theoldehearth

The best thing we did when designing my workshop is to include LOTS of shelving. I have shelves on one entire wall, floor to ceiling, as well as above and below my workbench. Take a long hard look at what supplies you will need every day and make sure those are easily within reach of your main workspace. I have mine set up so my FO's are above the workbench (but far enough away from the melter so they don't heat up) so I can easily grab what I need, my flake wax is in/on a rolling bin under my workbench to make it easy to pull out when it is full and my colors are in little rubbermaid drawers under the area where I mix my batches so they are handy and some jars and little drawers that organize my wicks are on the end of the bench where I do my pouring. I don't want to really think about how much I have spent in rubbermaid containers or the metal closet shelving to get the workshop to where it is now but it definitely makes it work smarter rather than harder for me.

Your layout really will depend on how you plan to use the space. It's kind of like designing a kitchen...you need to figure out the main components (melter, pour area, packaging area) and decide how you want to flow between them. Once you do the rest should fall into place. Just remember to try to plan for growth and leave yourself room for it (make counters longer than you might need them now to leave room for larger pouring jobs that will come up in the future or at the very least leave space to put out a folding table that you can use in a pinch (I set mine up in front of my wall of shelves when I need more tabletop space for larger projects and use it as my packaging area since it isn't as level as my workbenches for pouring.)

HTH! Have fun with the design. I hope you come up with the workshop of your dreams when you are done!

Thanks MParadise,

I did plan lots of shelving and counter space but you've given me new ideas such as pull out rolling bins (clever!) & colors in drawers. Sounds like you really got your ducks in a row.

Thanks for your handy tips!!

My husband has finally decided he is kicking me & my candle supplies out of the house......to the garage, lol. No actually we've been working on this plan for quite some time so we had a huge shed built behind our house and are converting our garage to a workshop area. Now that we've sorted through 15-20 years of crap piled up in our garage, stored some in our new shed & hauled the rest to the salvation army and the dump (it's a real wonder how we put up with the junk), we are left with a clean slate! I can't tell you how excited I am to be doing this! This is a major step as I also invested in a new wax melter which is on the way so I need to know what is your ideal layout of the workshop. I pretty much have an idea but because we're building a wall to separate the workshop from a display area, I'd like to do it right. The workshop is about 10 ft wide x 15 ft long. The wax melter will be placed in the farthest corner (back wall) for safety issue.

So tell me all the do's and don'ts and what you would have done or how your workshop works for you.

I can finally have my kitchen back :smiley2:... and my dining room .. my living room .. oh lets not forget the storage rooms downstairs that have been taken over and jam packed to the rims by the never ending candle supplies. I can actually hear myself think now....

Here's the comparison chart from Wicks Unlimited:

www.wicksunlimited.com/atkins_pearce_htp_wicks.php

Looks like there is a slight difference. Hope it helps!

Thanks!!

I've never heard of 72s but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

That said, always, always get your wicks from the same place. The same wick can vary drastically from one company to the next.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who hasn't heard of it. I know what you mean by sticking with the original supplier but lets just say they left a sour taste in my mouth with their 'delayed' shipping without notifying me especially when time is of essence at this time of the year.

Is there much difference between these two? I normally use HTP 73 for my soy candles (mainly jars) so I ordered these HTP 72s thinking it was a misprint on the company's site for HTP 73s as I never heard of HTP 72s. When I got them, I did a google search to see if there is such a thing and found some!

Now I feel stupid! The company just started carrying the HTP's which is why I ordered from them.

I will be testing these but just wondering how much of a difference one number makes.

I've been agonizing over doing a large show in a major city for some time.

Don't think of the $450 cost just for the table. It's also including the show's advertising through radio, newspaper, website,etc. & most important people traffic.

As for the cost of gas, food,etc. It's just another day of work like everyone else who drives to work, eat lunches,etc.

It's just mind over matter. I'd say do it!

Then you can decide for sure whether or not to continue next year. Remember you can claim that $450 on your tax return so it's not all 'loss'.

Good luck on your decision:)!

Do you do anything to the tops to make sure they aren't sharp? I had debated using recycled tins for candles, but was worried about sharp edges.

Hope you'll post some pics of the Christmas graphics!

~Julia

I bought an awesome can opener from Pamper Chef. It's designed to make the edge smooth. Pricey but worth it for these type of projects.

Wow, can't say that I have been there but it sounds intriguing!

It was amazing! Just after sunset we walked through this valley toward the theatre performance and it was surrounded by rock structures. Along the way we saw these men dressed in Mayan warrior costumes, banging on drums up above and there were fires lit up and incense burning.

It was very mystical and intoxicating (well... intoxicating to me probably because I had one too many pina colada that day.)

A couple of years ago my DH & I went to Mexican Riviera and we went to this spectacular night event at the Xcaret. We entered through the 'Valley of Scents' were they had incense burning left and right. It was a very intriguing aroma that I had to find out exactly what it was. I was told that it copal after doing some research so I ordered some copal incense but it was not quite the same.

Anyway my question is has anyone else been been there and experience this Valley of Scents and if so, do you know of a fragrance oil that may be similar to it?

:bump:

Just checking to see if anyone else have these in stock or any suggestions for similar oils.

