Peggy T

It's a bit late in the season for my question but I'm curious anyway. I sell online and at various events in the fall/holiday time. For folks who sell at events (craft markets, etc), how do you package it up when someone buys one? I've always just wrapped mine in colored tissue paper with the goal that it have some protection and doesn't clink with other candles. But it doesn't look all that nice. I used to use boxes but they weren't all that sturdy and when I was shipping orders I'd have to wrap them in bubble wrap before I put them in the box which kind of defeated the purpose of the box in the first place. I'd like to come up with something that is protective but attractive and doesn't cost a lot. Bonus points for being able to do it quickly at an in-person event. I consulted ye old oracle (google/you tube) but all I saw were folks using boxes or doing a "pleated top" wrap which is certainly can't do at a busy show. lol Thanks

Thanks everyone for the helpful feedback on how to reply. I think a lot of her hesitation is related to being a nervous, first-time mom. I was certainly that way when I had my first child 800 years ago. 😂 This is probably one of those instances where Google does not help allay any worries. I will incorporate some of y’all’s suggestions into my email response.

A customer bought one of my candles (464 & coco 83 blend) for who daughter who has a newborn baby. The daughter wants to know if the wax is organic. It's not, and I will tell her that but I don't think that's really her question. What I'm sure she's really asking is, "is this safe to have around my baby?" It's her first kid. I'd like to be able to respond with something a bit more useful that no, it's not organic. For one thing, I don't know if you can even GET organic wax. And then with the additives, fragrance oil etc, I seriously doubt ANY candle is truly organic. In over 10 years of making candles, I've never had someone ask if my candle is organic. So I guess my question is: if someone asked you if your candle is organic or if it was safe to be around babies, what would you say? Thanks

I've ordered quite a bit from AFI because they are local to me and I can pick up at their facility. Most of the fragrances I gave gotten from them are good quality. I know for a fact they make some of the fragrances that The Flaming Candle sells (both are metro Atlanta area).

Thanks!

I have beeswax I can test. When I've tried it using it before, I found it a bit temperamental; nothing is straightforward with candle making...What % would you suggest I start with? I'm thinking super low (less than 3%).

I have no idea. I'm in a major hub and the order will also go to a major hub so I hope it will go by air and then to a warehouse...But once it's on the ground in Dhaka, all bets are off. 😁

What additive might I consider in the future? Thanks!

Leave for a day and there are a lot of responses to catch up on... @ErronB & @TallTayl Re: wax formulation. In retrospect yes, it would have made sense to do that. Hindsight being 20/20 and all. My particular blend is reasonably heat-tolerant and I've usually been able to manage summer issues by shipping M-W. I just never expected to get an order, in summer to Bangladesh. I am limited by shipping to USPS because this is going via diplomatic mail. So no FedEx or UPS. I'm going to do some research and see if I can learn more about how exactly dip mail works (ie--is it going to sit on the tarmac for days or will it be warehoused). I'm prob also going to tell the customer that I can't guarantee it won't melt on route. I lived overseas with the US govt for a number of years, so I know folks rely heavily on diplomatic mail bc you can order things without paying int'l postage. She should understand that while it's a great benefit, it has limitations too...🤞

I wasn't sure if I should put this question here or in the Business board but since this is a time limited question, I thought this might be the better spot. During the summer I take extra steps to ship an order (ship on Monday or Tuesday, thermal bubble wrap, ice pack). However...I just got an order from a DPO/APO address (diplomatic mail) going to Bangladesh. Oof. I have no idea how long it will take to get there. It could be as little as a week but also could be longer. I so rarely get DPO/FPO orders that this never even crossed my mind. DPO addresses go to Dulles, VA so getting there will be fast (I'm in Georgia) but after that I don't know. Any tips...? Any folks here who ship internationally? Thanks!

Thank you both for the feedback. I just remembered I have a bit of Aztec's new(ish) soy, coco and beeswax blend. I might give that a try too. Heck I haven't even tried it on candles....

Currently I get my Rosemary Mint FO from AFI. I don't love it, but it's convenient to me, affordable and I can order 10# at a time. My issues are the scent is a bit light, it sometimes has a fuel scent, and most annoyingly, it will discolor the wax to yellow over time. I really don't understand the discoloration issue since the FO itself is clear but it is a problem for my wholesale customers who don't want a yellow candles on their shelves. AFI has SO many Rosemary Mint fragrances that it's hard to weed through them all. Does anyone know of a good Rosemary Mint that might help with the above issues. Brownie points if they're from TFC or AFI. Thanks y'all! EDIT--When you look on AFI's website they only show 2 RM FOs but when I went to their facility (so interesting if you ever can) they brought out tons.

