KimOCandles

1) make sure you have enough supplies for everything (including paper towels, so you're not having to ration them out ) 2) let the answering machine be your friend (see many of the previous posts) 3) don't keep plants near the wax, OR don't force a slab of wax into your melter (3 ruined violets and my favorite candle making shirt was lost in that discovery, luckily I blinked just in time) 4) be very careful putting in 8 hours of candlemaking AFTER 8 hours of work (luckily, only one minor mistake on that one) 5) test, test, test, test, test, test, oh, did I mention TEST? KimO

Bev, If you are talking about the fire that took place in the Festus, MO area, that is under investigation now for a suspicious homicide. I wasn't aware that they had 100 candles burning (btw, this was in the early hours of the morning, like 4:00-5:00 o'clock, and mom was away) but last I heard there *might* have been an accelarnt (sp?) like kerosene at the apartment. Gives you chills though. Makes you wonder with people though. It doesn't matter how safe a candle you have, you ARE still having a fire lit in your house, and you STILL have to be careful. It's not the candle's fault, it's the @#$@# idiots fault for having, oh, a freaking 100 candles lit, or burning a candle under a flammable item such as a curtain (or, as one of my co-worker's teenagers did, a freakin' paper towel-luckily no damage, caught it before it caught on fire) you have to use common sense. Unfortunately, that seems to be missing with a lot of people these days. KimO

Deputy-I feel your pain, try LIVING in the same town as Crowe's :rolleyes2 but hey, I am slowing stealing buz away from Crowe's they are HIGHLY over rated (thought that YEARS before I even thought of starting my business) but, hard to compete. I do avoid some shows that they go to because it's hard to compete, BUT I go to the local smaller shows because they don't bother, but I am trying to slowly sneak away the local customers that are disgruntled with them and their product. I am surprised that they are going to Indiana, guess the local show coordinaters are slowly getting tired of their stunts (he he) It'll all catch up with them eventually. Well, just get ready for the next one, that's all you can do. Good luck on your next show! KimO

Yep, they are here in my home town. But, I hold my own against them though People around here buy from them, but I am slowly getting buz from them, some plain don't like them (either their candles, or their personality, but hey, a sale is a sale-they are getting a little uppity for their "country" roots) I'll probably never be as big as them (although I WISH were) but hey, I take what I can get. So they are heading up to Indiana now. Hmmm, guess some of the shows 'round here are running them out... Oh, the stories I could tell...:lipsrseal KimO

May need to bump up to 62's. When I used straight j50, my large is a 3 1/4" diameter, and some fo's needed bumped to 62's. Most worked with the 60's, but a few needed the 62's. I would try that on the zinc's before throwing in the towel. Can't help you on the lx's. I use lx's now, but I use a j50/soy blend now, so can't help you much, except I do have to go all the way up to 30 sometimes on some fo's, but 24's are *usually* the key for me on my blend. HTH & Good luck! KimO

Well, I've done 2 September shows, which were repeat shows from last year, and they did about the same as last year, so I am happy. Wish I could have done more, but did 10x booth, so I am happy. But, I am NOT holding my breath. I am approaching each show with trepidation (sp?) We will take it as they come. I am going to try to push outside sales to boost sales as much as possible, and try to get some home shows and wholesale accounts (need to anyway). Good luck to all! KimO

What all do you guys have for your wholesale terms? I am *finally* getting around to putting my terms and junk down into writting instead on winging it (darn it, I want my wholesale accounts, all of my accounts have gone belly up or quit ordering , so I am going after some accounts!) Anyway, I finally decided on better pricing and went on ahead and added my small jars, those are the ones everyone always asked on, I won't make much $$ on them, but I am putting a high case order on them for that reason. ANYWAY, back to the topic at hand. I am NOT net 30 days or anything (I won't go through trying to track down $$ again, which is why I am not trying to get back one wholesale account) but other than that, what are your others terms & conditions? Sorry, am in a rambling mood today:D KimO

Try living with someone that closed minded. I don't even bother preaching to him. He has even seen the improvements on our son's skin. I figure, if he wants to scratch his horrible eczema skin down to BLOOD (he wakes up in the middle of the night to scratch) so be it. I give up. His loss. His discomfort. I am NOT going to lose sleep over it. But, I understand the frustration. sending hugs! KimO

