gottabt

I am really po'd about this one. I have my domain but if you leave off the "a" before my name it was a porno site. Well, the site has been done for about 6 months and so I went ahead and backordered it. Well, they just renewed the domain for another year. The company that has it is one of the clearing house type places where you can buy it off of them. I decided since they renewed the name I would put in an offer to see if I can buy it. I offered 50 and instantly a note came back that the min. bid is 1000. I do not know about you guys but I can not afford 1000 just to keep ppl from going to the wrong site. From what I have read this does not fall under cybersquatting but I really do not think that a bid starting at 1000 is really fair. I know "the world is not fair" but geez Thanx for letting me vent.

Kumquat - kumquat - kumquat and did I mention kumquat:D The kumquat gift shop opens on Tuesday so I have a ton to do. I am hoping that it is like last year - okay sort of since last year was about 15 dozen every week. I have a ton to do! I think that I only have 38 dozen in stock and of course they are all one scent. I have to get busy on the blends. Kumquat cake, kumquat spice, spiced cranberry kumquat. This is what I am going to be doing for the next 10 weekends at least. Six months to the season and it hasn't even started yet.

Hi, I just thought that I would update everyone on the antique shop that I am now in. I delivered the first case to her last week and she sold out over the weekend. Two more cases were ordered for this weekend and she asked for everything Fall that did not sell at our show last weekend. She is also looking at a signature scent for the shop. They are in the same town as the Kumquat Festival so she is already stating that she will need at least a case possibly 2 of the kumquat. The kewl thing is that she only wants 16oz jars. She says that the scents are so wonderful that 10oz is not enough. Talk about a small world. She was talking to a friend that relocated to Texas about how well these new candles were selling in her shop and her friend was familiar with my company and told her to purchase Apple Jack n Peel & send her a couple. Some days it seems like I am not making much progress and then this. I am really happy and off to pour. Thanx for listening.

I was contacted concerning Maple scented candles and spray. Does anyone carry these items so that I can give my client your web address? I would like to help them since I do not carry this scent and I do not do sprays. Even if you do not do both please let me know if you carry either product so that I can pass the info along. Thanx,

My big show this weekend was not as big as last year. I did 6x booth so not bad - but just not what I was expecting. Made $200 more last year. The crowd was way off from last year so the second day we did a BOGO 1/2 off. It works well to always get that second jar candle sale. We only offer it on the jar candles - 10 & 16 oz apothecaries. Did not sell as many ornies as I have in the past and that really surprised me. They usually do the best. I only made up 8 jack o lantern jars and they all sold. The ones with HSH sold before the pumpkin ones. Generally most sales were fall scents. Harvest & HSH were the best. Christmas scents came in a close second. Bakeries did not fair well this time - everyone commented how hungry that they would make them. Fruits & Florals were the more exotic ones and the mixes. I usually do well with Gardenia and Honeysuckle Jasmine but not this show. It was a strange show all in all. The traffic was better on Sunday and usually it is Saturday. I think that the weather had a lot to do with it but the reverse of what you are probably thinking. It was a great weather weekend and the humidity finally broke so I think that most ppl were out in their yards and such. The humidity makes it hard to spend much time outside. It is just so hard to judge. Sorry there are no pics since I am really not doing anything different to the booth from what I have posted in the past. I am going to try to do something different for the next show in Dec. There will be a lot of competition. Most ppl say that the take is usually about 20 times booth. This show I was the only chandler but I am sure that will not be the case at the next one. I am thinking that I will be adding decorative runners to the table tops, fabric drapes over the display steps and garland around the interior frame of the tent. I need more eye-candy. Thanx for listening.

As some of you know - with my dh new business I am only able to do 2 shows this year. Last year I did 14 in 18 weeks or something equally crazy. This year I had to pick the 2 biggest ones and the first one is tomorrow and Sunday. I am hoping that I do the same or better than last year. About $800 for the weekend. I am so nervous because I really need the sales right now. Please think of me and send those buyer vibes to me. Thank you so much:)

Yes, I did. I actually scent 2 tealights in an acetate box. I did this for 3 months running with different scents each month. Because of the slow season I have not participated in about 3 months. I plan on doing it again come the new year. I know that I should be focused on Holiday sales but I am way too busy to take on a project of this size right now. I sent about 60 little boxes each month.

I am sorry it seems that I did not reference my site in my last post and I have had a couple of ppl ask about it. It is www.aburningdesire.com

I can vouch for the Marketing Box and Traci. I have been doing the box off and on for about 6 months. I have also taken part in some of the other advertising campaigns. Traci is one of the most dynamic people I know. She has very creative ways to get your product out there. I would highly recommend seeing if you can take part in her efforts. They do pay off. Traci also helped in the complete re-design of my website. I would not have been able to do it without her. She understood my vision and ran with it. It is very hard to find someone who shares your vision and can interpret it so well. I am happy to see someone else here who has found her and the wonderful things that she can do for you. I am proud to say that I am Traci's (and her staffs) number one fan!

Way to go girl!

Way to go:D You

A little off topic - but does it strike anyone funny that the ppl could afford hundreds of candles but not their electric bill? (Funny in a sick way!!!)

