BruceCarvesWax

I always try to figure it in dollars. If I think I will sell $2000.00 worth at a show, I take 3 times that much product along so I dont run out. Even if you run out of one or two scents the customers will have tons to pick from. Sounds like just in votives you have about 3000.00 in stock you are planning on taking so you should be ok there. If its that busy, you will not have time to pour unless you have some helpers with you. One year on one end of the booth we did a make your own candle with the granulated neon colored wax. The kids got to make them in a flower pot votive cup with wick and tab already in there. It went over ok, but it took us away from selling the candles that make you money in repeat sales so we quit doing them. Bruce

I like them!! Bruce

I got this idea the other evening and decided to try it. Made with left over 1343 and tilting the mold. It's unscented, but if I would have had some Spruce Christmas Tree FO, I would have used it. Too bad there's a glare from the flash-had to use it since it's been gloomy here lately. No matter what I tried, it showed up. The glare hides the tree trunk a little.

That kicks butt steve!

I guess this thread is close enough for a question that's been lurking in my mind...

Powder dye is pure dye.

Color blocks and chips are dye in a stearic base.

Liquid color is dye in a solvent base.

What is the base for dye flakes? What are those made of exactly?

I use powder dyes, the flakes to me look like the same base as the blocks, just in flake form. Same finish, look and feel to me. Bruce

My DH wants to know if he can turn your Angel into a Stain Glass pattern and Make a panel out of it.

As always my jaw drops when I see your works of art. Wonderfully done .

Sure, just make sure you post a picture of it so I can see how it turns out! How cool! Bruce

Hummm, 6 inch flame? I dont get a 6 inch flame from my blow torch! LOLTwo index fingers long is about 6 inches so im thinking that might not be the right height.Don't worry though, most women dont know measures very well cause their boy friends or hubbys have brain washed them by "showing" them how much 12 inches is... when its really like 4 or 5 inches..... LOLBruce

LMAO! I forgot he put all that crap there!! :rolleyes2 Perhaps we can trade for some of those Foreman grills Bruce ;) Bwahahahaha!

LOL ummmm ok!

Thanks Breanna! Might wanna go to www.geekoasis.com/sales though..cause the other one won't get you much in the way of websites

Breanna you're the best! TY

Yep, I went to the geekoasis.com first (not sales) and Im inquiring about the "Call Girls - Jurys Rigged" section. LOL Where can i find those?Bruce

Video? If I could ever get my laptop to go wireless you could all watch me carve one on web cam thru yahoo messenger or thru some chat room that everyone could come too. (have the card and wireless deal, just need to take time to figure it out) I still want to make a gif of me carving, but just dont have the time. Micheal, thanks those words, really really thanks. Yes my Father learned a month before he trained me... so we call it 2nd generation even if it was only a month... but my 4 kids, they will really be able to say it.In Blue Ridge mall in Kansas city years ago I saw another carver that put me to shame. This guy was a freak, truly great. He could make a 10 inch perfect cut in half a second, this dude could cook, so I dont think of myself as a master and have never looked into geting that "title" ... but it would be kinda cool and would be nice for marketing products.Love Waynes world!Web site? Opps, sorry your gona get a 404 error there. I don't have a web site for a few reasons, mostly because right now I sell as much as I want to sell at my local shows and a few wholesale accounts. I did the "store manager" thing and worked umpteenhundred hours a week for way too many years and had total burn out and I dont want that to happen with candles. I just want to go slow and do my thing so it dont get to me. Im too picky to let anyone else pour the candles so Im kinda stuck with what I can do myself. I do get lots of help from the wife and kids.. just not in pouring and I have to be there watching what ever they do. LOL I use stuff like the rustic angels and pies to slow people down so they can smell (buy) the other candles we sell so we can get that repeat business. Thats why I had that custom mold made that is like 18 inch tall, I have never seen a carved candle that big and thought it would be good to just have on the table to get people to stop. (I just didnt count on how heavy that sucker was gona be with 30 coats of wax on it)

Perhaps these people did not make candles very often, like maybe once a month. Someone who made them every day for 3 months (90 batches) would likely be more proficient that someone who made them monthly for 5 years (60 batches). So, it's not so much a matter of how long you've been making them but how many batches.

VERY true!If they are not selling them, and have been making them for 5 years, they cant be cranking out bunches of candles a year or they would drown in them.Candles were a part time job\hobby for me for 19 years and full time for almost 10 years. In that 19 years I didnt make tons since I had no outlet for them or really even the time to make them but I always had melted wax in my dip tank in the basement ever day of the year just so i could play with it and perfect my products. Bruce

Back and rested from the show!Thanks again for looking at my stuff. Not many people burn the fancy ones... thats probably why when someone has one...they dont think about buying more except for a gift. They will not burn that great anyway because the wicks have to be oversized to hold the weight of the candle while its hung up and being carved. Most carved ones have pigments for colors, which we all know dont do well when you burn them. I use dyes, but the white is a pigment and all of the candles have white in them.How long do they take? What did we do last year, did I do 3 candles in a hour from board requests? I think it was 3. I told folks to list some color choices and when 3 people replied, I started to make them and had them done and pictures of them posted in a hour. That was fun and some of the color combinations I really liked and would have never thought of them on my own. (thanks again for that board members)Wish I had more time to make this kind of fun stuff, but you have to make the stuff that they come back for each week. Bruce

You can use the 36 zincs, they are a standard votive size. The 44s are gonna burn them faster. I agree try in a tight votive container first before you buy new wicks.