1) Do NOT face West. Do NOT NOT NOT face West. Did I mention do NOT face West? 2) Stay out of the sun (see number 1) 3) Put your sides up (but have bungee cords and/or zip ties available to raise/lower sides when shade allows to take advantage of semi-cool breezes-if they come along). 4) Ask for a shady spot if possible. 5) Stay off of the pavement if possible. 6) If you don't have a tent yet, get one. Buy a white top, not a colored one. I had a olive green one last year with a 10x10 base and a 8'6"x8'6" top. This year I bought Lowe's aluminum backed 10x10 for $199 (sidewall are extra) BUY IT! Costco's and Sam's Club's are not aluminum backed, therefore they are not as shady, therefore not quite as cool. The lady next to me this past weekend (the plant lady as mom and I call her) had a shadier spot, but we had a cooler tent, except when she had a breeze-she had her sidewalls down, whereas I didn't-I couldn't due to sun. Oh, and the temps got to 100 degrees. Only had 3 candles (container) melt (out of 29 cases), and zapped them with my heat gun when I got home. Now, some of the others got a little soft on the apothocary on the edges, and the other jars NOTHING! Mom and I were worse for wear than the candles. Good luck! KimO P.S. Okay, I'll try to make an actual post sometime later, but I'll post here, since you'll be doing a possible hot show. Here's a way to have some power to power some "real" fans for a hot show. Supplies: 1) Car battery (cheap 29.00 wal-mart battery works) 2) battery charger (the kind for car batteries) 3) converter (you can get this by the car batteries at wal-mart, be sure to pick one out that can carry the wattage for what you want to power, but remember, the more wattage you power, the quicker your battery will be spent) 4) alligator clips (again, by the car batteries) 5) cigeratte (sp?) plug in, female end, can be found in the automotive section at wal-mart, be sure to buy the one that has the wires attached, cost will be in the $7-8.50 range. 6) fan(s) 7) extension cord (optional) Directions: Charge car battery!!!! They will not be charged enough to run all day. On our trial run, fully charged at home, we ran 2 regular table top fans, totaling 1 amp, for almost 12 hours. Now, when I ran this setup at my show this past weekend, on both days, it quit after 5 hours both days, and then work for a few minutes and quit for a few minutes, we THINK due to an OLD converter. I will buy a new one and see. I know this setup works 'cause I have seen other people do it. Now, after battery is charged, you will need to soider (sp) the wires of the female cigeratte lighter plug (you know what I am talking about? the kind that is in your car) to the alligator clips. Attach the alligator clips to the battery, positive to positive, negative to negative (if not sure, and make sure you are sure, ASK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, btw, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE be careful, if you are like me and not mechicanically inclined, please have someone help you!) Anyway, plug converter into cig. lighter plug, plug fan into converter, and turn on fan, and VIOLA! If you are using multiple fans, turn each one on one at a time. If you have questions, PM me and I'll try to make myself clearer. KimO P.S. Please forgive the misspellings, it's getting late and I am going to BED! KimO

Nope, in fact, a semi-local chandler and I both do occasional shows that we kinda know each others stock and if someone comes into each others booth and requests a certain scent that we know the other has, we send them to the other person's way. She carries the herbal, I am heavy into the floral (she gags when she pours floral, whereas I LOVE the florals). We compete, but scratch each others back whenever we can, AND we try to take business away from a competitor that ISN'T very nice BUT is VERY big in our area. Hey, whatever works KimO.

Well, what a BUST!!!! Ice cream, food and even lemonade didn't sell, that is how bad this festival was, and this is the biggest in the area. I'm sure many in the St. Louis area have heardof the Jour de Fete show, and talk about a BUST! This is my third year here and what a horrible miserable show this year. I pray this is not a foretelling of shows to come for fall. Hopefully the heat and high gas prices is what kept the people away. My next show is after Labor Day and supposedly gas prices will be better after Labor Day. Luckily though, only two or three candles melted bad enough (out of nearly 30 cases) and they are repairable. Ug, how depressing. Didn't even make expenses. At least I made booth and gas and some of what I sold. Oh well. Oh, that the t-storm hit, luckily dh called and warned me so mom & I were able to pack up and get the heck out of dodge just before the bucket loads of rain hit. :rolleyes2 Better luck next time. KimO

Yeah, til the converter got too hot to work, it was that dang HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll post a parts list and everything when my brain isn't so fried. Darn, I am backspacing as much as I am typing 4-5 hours sleep isn't enough. Gonna go shower and SLEEP! KimO

I feel your pain. I just did the first half of my show today and man, was it HOT HOT HOT. Luckily, no damages, other than to my BRAIN. But, it is thunderstorming as we speak, so we'll see what STORM damages I'll take on now. GRR, if it's not heat, it's now storm. AND, NO FREAKIN' SALES!!!!!!!!!! I don't know whether to laugh or to cry, and this is my biggest show of the year. I haven't even made booth. Man, I need tequila, but alcohol gives me migraines. Grrr. Oh well, next show. KimO

Well, did my first day of my "biggest" show of the year and, drumroll please..... a whopping $60.00. :cry2: With a booth rental of $90.00. And a total of $45.00 gas (with more to buy tomorrow). And 100 degree weather. And thunderstorms as we speak. Grrr. I hope a miracle happens tomorrow. The only good thing is that EVERYONE had HORRIBLE sales. Doesn't help my pocketbook one little bit though, just my ego and pride. This does not bode well for my fall shows. Tequila anyone? KimO

Jim, I don't know if it's your candles or your nose. Have you tried asking someone else to burn your candles? My mom helps me burn my candles, because I truly believe my nose gets "overwhelmed" by the candles from time to time. And, there for a while, due to my mom's job (she works in a factory where she is exposed to chemicals, and the inside of her nose was kinda raw, she couldn't smell ANYTHING). I know another chandler who has complained to her dh that she couldn't smell a candle, but dh could smell the candle just fine. Before pulling your hair out, try asking a trusted friend/family member to test a candle or two for you for scent throw only (leave the wick burning part up to you) and see what they think. Maybe your nose needs a break. Lord knows that with the mega testing we have been through here trying to get through my formula change our noses could use a break, but I can't bear the thought of no candle burning . Good luck with your testing! KimO P.S. Oh, and chanting usually helps too:D