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GirlWithTheCurl

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Posts posted by GirlWithTheCurl

    "Luxury" Candles ----Do they sell?

    in Business Side of Things

    Posted

    Pacifica is another candle you may want to look into. I don't know how it compares to the ones you mentioned in your OP (I had never heard of any of them until I found this site). They have a website--I've been tempted to try a couple of them out, but I'm spending all my $$ on supplies!

    Save your money.

    They certainly are pretty, great cold throw, hot is practically nonexistent!

    "Luxury" Candles ----Do they sell?

    in Business Side of Things

    Posted

    Thank you everyone for the input! My wife and I were talking and going over some of everyone's comments, and we've decided to expand our offerings. Going over our purchasing plan, we had $4,560.50 just in Voluspa alone! The space is very large and will require tens of thousands in inventory, however we are now planning on having "cabin" style signs (the old rustic wooden ones) some B&B items from Votivo and Malie Kauai, and some other fun things (quirky greeting cards etc). We took a trip to the Minneapolis Gift Mart, which is a wholesale market for retail stores, and we got some great ideas. I think the best way to go is focusing on one main category, and adding items that will bring customers who may not be interested in a candle in to the store, and who knows, maybe they'll "smell around" and find something they like! After many hours of deliberating, I think we're going to go for it. I'll feel horrible if I don't do it and wonder "What if?" I guess I'd rather fail than not trying. But in any event, thank you all for the comments, and I do greatly value your input!

    Craig

    Just a heads up on Votivo's B & B products (soaps, salts & lotions), just saw the entire line at a discount chain here in the northeast. The lotions smelled vile, really putrid. The soaps, maybe 3 oz (guessing) priced @ $2.99 were sealed tight, couldn't get a whiff.

    They should have stuck to just candles, over wicked and burned horribly but at least they smelled good.......at first. :rolleyes2

    Much success to you!

    Frosted Jars?

    in General Candle Making Discussions

    Posted

    I'm considering switching to frosted jars. Would anyone happen to know if they hold fingerprints easily? It seems like even just the natural oils in people's hands would cause spots on these jars?? It seems like they would get dirty quickly.

    Any responses would be appreciated.

    Thanks!

    Yes, oily fingerprints will show and wet spots are not in any way camouflaged by the frosting. They are best boxed or kept well out of reach!

    Hard to mix fo's

    in General Candle Making Discussions

    Posted

    Using straight paraffin wax with 6% fo, weighed on my to-the-gram scale. Added wax at 175 and stirred and stirred and stirred. Also stirred again when did repour at 185. And it still had blobs!!!! :(

    Are you adding vybar or any other additives to your straight paraffin?

    Vybar will make a difference!

    Try mixing nice and easy with a wire whisk...keep it low, you do not want to whip air into the mix.

    Also check with the manufacturer of your wax, you may need to heat it to 200 F.

    Hard to mix fo's

    in General Candle Making Discussions

    Posted

    I posted a slightly contradictory answer in the duplicate thread but maybe I'm wrong.

    I can see the value of pre-heating the FO to prevent temperature drop if you're mixing it into an unheated pouring pot. But let's say the pouring pot is heated so that's not an issue...

    Is there still an advantage to pre-heating vanilla? It gets hot when it's put in the wax anyway. Or does it just work and we don't necessarily know why?

    Some routinely as a preemptive step do warm vanillas and heavy fos. Others, although the success rate is not high will try it when all else fails. Personally, when a fo causes problems, I simply don't use it.

    The only time I have warmed fo is when there is evidence of crystallization in the bottle due to cold temperatures. Warming should be done by sitting the contained appropriate amount in a bowl of warm water for just a few minutes. Never ever in the microwave or direct heat!

    When incorporating heavy fos into wax, your formulation and procedure must be perfect. Your wax has to be hot enough and all weights must be accurate. In a paraffin formulation a few extra grains of vybar can help to bind but know that overuse may lockup the scent. Another method of last resort in order to save your tester, is to pour your wax through a coffee filter to trap the errant fo. If and when that should happen it's time to move on and continue your search for a compatible fo.

    Hard to mix fo's

    in General Candle Making Discussions

    Posted

    I know that some fo's are hard to mix but how long does it realistically take to mix in (I know, how long is a piece of string)? I have stirred vanilla fo for over 5 mins and it still seems to sit on the bottom of the pot, also the wax temp has dropped considerably in that time if taken off the heat. What's worse - to keep stirring while wax is heating or to take it off the heat but then reheat when fo finally mixes (if at all :cry2:)?

    Will try to help but need to know the following:

    What wax are you using?

    Are you using a scale?

    How much fo and did you weigh it?

    What temp. did you add the fo?

    Certain FO's kill bacteria

    in General Candle Making Discussions

    Posted

    Hmmmm..."lost in translation," perhaps? ;)

    Found some interesting links researching this topic...

    Contact info for one of the researchers:

    Dr Lindsey Gaunt, School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, tel. 023 8059 5163; email lfw@ecs.soton.ac.uk

    http://www.soton.ac.uk/Press/PressReleases/Name,3628,en.php

    Abstract and Keywords of All Papers Presented to 6th IEJ-ESA Joint Symposium

    http://streamer.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~iesj/joint04WEBabstract.htm

    9p-6 The Antibacterial Effects of Ionized Vapours Emitted from Candles

    Sabrina Higgins, Lindsey Gaunt and John Hughes

    School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton

    It is known that ionized species such as those generated by a corona discharge can have bactericidal effects and that similar ionized species are emitted from the flame of a candle. Liquid contact tests have shown that certain volatile compounds have antimicrobial effects. This research aimed to explore the combined bactericidal effects of ionized species emitted from a candle flame and volatile compounds present within candle wax. The essential oils of orange, palmarosa, may chang and thyme as well as a constituent of tea tree oil; β–pinene, were incorporated into the molten candle mixture. These candles were tested against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), (gram negative and gram positive respectively), in an enclosed booth with a volume of 2.7m3. Results show that a candle containing any one of these volatiles has a greater antibacterial effect than a plain wax candle or the vapour from the volatiles alone.

    K/W: Antibacterial, Essential oil, Ionized species, Candle, E. coli, S. aureus, β-pinene, Thyme, Orange, Palmarosa, May chang.

    And stumbled upon this...unrelated but fascinating nonetheless:

    Click on "Quality Inspection Specs"

    http://www.kerzenguete.com/english/home.htm

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