Hillary

Today is a better day. Still bummed, but I know my parasoy candles are good. I wouldn't bash soy. I respect the eco-friendly perspective. Using parraffin doesn't mean I'm not eco-friendly. I recycle!!! I'm just as enlightened as next next person, lol. I admit, I might have to start playing with the soy I have on hand and see if I can get a few testers going :rolleyes2 . I don't think I'll go back to that store though. A little bitterness there......

Yeah, I guess I should just move on from here. It's just one person's opinion. I've barely put myself out there yet. I should just put on my big girl pants and not be so sensitive about it. Mostly, it was a let down. I really thought this would be a sure thing, but other opportunities will come. It just sucks to be painted as the "bad one". A customer asked me the other day about wax "which one is the good one and which one is the bad one?" I guess in some peoples eye's any paraffin is "bad". Like you said clonefan-there are buyers for all of us.

Thanks for the kind words. It really does help. I have to admit she was a nice woman. But it felt like I was trying to talk a vegan into eating a burger or something.

A friend told me to check out a store where she's friends with the owner. She said she was sure she's be interested in carrying my candles, they do consignment and wholesale. It's all local crafts, very earthy stuff. So today I went in and met the owner and had a nice chat with her. We started talking about the candles and I told her mine are a blend of paraffin and soy. In a matter of seconds I realized there was no way she was going to sell a candle with paraffin. She talked about how great soy was and how she'd had such great soy candles in the past. In a very round about way she was letting me know she didn't want to have anything to do with paraffin in her shop, or even FO's for that matter. She thought EO's were the only healthy choice. I know it's totally her choice and her perogitive and I respect that completely. I just didn't like being on the other end of it. I guess I had my hopes up about getting in this shop and it was kind of a let down. Not to mention how I felt like I was the bad guy for using the killer wax paraffin, poisoning people with FO's and who knows what other chemicals. I know not to take it personally. I'm just realy bummed and not many other people would get it. Thanks for reading and getting it.

That's a good rule. By that standard I did pretty well. My friends kept asking how I was doing -as far as sales. I really didn't know if my sales were good or slow or what....I came home with money, but all through the day I just wondered if I was selling enough.... Scented-those are great tips. Thanks. It's really a lot of work to get the stuff to the place and set up and all. I think doing a little homework would go a long way in choosing the better shows. I'm sure there will always be duds as far as sales go, and even with those it can still be a good time. But if you can know going into it that it has the potential to be a profitable day, well, that's a plus.

That's a great point. I do really enjoy making candles and the show was a lot of fun. Any future opportunities that come from that are just icing on the cake.

Good question. My daughter has asthma. I try to pour when no one is home, but I've never noticed a problem~knock on wood. I've definitly thought about that. Seem's like EO's would be more of a problem for allergies and asthma than FO's are seeing as how they are derived from the actual plants.

Yeah, that is what I kept telling myself, it was a good time and I did make some money. I just don't know how much lifting and hauling I want to do for a show that might be a dud. Those jar candles are heavy! Like Barncat was saying- the distance and fee are definite factors. I suppose you just have to find out the history of the show and then maybe do it once to guage if it's worth it.

Wow, that's awesome. That's exactly the kind of thing I was curious about.

I had my first craft show this weekend. It was great! I was really anxious about it but thanks to all the info here I was really prepared. Man, getting that first show over with is really a relief! Everyone was so nice, and the crowd was slow but steady. I didn't really know what to expect as far as sales, but I think I did pretty well. Table fee was only $15, it was a six hour sale and I sold 30 candles. For my first go I'm pretty happy with that. But it was a huge amount of prep work. Next time will be much easier. Here's my question: For those of you that do a lot of shows- How do you measure if it was a good show for you? Do you look at the length of the show and how much $ you made? Or do you base it on your booth fee? I guess I just wonder what your expectations are for a "successful" show. Just curious...

That's what I was gonna say. I have some of those same scents in "exotics".

