Candlefriends

The AL wicks burn beautifully with CAC and 8% FO (Makesy version). I love that they don't curl. IMHO their HT rivals Premier and beloved CDNs. And it's not just my candles, I bought a store candle and that had what appeared to be an AL wick (due the distinct burn characteristics) and it burns beautifully as well. AL wicks are quickly becoming one of my favorites!

I would say you use the "cleanest" materials that the industry has to offer and that you don't make anything you don't feel comfortable burning in your own home. Keep it basic unfortunately, some suppliers and manufacturers are not as transparent as we would like them to be and changes happen often. Anyone remember the Coco83 paraffin fiasco a few months back 🙄. You can offer more in depth information if they would like it.

I completely agree TallTayl there are a lot of generous people here and I myself am grateful for it. And yes while their screen name and self promo appears to be more of a manipulation tactic v. seeking help it may have also come from a person who was overly excited or zealous as they said, "I'm so excited about my brand" and simply a made mistake in their approach. Personally, when I see a newbie post like this where they need lots of help, to me, if we can offer some advice so that they feel comfortable enough to ASK ANY QUESTION or "show-off" without a feeling of embarrassment than so be it. There is no place for cutting, mocking or "sharp" remarks like the some of the ones here. I've been around them by far too often in my other profession to know that they fall way short of their intentions or long term effectiveness. Again, it's the goal of this forum for new people (no matter what) to stick around so that they become great and SAFE candle makers - yes?

Excuse me, how are the follow comments "being nice"? "Ha. I didn't make it to the blue one. That one was bad too." or "So brand name can be interpretation as Get Smelt fishies." These specific comments were made with no help or guidance which I thought was this forum was about. There is a way to be critical without being cutting or with mockery. That is kindness. And the sad part is do you think this person who needs lots of help and trustworthy advice is going to come back? Probably not.

With coco wax, I use small CD/CDN (like 6 or 7 in most cases) for a 3" diameter. Premier 700's are my next go to, followed by HTP wicks.

I'm just gonna say this... Yes, this brand does need some work and they DID ask for advice. Smelt - Before you start selling, I would work on centering your wicks and doing some more testing. I don't think you are quite there yet. Since you use Wooden Wicks I would reach to out them and see if they have tools and tips to perfect this. Otherwise, it's great that you're proud of your brand, you should be! Just be careful of self promoting anywhere if it's not invited. As you can see it can be ill received given some of the nasty comments here. Kindness is free - that's all I have to say.

I use 10% f.o. with this wax and it's great! I don't use intricate molds with it but, for me it serves it purpose and does well.

I started to use ASO white beeswax to harden my coco 83 candles - best stuff hands down!

In CO you are not required to register as a commercial co-venture according to CO's Secretary of State website. However, you do have follow certain conditions. See below: 6-16-110(2), C.R.S.

Awesome! Thank you to everyone so much for helping explain why things happen. I find it sometimes hard to get good info on this. Anyway, I appreciate the recommendation on the ceda-serica. Funny, Kerven that you mentioned it because I just ordered a sample of it; when I get the chance I'll try it out - can't wait. Good thing I have various wick types to test with 😂. In the meantime, I'll try pouring cooler with these see if that helps. Fortunately, this only happened with the small candles, my larger containers I do a double-pour with and they come out really nicely. I still have very slight adhesion issues, but I just chalk that off to my little experience and my own "pickyness". I have faith they will get better as my skill set grows - and just put this last flawed episode down for the learning curve book. Thanks again everyone for sharing some great knowledge and have a terrific weekend!

50/50 464 Soy and Coco 83. I'm thinking of switching from 83 due to availability issues to another brand of coco. I've also heard iffy things about 464. Does anyone have any recommendations of a better quality of soy? I'm on the fence. Thanks so much for the help!

Hi everyone, Quick question, I've made several of these little tins now and thought I had resolved this issue. It's baaaack!!!!!!!!!! I made large batch of these last night and half are cracked. Is this a sign of pouring too fast? The tins were pre-washed and pre-heated. The cracking throughout is random. I poured different fragrances and made 3-5 at a time. Pour is around 140 degrees. It's so random that I'm not sure what went wrong. Thanks!

Hi TallTayl, You are a life saver! I actually shook it earlier thinking that it had separated, but it didn't change. I didn't think about heating it and the heat with shaking worked! Yes - I love easy fixes!!!!! Thank you so much! My worries are gone as I had pending orders on this fragrance. Thank you, Thank you! 😁😁😁!

Hi everyone - Happy Fall! I could use some advice... as I have pending orders on this fragrance 😬. The oil was not exposed to sunlight and stored in a glass amber bottle at room temp. It is now cloudy. I have sample bottles of this oil that are actually older and have not done this and are clear. Should I be concerned about the performance on the cloudy oil? It smells fine using fragrance blotter but, it could be very different when being burned. This is the first and only time I’ve had this happen to fragrance oil and I store all my oils the same way. I use several suppliers and I’m disappointed since this is one of my most expensive fragrances. Thanks so much!

No, not at all. I'm still new to candle making myself. If anything here that I notice is that you have an edge to edge melt pool. I would watch the heat of your container as it tapers towards the bottom. It may get pretty hot in later burns. In the very beginning I did a lot of testing and went through tons of different types of wicks. Now that I've settled on a few different wick types, (yes a few - depending on fragrance type used). I always have a few "tester" candles burning and abuse the crap out of them. I mean I trim, don't trim, burn for 30 min., burn them for 4+ hours, put them outside in drafts, etc. I try to simulate what people will do them once they leave my hands. I still have a lot to learn - it's never ending :). I hope this helps and things go smoothly for you. Wishing you much success!