I have a lot of extra wax laying around and am wondering if I can use them for wax tarts. However, none are paraffin. My point would be to use some of the extra wax I already have--not buy any more.😆 I have: 464 Coco 83 Easy Beads Millennium Soy 100% Midwest Soy C-6 Beeswax Is it possible to blend these into a good tart? I know they are mostly primarily designed as container waxes and would therefore be difficult to get from the clamshell. Could I add a bit of beeswax to harden it up? I don't use wax tarts personally so I don't know much about them. Thanks

Updated Update: They responded to my DM yesterday and promised to send a replacement ASAP. So I give them props for (hopefully) resolving that quickly. I'm still not crazy about a number of their practices (slow order fulfillment, no phone number contact, and inability to review products) but I do appreciate their messaging me quickly after I complained.

UPDATE: Well, my order finally arrived 4 weeks after placing it. And.....it is missing one of the fragrances. And...it was the ONE fragrance I needed. I am so annoyed. Does anyone know their phone number? It's not anywhere on their website. Ugh.

Has anyone else experienced ridiculously long times to process orders from Wooden Wick Co? I took advantage of one of their recent sales and ordered a bunch of FO. I ordered on November 28th and it still hasn't been processed three weeks later! I get it: there's a pandemic, USPS is a mess, and it's the holidays. But I would at least expect some kind of communication from them about the processing time. All their website says is orders process in 3-7 business days and it could be a bit longer when they're busy. But really, it's been 15 business days--and frankly, if I had that much going on I would be working 7 days a week. Rant over. Well, probably not...😅

TFC has the 464 back in stock so I'll stick with that for now but maybe experiment with C3 with the intent of switching over once I get the hang of it.

Do you need a particular kind of jar? I've gotten the 11 oz straight sided tumbler from Community Candle in Alabama for years. They're very nice jars and in stock. https://www.communitycandlesupply.com/proddetail.php?prod=HBT-11OZ

Thanks. I live really close to TFC so they're my "go to" supplier. I'm going to call and ask when it will be back in stock. I really don't want to test another wax right now. Maybe for the future but that's something I don't want to rush especially if it's finicky.

I need 464 wax and the Flaming Candle is out of stock. However, they do have C3 wax. How do these compare? I usually blend 464 with 10% coco83. UGH. Not a good time of year for this.

Hey I just talked about this here (see below) but the summary is there was lots of FO seeping at the beginning but after about 6 weeks, it reabsorbed. I ran a test burn of them and they all did fine. My conclusion (at this point) is that perhaps the culprit is the EasyBeads and not the soy. 🤷‍♀️

Sorry y'all. I kinda dropped off the planet. So the update is that in late June I dug these candles out of my shop and ALL the FO had reabsorbed! How crazy is that? I'm happy, obviously, but I have no idea why. In the meantime, I ran some tests with the Freedom Soy and Midwest soy blended with the Easy Beads coconut wax at various ratios (80% Freedom and 20%EasyBeads, 90% Freedom and 10% EasyBeads and 95% Freedom & 5% Easy Beads) all at 8% FO. Then I did the same with the Midwest and Easy Beads. And?? They all (except the 95/5 ratio) seeped FO. 😵 I just about had a fit, I was so mad (and disappointed). Then I started thinking maybe the issue isn't the 464 after all; maybe the real culprit was the Easy Beads. 🤷‍♀️ After about 6 weeks the FO absorbed again and I did a burn test. They all did fine. There wasn't a substantial difference in the burn pattern between Midwest and Freedom--at least not that I noticed. But back to the EasyBeads...I did get a new case of Easy Beads around the time this all started. Previously I was using Coco83 from Cal Candle Supply for my blends. I thought their Coco83 was the same as EasyBeads but I've since come to learn that they aren't the same wax. I ordered a case of Coco83 before it went out of stock and I'm planning to run more tests again and see if perhaps I can get better results trying these different soy waxes with the Coco83. It's never ending, I tell you!!!!

I'm pretty sure you can get a 1 oz sample from them. I would call or email. They're usually pretty responsive.

Sorry but I have no idea what that means! A scent of family videos?

Hi TT, are there manufacturers where we can get concentrated custom fragrances? I usually buy 10# at a time from AFI. *** Also, I have just started testing some Freedom and Midwest 100% soy blends with Easy Beads. I started this experiment because my 464/EasyBeads candles at an 80/20 ratio had FO seeping on top. My current experiment is as such: All the candles are 8% FO (same FO, a custom blend of Black Tea and Bergamot). 1. Glass Straight-sided tumblers, 9 oz capacity with 1/2" 0.04 booster wood wick. I tested three ratios: 95% Freedom & 5% EasyBeads, 90% Freedom/10%EasyBeads and 80%/20%. Then I did the same with 100% Midwest soy (95/5, 90/10, 80/20). 2. I repeated the same experiment with an 11 oz ceramic jar with an HTP 105 wick so Midwest/EasyBeads at 95/5, 90/10 and 80/20 and Freedom/EasyBeads at 95/5, 90/10 and 80/20. I made these on May 19 so they have been curing 3 weeks. I will share any interesting results in another post. So far what has been most insightful is that ALL candles with 80/20 ratio (Midwest or Freedom: Easy Beads) have tons of FO pooling on top. Most of the ones with 90/10 ratio also have pooling FO but much less.