daniedb

Rock on. I'm really impressed!

I like my WYW Tibetan Black Tea grey. It just fits it perfectly.

I also fill them to 3 oz.

Hey Angie! I know all about the late nights, LOL!

http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10742&highlight=emulsified+scrub

What a terrific site! I love it! I also am very intrigued by your parties. I did a sugar scrub party thing for our women's group at church, and it was a blast, but it never occurred to me to do it for birthday or other parties. What a great idea. I really like your pics and the descriptions - although I would love to know - are your soaps CP, or another kind of lye/oils method, or are they M&P? I love handcrafted soap, while M&P can dry out my skin, and I'd love to try some of yours!

Please. Like anyone here has never left a candle by accident. I'm guilty...anyone else? geek - it's beautiful! I think it has your eyes and Mrs. Geek's nose.

OMgosh, ROFL!! Where your candles secret buttons are so it'll NEVER want another chandler. I would love to see what the other posters mentioned, especially trend predictions, maybe some analysis of various markets across the country, what's moving at Market in different regions, maybe have some area for sales reps for either us to advertise for one if we're looking, or the rep to place an ad if s/he's looking for a new line to carry.

That is so exciting! Okay, here's what I recommend for you: Decide on your wholesale terms before you go. I recommend something like the following: -Minimum of 4 of each fragrance in your larger containers, minimum of 6 of each fragrance of smaller ones. -Offer a tester for 1/2 price for every 4 (or 6 of the smaller ones) candles they order. NOT free, but 1/2 price. -Turn around time of 3-4 weeks (or whatever you think is appropriate) -Make sure you have sniffies of each fragrance you carry (in a nicely presented way), not full candles, unless that's all you have. I pour mine into flat 4 oz tins, so there's a large sniffing space, but it still looks clean and simple. -Take in a preprinted order form, with wholesale prices on there, so you can either leave it with her, or even better, take the order right there! Personally, the best advice I can give you is to let your candles do the talking. I'm sure you have amazing stuff, and my tendency is to blabber when I get nervous. I just shut up and make a HUGE effort to respond in monosyllables to comments that don't need a direct answer, and when they ask me questions, I answer as succinctly and compactly as possible, so I don't get all, "oh my gosh, this is totally the most awesome fragrance ever, it's from this place online called XYZ scents and they carry like fifty million fragrances and I've had the hardest time deciding which ones to carry because they're all awesome and cool and so neat and I love making candles and I love you too." Also, did you note the price points on the candles she currently carries? I can tell you that the high-end boutique that carries my stuff wouldn't have looked twice if I had priced them lower. They're targeting a specific market and they're not interested in selling containers for less than a certain amount. So, if you currently are undervaluing your candles, I would definitely bump it up. Be confident and you'll do great! Can't wait to hear about how it goes and how much she orders!

Nuh-uh. Oh, I'm so sorry. What a cruddy thing! I hope you get them repoured quick as a wink and then you get a break from working so hard.

Anyone else have an answer yet? I'm leaning toward the Soapmakers, just because it's close to me. While my son (2 years, 3 months) has spent the night a few times at his grandparents' house (1 block away, LOL!), I've never left him for longer than a few hours at a time, and I'm really looking forward to a mini vacation!

I also have to credit this community for cutting my testing time and experiments in at least half. Chandlers and B&Bers alike are just so uplifting, encouraging and helpful - I wouldn't be half the businessperson I am if this community didn't exist.

I'm with Top on this one. I get this face all the time from other chandlers: :/ But, I've got a great customer base and all kinds of people who are willing to pay what I consider a reasonable price for a high-quality candle. I'm not cranking them out in some factory, these puppies are works of art, darn it!

Your 2.5" would probably do well with a CD 10 or 12, maybe a 14, but I doubt it. I just wicked a bunch of 2.5" tins with 10s, so the glass container may take a 12. The 4" container needs a much larger wick, I would try the 20 and 22 in that, or double wick with a couple of 7s or 8s.

My only suggestion is to try a restaurant supply store. Sorry I can't help you more!

This is just my opinion and my experience, and hopefully it might contibute to your knowledge pool. I have a two-year-old, as I think I've mentioned to you, and I've made one whole batch of soap. Lye is a very caustic chemical, not to be taken lightly. It can be extremely dangerous when one doesn't take the proper precautions. I soaped my batch after Henry was in bed, so he wasn't around, or even remotely in danger of coming in the room. However, I have recently read of two instances where toddlers have suffered lye burns and worse. In one case, the mother was soaping and making dinner, while her child has access to the room with a pitcher of lye water, but in the other case the mother had taken care to place the lye on the highest shelf in her workshop, where her child could not reach. He managed to get a ladder and get up there and eat it anyway. If you have a toddler, you know how fast they can move, and how they can get themselves into difficulties before you can blink. After reading these posts, I am just not ready to have lye in my home, no matter how careful I am and how cautiously I treat it, things can still happen. While Henry is still this young, I just can't take that chance, and if on the remotest chance that something happened, I would never, ever, ever, ever forgive myself. So, I'm putting off CP until he's old enough to understand, really understand, that lye can not only give you an owie, it can give you an OWIE.

Wow, that's weird. Why would you open a store if you don't like people, or talking to them?!

