I've been reading with interest the threads on Candlewealth. Now, I'm very new to candlemaking, and I am so impressed by this forum with all the experience, dedication and creativity that exists in the candlemaking world. That being said, I'd just like to share my experience with regard to candle-making and Candlewealth. I first purchased a soy candle about a year ago at a farmer's market. Not a huge candle-burner, had never heard of soy (like so many folks, I'm finding). Burned it all that fall, and loved it, clean-burning, great scent throw, long-lasting. This spring I was looking for another creative business for my husband and myself, and came across the same vendor. She was a Candlewealth member. I was extremely leary of the networking aspect, but when I did the research, I found that I could get started very easily, for a competitive price, with help both local and from the company, and best of all without reinventing the wheel. And all the supplies were guaranteed. I did start the business. I haven't wanted to invest time or energy in the network marketing side of things, and as I progress in making candles and find other sources (like this great site), I'm using other fragrances, dyes, etc., and just like everyone of you I have to test, test and test again. Making a soy candle in a microwave was indeed as easy as the company claimed. And of course if one wants to make more than one small candle one is taught all about double boilers and pour pots. I don't have a lot of problems with bloom or wet spots so far--at least not more so than it seems most folks do. so it really didn't seem that hard to get started. So, my bottom line is that I did not have to reinvent the wheel to get started making candles. A few specific items that others have brought up in this thread. My literature all told me that the soy is 100% natural soy wax. I have not seen anything that says it is 85%. Also, I've done my own burn tests with Candlewealth soy and paraffin side-by-side, same size, same burn time, same conditions, and indeed the soy did outlast the paraffin and with less soot. There are indeed different wick sizes, and a simple method for determining which to use. Some of the fragrances, although limited in number, have an awesome throw, and are my best-sellers so far. Others are much less strong in the throw. I learned very quickly that there are so many variables in this "art" of candlemaking that all claims are somewhat subjective. It's the old "to each his own" theory, I guess. The sites I researched online did include an EPA study showed some levels of formaldehyde and benzine emitted from paraffin candles, which isn't present with soy, and the petroleum-carbon soot that does seem to be a problem with paraffin doesn't seem to be present in my soy candles. Personally, I love the idea of non-petroleum products, and am anxious to get into trying my hand at palm wax pillar candles. But that's my personal preference only. My thought on bashing paraffin candles is that one can just share one's own experience and let people know where to go to find out for themselves what they feel comfortable with. Hope this sheds a little light on the Candlewealth thing. Look forward to comments and possible enlightenment.