botanica

Thank you everyone. I'm very excited, and am happy to say so are they at Wholefoods. It's nice to be taken seriously and appreciated for all my years of hard work and sacrifice. Now, hopefully people will buy them. (:

Oooohhh, that's a good deal. See, that's why I love you all so much!! No one can know everything. (: You don't even have to pay renewal fees. Thank you! thank you! thank you!

Huh, I didn't know about that...the pricing is different. I'll have to check it out. Thanks.

Thanks (: As to your first question, I got up the courage and started pursuing wholesale accounts. I've really dragged my heals on this, but I know that what I do is good, so I should promote myself in a way that my business can handle. Regarding barcodes, if only it was that easy. There is only one agency that you can get legal barcodes from, which is GS1. I believe the others are just for personal use, and aren't accepted by the bigger chain stores because they cannot be read globally.

Thanks for your reply. I'm so excited because I just found out that GS1 has a program called U.P.C. Plus for little people like me, and you can buy up to 10 codes for $75 each. Since I only need 5, that ROCKS! I didn't know that this program exists...I just thought it was the Partner Connections with the minimum $750 upfront fee w/ up to 100 codes. I now need to come up with a contract. Any suggestions?? I'm sure if I do a search there's lots of discussion on this.

I need to vent with others that can feel my pain. I just found out that my local Wholefoods wants my products--the initial order would be about 60 candles/diffusers, and would be an ongoing relationship, possibly expanding to the other store in our area. So, my first reaction is yay! But, the catch is who can afford to get barcodes? I don't have a grand to throw down on something that may not be worth it. But what if it is? Am I missing out on yet another opportunity because of my cash flow issues????? Will I always be doing craft fairs that never really make me much money and are so much work?? Help! Would you spend the money you don't have to do this? They said that I can get back to them once I've made a decision. Jodie

A great place to start once you're confident that everything has tested well is the Small Business Assoc. Also, you can contact an organization called SCORE and find a mentor. Take some business classes through local organizations on marketing, bookkeeping, etc., and contact your state about licenses. Get insurance before you start selling, keep asking questions and doing your research. Good luck!

I'd love to see a pic of this! I guess I'm more of a visual learner...trying to picture how you're doing this.

Thanks for the responses! You've confirmed my gut feelings about it. :smiley2:

Does anyone know of a fixative for eo? I received a sample of an eo blend from my manufacturer that had a soy oil base. My rep said that soy is used as a fixative(?) for eo, but it seems to me that the scent would be diluted. I know that certain oils, like clary sage, are in themselves fixatives, but does anyone know for sure if this method of blending eo's in soy oil works well in natural/soy wax?

If you have a Lowe's, they carry a drain opener that's 100% sodium hydroxide, sorry I can't think of the name off the top of my head. That's where I got mine--and I really like not having to pay shipping. Another thing I discovered is that wholefoods carries a palm oil made by "Jungle", that's organic and environmentally friendly. I never knew it, but I guess the production of palm oil is seriously threatening oranguatans. I read about it at our local zoo, and they said that if things don't change, orguantans could be wiped out within 10 years. So, I'm buying all my oils online except that one. Spectrum makes another safe palm oil, in case you're interested. They're a little more expensive, but for me it's worth it. It'll be a talking point with customers too, I think. I ordered wooden molds today on ebay. I was really stuck between wooden and no-liner plastic molds. I decided to try to keep it simple. Well, good luck with your first pour and maybe let us know how it goes.

Which lye calculator are you using? I really like the one from Snowdrift Farm. It's the easiest for me to use so far. There are so many recipes out there and so much to learn. I'm actually taking the dive into cp soap, which has been a goal of mine for a while, so I'm a little proud of myself! I've always been a little intimidated by it, but I'm going with my forward momentum and trusting that everything will be alright if I'm smart. (:

That's it I think! I've done so much research it's all getting muddled. Thanks :smiley2:

I thought that somewhere I saw a really nice reference chart for butters/oils with lots of good info about each for soap/b&b. Now I can't find it again...anyone know of something online like this?

Paper towels all the way. I *try* to buy recycled ones because I go through so much! Molds go in the oven. Thanks for the idea for baby wipes...some of my scents are really strong. I also like the idea of having a pot per scent. That would be the best. I'll just have to add pots to the list that goes on forever. (:

Poor girl! That's messy messy messy. Don't suppose you had any kind of a contract?

It's funny, but I have the lye and no other ingredients. I'm a soaping wannabe, but I'm also a scaredy cat about lye. That was before I got pregnant. I've wanted to make soap forever, and now am wondering if I should wait until after I have the baby? (Not that I'll have any more time to do anything then...) I know that I could mix the lye & water outside, but what if...and am I just being too paranoid? Lye is scary!

You're right...just haven't gotten around to posting again. It's 180mL. I'll check out candlescience. Thanks everyone!

That's a tough call...it probably depends on how much time they will be putting in, total sales, and if they will be setting up/taking down. Is it more than one day? I suppose some people would say a percentage of total sales?? By the way, you're in Costa Rica? I LOVE CR--I've been there 3 times and can't seem to get it out of my system. What part of the country are you in? If you want, you can pm me so I can gush about your country. (: Jodie

They are little hexagon jars, 1.8ml it says on the box. They were given to me, otherwise I'd have ordered lids too. I don't have a pic of them...any ideas? Thanks!

So, I'm a college graduate that can't figure out math...go figure. My question is this--I have some jars without lids. I'd like to be able to find lids for these jars, so how would I measure them for a lid to find the millimeters? From what I understand, 10mm=1cm. Is this from the outside of the opening of the jar? Can I just use a standard tape measure? Thanks! I'm dipping into smelly jellys. (:

Thanks for your response!

I'm trying to figure out how much of a commission I should give someone who books fundraisers for me through her store. Has anyone done this? I don't know if a flat fee or a percentage would be best. Thanks!

Yep, I've been getting those for a couple of weeks. Delete delete delete. (:

I used tarts, and found little bags to put each in and labeled them. With the soy, they got pretty beat up, but still worth it because they looked nice to begin with. I can see in the future using smaller chips of wax for this. It would probably be easier and not as much waste. I *thought* I'd be able to re-sell the tarts at some point. Oh well...the kids liked it. I think if the group were any bigger I would have forgone this step.