Crafty1_AJ

A fall soap that flies off the shelves for me is Spicy Apples and Peaches. I know it sounds weird, but it smells divine, and my customers agree. By far, it's my most popular fall soap. It's a blend of apple, peach, and cinnamon. Or how about an Autumn Leaves soap? You could have a ton of fun playing with warm colors on that one -- russet, gold, orange, etc.

No kidding. I put a sample in my cart and calculated shipping. $20+ and I'm in Missouri, only two states away from Indiana. Shipping was slightly more than twice the cost of the product. That's nuttier than squirrel turd! For that price, I expect it to be hand-delivered the same day. Thanks for keeping us posted. The adventurer in me likes to try new waxes.

I think it was Keystone that purchased Peak's stock.

Each wax / fragrance / color / wick combo has its own index card. Yep, old school here. LOL The cards are filed alphabetically for quick reference.

That sounds about right. I have my insurance through the guild as well.

Yes, true. Which is one of the reasons I make soap.

Have you tried Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetic Guild for insurance? They cover candles.

FANTASTIC gift! My step-dad was a handyman, and he put a workshop in for me in my basement as a birthday gift. I agree - best. gift. EVER! So nice to get the gear in a dedicated spot, away from the hustle and bustle of normal living upstairs. Can't wait to see your finished pics! Exciting!

This is excellent artwork! Kudos! My favorite is the little girl.

Can you find markets that are open mornings? I don't know where you live, but here in the central U.S., afternoon summer temps can soar into the 90's easily. That being said, it's generally in the 70's early in the morning when I set up, and by the time the afternoon heat is getting serious, I'm packed up and on the way home.

I do.

Yes, I saw this and do plan to raise my prices. DH and I were just discussing that this morning. Like you, I've absorbed minor cost increases here and there, because I can't change the prices every 10 minutes and expect to keep my sanity, as well as the sanity of my customers. Pet peeve: I really hate that fees are taken out of shipping monies. If I raise the prices of my shipping to standard commercial rates, customers will complain -- been there, done that. And they will refuse to order, claiming that I'm gouging them on shipping. It's so unfair. So I charge the discounted rates offered by Etsy, and have to offset my losses by raising prices on the items I sell. People don't understand that I am charging the same shipping that the post office charges me...no gouging or padding whatsoever. Sometimes I even direct them with a hotlink to USPS.com so they can see the shipping price for themselves. They don't understand that USPS raises its shipping rates nearly every year. Five percent seems like a lot, but Amazon Handmade keeps 15% of both shipping money and product cost. (No listing fees, though). Cost of doing business, but it does bite a bit.

My slowest months for sales are June and July. Sales start picking up in August, are heavy through the fall and winter, then back down a bit after the holidays, but stay somewhat steady through spring.

I have candles that are over a year old that still smell fine and burn great.

If you don't want to cut it up, why not use it for backing? I use standard width fabric for backing my lap quilts and it works great with no piecing. I usually get 2 yards of backing fabric, but have at least a third of a yard left over for binding or another project.

Chiming in late, but sales may pick up if you consider offering a different type of scent. All of the scents you listed fall into the "fruity" category. What about offering a floral? Some fresh, clean types? Earthy? Herbal blends? A good vanilla? Etc. You'd increase the possibility of someone finding the type of scent they prefer. I like to offer a variety of genres.

Ah, and I'm in a small town roughly an hour from KC.

Waving HI from my corner of MO!

Looks good, but I would recommend securing the wick with a clothespin to ensure it doesn't wiggle out of place as the wax cools.

That's what I was going to say -- tumblers. It's great that they can be re-purposed when the candle's used up.

I'm the other way when it comes to cooling. I actually use several large beverage coolers to place candles into so that they cool slowly. Most of my wax blends work better with a slow cool. So I'd have to add coolers to my equipment list, though I only use them for palm pillars and paraffin containers. My soy candles cool on wire shelves.

Pouring pots, thermometers, whisks, wick setters - - these all get used pretty much daily.

I would probably mix up a sunny citrus blend featuring lemon with a fragrance featuring ozonic notes - something watery/airy, like fresh rain.

For those of you who sell, how often do you add a new scent or product to your offerings? To keep things "fresh" for your regular customers? I like to add new things twice a year - once in the spring, and once again in the fall. Also, when do you discontinue a product or scent? Why? I check sales stats every year, and if sales fall below a certain threshold, we discontinue. Of course, suppliers like to go out of business from time to time, which often makes the decision for me. LOL

When you are ready, I have posted a simple beginner's soap recipe here in the forum. But it does assume you have some basic soapmaking research/understanding under your belt, and that you know how to use a lye calculator.