I know that some ppl have used the silicone bakeware before without a problem. I think though you should not use the silicone mold release because it will interact with the mold itself. I bought a really cute rose muffin silicone pan but have yet to try it. I would say go for it:cheesy2:

It depends on the time of the year. In the fall, I usually burn something like twigs and berries, home sweet home or chestnuts n cherries. I try for something a little different from the norm. At the holiday shows, I always burn Christmas Past from ky. I sell this one the most and therefore always burn it. I have burned Spiced Cranberry too when I sell out of the C Past.

It is going to be a busy one. I have my first craft show this year next weekend. I have ornies to make (the beads are done - they just need baked), I need to pour the stock back up (I am probably 3/4 there), I have a bunch of jack 0 lantern jars to pour, votives to package... I need to pull out everything for the show (it has been since last Jan from the last show). Oh, I also have to make up clamshells for an order. Then the biggie - the kumquat growers open at the end of the month and I got custom molds for little kumquats and bigger votive kumquats. I need to start playing with these and see if I can get them to work before I start selling them at the end of the month. No pressure - especially since I have never used a mold before.

I would agree that the price is extremely reasonable. But... there are other expenses to consider. If you are going to do shows on a regular basis then I would say yes but if not the other expenses can be well - expensive. I am talking about the things that I did for my first show. Now, not all ppl would have done what I did but here are some of the things that I bought in prep for my first show. Tent, tables, tableclothes, display racks (okay the cardboard risers), a cash box, signed up for Propay and got a manual credit card imprinter and slips, and I had a sign made for my company name. I really wanted to show that I was serious and in business. I am not saying that anything less does not show that you are serious but I wanted the first impression of my company to be a professional one. I am just saying that there are things to consider over the entrance fee. Go into the craft show posts on what to take and you will see what I mean. I looked at all of these things as an investment and I am not sorry that I purchased any of them. I did about 15 shows the first year, about 25 last year but this year I think that it will be 3. I have learned how to get the most bang for my buck. You will learn which shows will get you the most money and go from there. The 25 shows was crazy but I think well worth it in exposure if nothing else. I hope that this comes accross in the way I want it to - I just want to let you know that the entrance fee is not the only expense.

I have one - ppl can sign up on my site or I can manually put them on it. I use Listbuilder from microsoft small business. I make up my newsletters using publisher and send them in listbuilder. I like it because you can have a very professional type of sign up that I include a small survey with. I break it down so that ppl are categorized by what type of acct - retail , whsl. Listbuilder lets me set up the mailing for a future date so I can have the newsletter ready ahead of time and it sends it when I want. It also keeps track of how many go out, how many get opened, how many ppl click the links. I love it but there is a charge - $20 a month. It also has a banner exchange in the pkg that I use too. If you want to see the sign up form and the newsletter pls feel free to visit my site. I have the newsletters archived on the site so that you can see the current and past issues. www.aburningdesire.com. HTH,

This is why I have not done anything fancy - I was thinking that they make the grid on a sheet and place it into the pillar and then fill with wax - similar to a cookie cutter candle???

27X:shocked2: I would be estatic with 7x - wow - way to go:yay:

Just for a different idea - I love Ocean from wyw available through bcn.

I have found that the most popular scents for men in my line are ocean, blackberry sage and bamboo. The number one best bakery for men would be biscotti. I find that the men's cologne type scents are more for the women - I guess they are comforting when their men are away from home.

I use a small bullet level and a cheap saucepan. I heat the pan and then place the candle in the pan. Put the level on top and put pressure on the side that is high. This works really well but make sure that you put the wick in first - I was having a blonde moment - and thought that it would just seal up the bottom hole but the melted wax actually traveled all the way up the hole and out the top. Yeah! A real blonde moment.

First let me say that making votives in a large pain in the arse as far as I am concerned. I tried many waxes including 4614, 4625, 6228 and V. I have gone with the V. Having said that - it is very tempermental. I always end up pouring more than I need because there are usually 3-4 that come out badly. I have found that I must pour at 175 into heated molds to combat the jump lines. However, this gives a nice smooth top. I really hate that the wax cools so quickly at this temp so clean up is not easy. For pricing - $1.50 each - shrink wrapped and 4/$5.00. I do not sell them on my site and will only do them if requested. I did make up a bunch last year for a Christmas show and they did sell well but I did not think it was worth my time. Also, I love V for my clamshells. They come out well. Nice and smooth and good color. The V does not take color as well as J223 so the colors come out a little lighter. I have found that I can not increase the color too much or I do find a slight dye (liquid) scent. HTH,

Hey Sharyl, None - actually that is not true. I did a couple last year in May, Aug and Sept and it was way too hot to do that again. There are some local outdoor types but the heat is too extreme for me and the candles. There are of course the big Buckler shows but from what I have been told I will not do one of those. They always seem to be 3-day shows too and my dh can not get away from the new business for that long. I need to find a gift basket place or realty office - something that does not depend on the weather.

I use the CD wicks in my wax. I find that they burn well in my apothecary jars. They do mushroom but this does not bother me because of the other characteristics. I use the lx series but I tend to use the smaller ones in my votives and flowerpots. The one thing that I do not like about them is that they seem to curl. In a votive it does catch up quickly but in the larger sizes it creates too much of a lop-sided melt pool. I am strange because I also like the CD series in my pillars. HTH,