how many. A rep has to make the most of their appt time with a buyer. If that rep also sells illume and paddywax candles and 15 other asstd. big $ lines for example, your line will not be the first one shown at their 2 hr appt.; or even make it out of their bag at all. The last thing I'd want is to have only a handful of wholesale accounts where I was making just 2X my cost and on top of that paying a rep 15% of every order. That would be a recipe for misery for me! So, if I was ready to branch into wholesale, before I went down the rep route, I'd start by selling my line myself. That way I can personally target retailers that I feel will be the best fit and that I want to grow with, and I won't have to pay a rep commission while I'm building the customer base up. More importantly, I can get direct feedback from the retail buyers. I'd also build a website, establish a strong, branded social media presence, consider indigo fair (jury is still out on that site), etsy, and I'd work every major handmade/makers show in my area that I could. It is very likely, if my line is desirable, that a number of retailers will approach me via any of these venues. If not, I know I still have work to do on the line. Only when I'd maxed out the potential in those directions and had enough success, would I either invest in getting my own booth in a major wholesale trade show and/or begin looking for a rep group. Wow that was long! I hope at least some of it makes sense!
  7. Currently testing a 3% and 4% beeswax blend but updating to add that my 10% beeswax: 90% coco83 testers, while underwicked, have not cracked 8 days after pouring. 3 have been burned to over 80% of the containers and 1 I've not burned at all since pouring. None have cracked thus far, and I do like how the beeswax has tempered the flame and made a much calmer burn throughout the test cycle. But now, having read about the propensity of beeswax to crack, and after hearing that TT's 5%ers cracked I wonder why mine haven't? Oh the mysteries of wax!
  8. Good to know about the eco 6 as I'm still working my way through wick testing all possibilities on the Coco83 by itself, and still waiting for several sample to arrive. Do you think there may be any value in testing a 2% and/or 3% beeswax blend? I've got the wax, may as well use it
  9. Yikes. That's discouraging. A 5% mix was my next experiment. Bummer that even at that ratio, it's cracking. So have you given up on beeswax/coco entirely at this point?
  10. I wish I'd waited a week or more to burn these but here's the 3 hr burn result for what it's worth: Diameter 3" Wax: Coconut 83 + 10% white beeswax Wicks: RRD40, ECO 4, PREMIER 745 (RRD37 was nixed early on; it was clearly too small.) I think I went too small on all of these. Having seen how wild the Coco wax only flames could get, and not knowing how much the 10% beeswax would change that, I started small. As you can see from the pics, all have 1/4" or more of wax left around melt pool at the start of the 3rd hour. Hour 3 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZnOmLtgIwI&feature=youtu.be On to the next...
  11. Cracks after 2 weeks? Oh geez. Well, these are only 3 days old. I'll have to keep an eye on them for a couple of weeks and see what happens next. How much BW were you using?
  12. Not a single crack. They look just as good as the all Coco ones I've made.
  13. Jumping in here since I'm currently testing wicks on a Coconut83/beeswax blend (90%:10%) I just fired up this batch of Ecos/RRDs + a Premier. Results to follow!
  14. I am a manufacturer's rep and generally do not recommend looking for a rep when you are just starting the leap from retail to wholesale. Are you currently selling your candles at wholesale to any retailers?
  15. Hi Everyone! Total newbie here as I just poured my 1st two candles last night. So far they look... not terrible, so I'm feeling pretty encouraged. I've read through just about every candle making post in this forum going back about 5 yrs so I feel like I'm getting a solid foundation of knowledge and experience - you guys are great! What brought me to candle making? Well, I've been in the retail/wholesale end of the candle biz for about 20 years. Does anyone remember Aromatherapy of Rome candles? I carried the line in my store way back in the 90's and I swear I still have old papers from that store that smell like an AoR patchouli/ylang ylang candle. My lord those things were intense! They got me hooked. Now, I'm with a large wholesale manufacturers rep agency and among other goodies, we represent several well known candle lines. I don't need more candles to burn- lucky me, I get them for free- but I do love problem solving and a challenging hobby and I expect plenty of ups and downs as I muddle through the learning process. Looking forward to getting to know this craft and all of you! Happy Holidays! ps: candles below are coco83 wax which seems to be as easy to use as I've seen described on this board; Im eager to see how they burn.
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