ZOINKS! I just realized that I never responded again, after so many people had taken the time to answer my post. I'm sorry. I really can't tell you how supported I feel in my journey to discover what I need to make sure my priorities are in order. Knowing that there are so many mothers and other women who understand my dilemma and are so supportive in whatever route I choose is highly encouraging. I literally had tears in my eyes last night when I was reading your responses, and the graciousness and support you had for me during my struggle. The thing is, when I've had to make difficult decisions in the past, no matter what the emotions and feelings are behind it, when I've made the *right* decision, I always have an overwhelming sense of peace. When I think about continuing, or only doing wholesale, I still feel conflicted and confused. Then, when I seriously consider selling and taking a break for a while from the business aspect, while still able to do it as a hobby, I have that peaceful sense deep down in my spirit. So, I'm going to continue to pray, but I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your support and kind words and thoughts. I heart you guys!

Which one are you going to? I live just outside of SA, but my in-laws live in the Houston area, so I could theoretically go to either. Which one are you going to, and why? If I don't make soap, but I make other B&B (but I love handcrafted soap), will I even have fun at the Soapmakers Convention? And I also saw that the Soapmakers website says to bring some handcrafted items to show off? Do you just bring a sampling of your line to share your stuff with others? I'm a dork at this sort of thing.

Amen, brotha! I just cannot fathom how people can make a dime off their candles and B&B lines when they charge what they do - I know I'm on the high end of the spectrum, but when I factor in my costs and do the 2x, 3x thing, that's what I get! And I've got a great client base.

I love the simple, clean look! Beautiful!

LOL, Marisa. (I'm in love with your lip balm). The thing is, I'm so blessed that my income (which is nothing) is not necessary for me to stay home...we have a budget that allows me to stay home, without any income on my part, KWIM? I think that's one reason why it's so hard to keep doing it, because it's just a fun thing, a choice, on my part. Does that make sense? If I had to do it to support the family, you can bet your bippy I wouldn't make a peep. I guess my struggle is - I stay home for a reason, you know? I've been feeling like I literally work at home, a full-time job...while Henry just sits around neglected. A few months ago, I made the decision to quit working while he was awake, I only allow myself to work when he's napping or asleep at night...so that helps a lot, he gets my undivided attention during his waking hours, and I get to do my thing while he's asleep. And whatever I can't handle during those hours, well, I just say sorry, no can do! It's working okay, but I'm just trying to plan ahead for when we add another to the family, in which case, all bets are off, LOL!

Holy smokes, I don't see that you have any choice, you've got to either take the candles back or have her rectify the situation immediately. I'm really sorry if this is judgmental, but dang, what ignorance! How can you run a successful store if you do what some random customer told you to, unless she's full of it, and just wanted to and made that up. I agree with the liability issue, however, the good news is that it gives you a perfect excuse without looking like a bad guy. "It's illegal to sell them without my contact information, and we would both be liable and could lose everything if someone sued. I know you don't want to lose your store, and I don't want to lose my home, so I'll just relabel them." And then add, "...and if you ever mutilate my labels again, I'll just cut off an inch or two of something of yours."

Oh my gosh, y'all are so inspiring! I can't tell you how much your words mean to me. Thank you so much for your support and encouragement. I'm not ready to sell out yet, but I have to say that this business is an incredible strain on my time and energy. With a 2-year-old, and the plan to have more, I'm really trying to prioritize, and honestly, as much as I respect many child care centers, that's just not an option for us - Henry will be going to preschool in the fall, two mornings a week for 2.5 hours each morning, but hopefully by then, we'll be preparing for another baby, so it's not like I'll be able to work all those hours. Here's the list of obstacles that I'm struggling with: - My house is always a wreck. Always. No, it's not the end of the world, but I have a strong desire for my home to be clean and tidy and welcoming to guests and a comfortable place to be. Right now, I don't have time for that. - I can't cook dinner, fold laundry, garden, bake, etc., expect for random snippets of time. I really miss that. I love it, and I just want to be a "homemaker" again. - And the big one.....I don't have insurance. I keep having nightmares that someone sues us and we lose it all. All of it, even the house I can't keep clean. I can't find it, I haven't busted my butt to find it, that's true, but I'm discouraged. - It takes 3x the amount of time to package and label the stuff to ship that it does to make it, which is the part I love. I know I could hire someone, but I just can't afford that. I spent a few thousand investing in the business, buying 25 pounds of this and 5 gallons of that, so we could maximize our profits, and every penny I make above and beyond supplies goes back to paying that self-loan back. So...there you have it. At heart, I'm just a mama, and I desperately miss my child. I actually have been praying about this issue for months, literally, and I think there may be a middle ground - I'm thinking about discontinuing selling from my website (which is what takes the majority of my time, making small order and packaging and labeling, y'all know how it is), and go the strictly wholesale route. I've got a great account right now, and a few more on the horizon after I was on the SA Living show...so maybe that will be a good compromise. That way, it's a couple of days of hard work, and then I'm off for a few weeks again. Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart, for the encouragement, this is such an awesome community. And to those who answered my questions - thank you. I do understand that part of the value is in the name, and I can't decide if my hesitation to hold on to the name is worth taking less for the biz if I do decide to sell. Thanks for the input and information. My BIL is a CPA, I think I may get him to do a quick and dirty valuation of the biz both ways...we'll see what he comes up with. sudsnwicks - that's an intriguing idea. I like it. I like it a lot. Know anyone?!

Oh, pshaw! I got my question answered, I don't care about no sinkin' hijack! And in fact, to add to the hijack: my dad has recently taken to calling the H-Bomb "Grommit". I've never seen the movie, so I don't know if that's good or bad, LOL! Kidding, of course, he adores the kid. Don't we all.