I just got a sample of the Aveda Rosemary Mint and I can't wait to pour it. It smells so spa-like to me. I love love love JS Banana Nut Bread. It's one of my all time fav's. I'm also really impressed with Chai Tea and Asian Spice. Those are a little more complex, and Asian spice I only use at 3 or 4% because it will blow the doors off your house. The Chestnuts and Brown Sugar is a given, so is Vanilla Buttercream Crunch.

Looks like we will re-schedule the candle project for a later date when we have more time and smaller groups to work with. Thank goodness. I'll still get to do the project with the girls, but under appropriate conditions. Thanks for your input and great ideas. This place -and the members- are priceless.

Yeah, this is exactly my thinking. And this is supposed to be their Christmas party. I might have to look into the granulated waxes and see what we can do with those. I didn't want to turn them down, but I don't think I'll be able to do 'MY' candles in that time frame with that many girls. I may just look up a candle craft project for them to do.

Thanks for the replies. The girls are all around 9 or 10 years old. I think they really want to do wicked candles. I would love to try a granulated wax, but honestly, I haven't used that before, so that would be new for me too. I don't know about wicking and all those other variables with the granulated. But I like the idea. I suppose that would require testing. There's my dilemma. With 20 girls I really want to have a game plan that will give them a nice looking end result. They want these to be Christmas gifts. I was going to have them use 8 oz votives and print personalized labels for them. If I mix the fo and color and we just do a melt and pour at the party, then they miss out on a big part of the process. I don't know how to do this with such a large group. I guess I could just google 'girlscout candles' and see what other troops do. But then it doesn't feel like I'm donating my know how. The troop leaders could do that. Trae-Your milk carton candles sound cool. I'd love to see the finished poduct. And I know what you mean about a group of boys. Been there.....

Actually, I'm not sure if this will even work. I was asked to make candles with the GS troop. It would be at someone else's house. I only do jars. There are 20 girls! I've never been to this other home so I don't even know if we'll all fit in the kitchen. I don't want to turn them down , but this gathering is only supposed to be 1 1/2 hrs long, and I can't see how I could break down the steps to get all the girls through the process. I just don't know if this is realistic. Anyone have any suggestions? I'll take all my stuff there, but how could I break it down into steps so they all can participate in a timely fashion?

These threads pop up all the time but I never get tired of them, lol. I love NG. These are a few of my fav's. I like to see what other people choose too. Pumpkin Crunch Cake is a must have Satin Sheets Fresh Linen- strong Christmas Splendor They have a few new ones that sound really good. So many samples, so little money....

PM'd you :smiley2:

Also NG. Haven't tried it though. http://www.naturesgardencandles.com/candlemaking-soap-supplies/item/df-00018

Two that I didn't see listed that I love- Chai Tea and Banana Nut Bread.

Congratulations! How exciting! Your display is gorgeous. (I love when people post pics) Very professional looking, kind of sophisicated I think.

No hangtags..and I don't think they boxed them. The name of the store is on the front of the candle jar and there's a sticker on the bottom with the scent and weight info. They only have 1 jar size. This is one of those places that lets you pour your own candle. No other customers were in there when we went in so I don't know how they do that part. But I guess if a customer pours their own mix of scents they don't need to worry about labeling it if it's just the store name on the front of the jar. Carebear you could be right. I guess it could be that if you purchase maybe they give you a flyer with warning info or something. I didn't buy though. I might have to go back and look around some more. It's a nice shop with a very contemporary feel. It just seems really dumb to not have a warning lable.

That is so smart! I wished I'd known about this before I bought my risers. I love resourceful ideas like this. Thanks for sharing.

That I do Prairieannie. This was a really nice little shop. Kind of going for a trendy feel. I am just so suprised that they would skip warning labels. I know that the label won't protect from a law suit, but it sure seems like it would help a little if you did get sued!

I went into a candle shop today that makes soy jar candles. That's their whole business. They have 2 stores actually, but this is the first time I've been there. I was really suprised to see that they didn't have warning labels on ANY of the candles. They own 2 stores with another one opening soon and they don't have warning lables. I know the label just tells the consumer what they already know, but as a business I would think you'd take every precaution to cover your a$$. Does this suprise anyone else? Just curious....