I know that Backwoods has Sandalwood Cardamom... which is DIVINE. Not sure if it smells the same as the Amber Cardamom you are looking for, but it's definitely worth a shot to buy a sample from Backwoods to try!

I'll have to check that out. Amber Cardamom is really nice scent that I just started using & I'm kicking myself for not buying a larger quantity before it got discontinued (of course, just my luck).

Thanks for your suggestion!

They just continued these scents and I can't seem to find similar ones especially Amber Cardamom. Does anyone know of any?

Thanks!

WYW Vanilla Grapefruit, hands down. It's pricier but you only need very little so it goes a long way, trust me.

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

I'm quite surprised at the cost from some of these suppliers. Oregon Trails' Oak moss is $70 for a lb but you only need to use very little of it according to them. I noticed it does have floral in it. Can you detect that?

I do have BCN which to me is perfume like. I'm using it mix with other scents and this comes out like very strong floral which is not what I'm looking for.

I'll have to try SOS, it got good reviews as a blender.

I've been trying to find an oak moss fragrance that is not too floral or perfume like. Just the straight earthy type for blending with other scents.

I know some of you like Sweetcakes oakmoss but $65 a lb is too steep for me.

Any suggestions??

In the checkout it says $100 min so I'm totally confused

Because that's TODAY news..

I just checked his site and he changed the minimum AGAIN now to...$100. Good grief when is this going to stop? It's giving me a headache now.

I was going to give them a try but they're just too spontaneous for my taste... or smell for that matter.

Well I have the same thing. I've reordered some oils from a company that I've been dealing with for years and noticed a big change in OOB, a much weaker throw and more of a chemical base to it. Out of six scents I ordered, four are very weak. I had an old bottle( a few months old) and a new bottle side by side to compare OOB and you can definitely tell the difference. I did emailed twice to the company with my concerns only to have a short reply stating there have been no change to the formulations and that there were no other complaints. These are their topseller oils so the rotation of the batches are frequent which is why I'm questioning the formulation.

Now I'm looking at crossing them off my supplier list which is really too bad because they HAD great oils.

This company I'm sure most of you have dealt with.

I just received my order from BCN and I don't know if my nose is having an off day or what but the scents seem alot weaker. Some of them I have been ordering for years. I'll know for sure once I test them in wax to see if they throwing weaker than usual.

I have probably mentioned this a few times. I think it would be hysterical if someone would do a documentary about craft shows. Especially those that are a monthly gig that have a lot of regs. They could film over the course of a year. I do a show which is a monthly show, but I only do it in December. I have been doing it for several years. There is a lady there who sells roasted nuts and everyone calls her "the nut lady" because she is just flat out crazy! I actually look forward to the nut lady's shenanigans. That same show is just a peyton place. There is one gal who gives me the scoop every December...who has slept with whom, who got in fights with whom, who got kicked out, etc. It cracks me up!

Yes that is what we need...a reality show on craft events,lol! Pure drama. Oh man can you imagine? A camera from every booth recording conversations and actions.

We could call it The Worst Crafters, or Crafty Wackos, Crafty Critters just to name a few, lol.

Oh my... some of the stories here!

We just did a huge event recently at the local rink facility. As my DH & I arrived, we noticed not one but TWO 2' x 2' power supply units taking up half of the back drapery wall. On top of that the neighbours behind us backed a couple of their chairs into our booth besides the power units taking up even more of our space. It seems minor but when you have a small cash/bagging table, one chair, 8 ft table, two large shelving units and a stand up display crammed in a 10' by 8' U shaped layout that I paid $250 for, every square inch counts!

Needless to say I put up a big stink about it and the organizer had one of the power units moved into the back neighbour's booth which prompted them to move their chairs back further into their booth. The vendor lady had one nasty dirty look on her face. During the whole two day event they pretty much sat in those chairs (you can kind of see through the drapery). At one point a helper of theirs poked her face into our booth, looked around and closed the drapery. How rude!

As we were packing up, once the drapery & fixtures came down I was shocked to see how much garbage (uneaten food, drink cups) & crap laying on the floor and they left it like that!

Out of all the shows we've done over the last four years, that was the first I've ever dealt with.

Oh I forgot I had this post here, I couldn't delete it. I posted the same question in the proper forum (Business) and funny thing is I just asked about polyester labels!

Great, I'll check it out and thanks for your help!

Ok no luck with the frosted white labels, no one seems to carry them.

Anyway new question, what is the texture of the white polyester labels?

I did contact a couple of companies but their response time is a bit slow and I need to know asap so I could order.

Thanks again!

Is there such a thing as white matte or frosted labels? I've been trying to find some but I'm not sure if it's under a different name. I've seen clear frosted but I need the white background and have that frosted look to them.

Any suggestions??

Thanks!

Is there such a thing as white matte or frosted labels? I've been trying to find some but I'm not sure if it's under a different name. I've seen clear frosted but I need the white background and have that frosted look to them.

Any suggestions??

Thanks!

SORRY WRONG POST!!

Wow for someone who just started this as a hobby, it sure looks like it took years to create the perfection being shown right down from the cupcake to the website layout. Keep it up, don't be afraid to test different wicks, wax & oils. In no time you'll have success in selling confidently!

Are you sure you didn't buy a bunch of bakery desserts and just stick a wick in them, lol! They look THAT good!