36 Z has my vote also.

I dont really make votives, but I do have about a thousand of those wicks laying about, if you want me to throw a few in a env and mail them to you I can. Just PM me and let me know.

Bruce

Well... WHEW this sure is a big thread! I just got back from my show (fleamarket) tonight.

Would like to talk about testing again. Joy, YES it will not take us regulars a year to get a candle ready to sell since we might already have that same type jar, color, wick ect figured out and are just testing a new scent. It should only take maybe a week or two to get it to market, I might wait a month just to see how it does. This I can see. BUTTTTTT no one can tell me that this young man no matter how much he has tested (maybe one month) has made all quality burning great smelling candles in SO MANY SIZES AND SCENTS using ESSENTIAL OILS yes ESSENTIAL OILS THAT my friends I would bet MY LIFE ON !

Yes I'm anal about my candles, who wants to make just a good candle? I would be totally insulted if a customer of mine said my candles were just good.

Hey, thanks for all the nice comments you all !

I will try to get back here Sunday night after we get back and answer any questions that I can.

You all better quit or the wife will be cutting a hole in the roof for my swelling head. Humm, conehead candle company.... I can just see it now! LOL

Really, thanks alot for the replies.

Bruce

Coconut cream pie and blueberry muffin work great.

last one for now, have to get ready for the weekend show.

lemon pie anyone?

One for the holidays, the same kind of outside that I did with the rustic above.

this sucker is bright!

well that pic was a little big even for my 19 incher at1200x so I hope these others are smaller.

Hand carved and shaped candle with resin figure attached

because people might think Im all talk! Been a while since I have posted any so here are a few to get things rolling.

First one is a "rustic" or "country" angel. It was fun to make, had to take a paint brush with wax and spackle the outside with wax after I did the dipping and before I carved it. I could not redip the end candle in clear wax like I do on the other carved ones or it would have smoothed out the rough look too much. (ok I tried it once and it looked like crap)

I just want to say one thing, I do not believe that the amount of time someone has spent on candlemaking completely determines whether or not they really know what they are doing. There is NO set of rules that states that a candle youve made is not worthy of selling unless youve spent over 6 mths testing it.

You meet me here in 5 years and we will talk and laugh about what you just said...

Bruce

I am a biologist primarily, with some good chemistry and toxicology knowledge.

So, how long would it take me to become a biologist? A month, maybe two?

Please don't disrespect those of us that make a living at this by saying your a candle maker just because you can take a mold, pour wax, scent and color in it and make it burn, anyone can do that. (ok, maybe not anyone) :undecided

I don't know about the others that do this full time but I always feel directly insulted by anyone that thinks they can just pick up a pitcher of wax and become a candle maker. I have a book and test tubes but I'm not a biologist or chemist. (but I did stay in a holiday inn express last night)

Absyrtus exactly what scientific community are you a part of and referencing?

I was wondering the same thing.

Well, this was a fun post to watch! I didn't know you girls (and guys) had it in you to really tell it like it is! Good job. I always feel like I'm the bad guy on here telling all the newbies about testing and quality before selling. Most here know that using EO's to make a really great, house filling smell in a candle is almost impossible. I would be interested to know how he came up with sooooo many candles using EO's in such little time (weeks). I would think it would take years to do that if it were even possible at all?

Now, for those that don't like the soy vs par..... we do see it every day and see it so much that we don't even notice it anymore. coke vs Pepsi, One car vs another, heck I remember when grocery stores would have carts of groceries from all the other stores and the total price and what you save buying from the store you were shopping in on a huge poster hanging from the walls. There will always be companies that compare and talk up their products, that is marketing. I have some soy candles but most are not. I always ask my customers what they like about a soy candle and go from there. Some like the long burn... i can get that with my blend, some like the less soot... I can do that to with a properly wicked jar ... ect. I know there are lots of people (even here) that market their candles as 3x scented and I think that is one of the biggest marketing ploys of them all. Its like telling a customer your candles are 3 times better than all the others, so in some ways we all talk up our product by making others sound not quite as good.

The biggest problem I have (as always) is that when you start selling candles, if your don't have the quality to keep your customers coming back, you will be gone within a year. So why not take that year and just refine your candle making skills? Just think about it, how many professions could you make a living at that don't take years of training, practice etc? Not many if you want to be the best you can be in your field.

Bruce

I like them because you can see "into" the pillar, lots of depth and the mottle looks like something is alive and growing inside the wax. Like it has baby's breath inside it. Yep, thats it babys breath, been thinking about it since last night and couldn't remember what it reminded me of until now.

Nice.

Bruce