gmp

What about NG's Balsam Fir?

Can you all indulge me one more time? I'd like some feedback on the name I have chosen: Loudoun Handpoured Candles Loudoun is a well known name around here, I thought the name recognition was a plus. I added Handpoured because I wanted a word that reflected handmade, homemade, handcrafted, homey, crafty, etc. and thought that that would work. I'd appreciate any feedback you may have to offer! Should I add Company to the end? Not add Company on the end?

I've not tried it myself, but I have read that The Natural Artisan carries a great balsam fir that works in soy. Maybe someone else can chime in. HTH!

Congratulations! How exciting!

I love the Pear Spice. I think it somehow stays under the radar b/c people are not expecting much or don't know what to expect, and then they are pleasantly surprised when they sniff. I don't know if it can be considered holiday, but I figured I'd throw it in anyway. I think it works in a fall/winter sort of way without being too Christmas-y, but who knows, I could be wrong! And gosh darn it on the spiced cranberry, I ordered some from BCN just yesterday! Do you think that it is just as good or should I really get it from Peaks??

I am getting ready to place an order with them. I am ordering for fall/holiday. So far I have: Amish Harvest Cinnimon Balsam Spruce Christmas Tree Pear Spice Any other must-haves from Peaks? Thanks so much!!

Thanks so much everyone. You all are great! I placed a small (unfortunately, lol) order, can't wait for them to come in!

Hi All ~ I'm getting ready to place an order with BCN. What fragrances must-haves for fall/holidays can you recommend? Thanks so much!

The site is very professional looking! I did notice under Information/Insurance, receive is spelled incorrectly. Flip the ie to ei. One more thing, I'm sure you just want to cover yourself, but where its mentioned that personal checks take approximately 10 days to clear and orders are shipped after, the check clearing process is much quicker than that these days, some even clear same day.

Thank you for all these great suggestions! I'll have to mull these over, and I'm looking into insurance as well. Thanks again!

:laugh2: Some others I came up with are Virginia Commonwealth Candle Company or Shoppe The Loudoun Candle Shoppe (I live in loudoun County) The Old Georgetown Candle Shoppe or Company (the name of my town before it was changed) Goose Creek CAndle Company (Goose Creek runs thru this area, I think its a bit boring though) I looked into insurance today and really feel like I hit a brick wall. I"m not a risk-taker and had I known the potential for lawsuits, product liabililty, the expense, etc I may never have gone down this road to begin with, but here I am!

Do you have an association with this high school? In other words, when they see your ad will they connect your name and face and family with the business, is there a familiarity there? A lot of times a school community likes to help out their own, if that makes sense.

Well, as it turns out, there already is an Old Dominion Candle Company out there, so the point is moot. I should have done my homework before posting, but to answer your question, Virginia's state motto is the Old Dominion State. We have Old Dominion University, and the Old Dominion name is well recognized here. So I thought it might be an issue if Old Virginia Candle Company thought it was trademark infringement. But I guess it would not be since the Old Dominion Candle Company is already out there.

Well, it turns out the name wouldn't be a conflict after all. It's already taken. Sigh....

Darn it! I just had my heart set on it but I had a feeling it wouldn't work. Well, off to think of some second choices!

I have a potential name if/when I am ready to start selling (not there yet, but thinking things through). Well, I love the name Old Dominion Candles since I live in Virginia (Virginia is the Old Dominion State, fyi), BUT there is a company called Old Virginia Candle Company. Do you all think this would be a conflict or not? I really love the name I've chosen. Thanks. ETA: Forgot to mention that many, many businesses use Old Domion in their name, such as Old Dominion Realty, Dominion Power, Old Dominion Brewery, etc...

Sorry, been out of town a couple of days. Yes, this is what I am experiencing. I am also going to try to lower the wax level in the container, so not pour so much in there. I'm thinking (could be wrong here) that there is too much oxygen and it's causing too high a flame. I am using 6% fo with j223 in a square mason jar, zinc 60. The flame does not seem to get small toward the end of the burn. It seems to do great except for that initial burn where it looks over-wicked.

I don't think I need to wick down b/c once the candle has been burning for a while and turns black it burns okay.

Does anyone know if the wick gets saturated with wax (as in when the wax cools/shrinks and then I use the heat gun to flatten the top) will it cause the flame to shoot tall, etc.? I'm finding that this happens and I'm wondering if it's b/c the wick is over-saturated with wax. It's hard to explain, hope this makes sense. Tia...

One thing we did was a raffle. The prize can be anything you think people would like. We did a wine basket, but you can do gift cards in small amounts or anything else like a candle and bath basket. We put a notecard in the invite that explained that we were raffling off a wine basket at the shower and that the "cost" of each raffle ticket is a box of diapers (any size) or wipes. We wrote in the invite that participation is voluntary and that it would be a fun way to give the mom a "load" of diapers. The mom ended up getting lots of diapers and wipes and it was a lot of fun. Not everyone enjoys these types of "games" so you have to know your group pretty well to see if it would work. That's why we were sure to say it is a voluntary game in the invite.

Just to clarify (sorry, I may be hijacking here) if you make candles as a hobby and are giving them away to people and do not have a business whatsoever, you do not need insurance? Is this right?

I use j223 and prefer zinc, too.

Glue guns are cheap and they work well.

Yeah, that does make sense, thanks!

I am trying to decide between two wicks for my container candles, zinc 60 and zinc 62. I think Zinc 62 burns better, but only if trimmed after each burn. Zinc 60 would work if the user is not trimming often. When I burned the zinc 60 candle in humid weather, it burned fine, but when it was not humid and I burned it, I really had to babysit it to make sure I got a full meltpool. (Of course I was trimming both candles correctly). I guess the million dollar question is do you use the right wick and hope the user trims often or do you wick down to play it safe? Thanks for any advice.