adillenal

Unless you have a market for large amounts of soap already in place, I would think it would be more economical to start small with manageable size molds and build your own business. That is what many soapmakers do. I started several years ago as a hobby which expanded but I did not need a bunch of high priced equipment to get started. I use plastic buckets for lye solution and SS stock pots to mix in. Wooden molds with silicon liners and a rolling rack from Sam's (less than $100) for curing. Labels from my home computer and laser printer and I paid as I went so my business is debt free.

If she had wholesale accounts in place with large orders rolling in every month that would be a different story.

I use plain old Chlorox diluted.

I personally do not like salt bars made with anything other than 90% coconut oil and 10% castor. I tried one with cocoa butter and it dragged across my skin. Oh and I make goat milk salt bars.

I don't know about the co-op but this site sells them. $50.00 minimum purchase.

www.craftwholesalers.com

I googled crocheted bath poufs years ago and found some patterns. I crochet them when I am at shows and it is slow. I cannot just sit or stand or rearrange soap all day without something to occupy my mind. Plus people are always stopping to ask what I am making. I use cotton yarn and I sell them for $5.00 each and can't keep them. I am totally out right now since my last few shows have been too busy to crochet. Which is good. I use one at home and it has been through the washing machine many many times and still looks good. And I doubt seriously if it is a breeding ground for bacteria.

People seem to love them because they are 100% cotton.

Well, most employees at those stores have no clue what they have. I just go to the plumbing section and it is usually there. Our local Ace Hardware carries lye as well as every TSC (Tractor Supply) I have been in carries lye. And yes it is much higher to buy local by the pound or two pound conatiners. I buy it in an emergency situation.

I love my upland with cut lines. Makes it real easy to cut that slab.

I use Publisher and I think it works quite well.

Cheap plastic shaker sounds like a good choice. I have never seen plastic shakers but then I haven't been looking either.

:laugh2:Tupperware better not break as much as it costs these days. Thanks for the suggestion.

I use the coffee beans but managed to drop the glass container at my last show and shattered it all over the street so I am trying to come up with an unbreakable container to replace it with.

He has a section labeled soap and lotion fragrances.

I think your study proves my belief that the FO makes more of a difference in the color of my GM soap than oils or temperature of the milk etc.

Thanks for sharing

Yes, I would use fresh 100% goat milk.

Not for $100. That would be about 30 minutes of a lawyer's time so it would not be worth it to me and I quit worrying about the principle of the thing years ago. Getting mellow in my old age I guess. My time is worth more than that.

I use propay but I just use a knucklebuster at shows since I don't have time to be fooling with calling in or using a computer to do cc sales since I work alone.

I input all of the data when I get home and in 3 years of using it have never had a problem with a card.

I am in Texas and it is the same here as it is for candybee. My shopping cart is set up to charge sales tax on Texas residents only.

Whether someone else charges tax or not isn't a concern for you. You need to do it the right way. When you file your first sales tax with the state, you will understand a lot better since the forms are self explanatory (in my opinion) I file online since the website figures everything as you enter your data.

When I purchase from other TEXAS websites, I am charged sales tax if it is retail purchase. If I am buying from a supplier, I have to give them my sales tax # to keep from paying tax. I also supply my sales tax # to out of state suppliers if they require it for their records.

I wonder why the state comptrollers office can't explain it to you correctly?

http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/sales/

Well, I don't make candles and I have product liability insurance for my soaps. And yes, I am sure there are plenty of people selling at craft shows with no insurance but I love my house, and car and boat etc and would rather not lose them for lack of product liability insurance.

So I agree with the need for insurance. I belong to the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild and I get the membership and the insurance for $500 a year.

Not sure what terms to use but I recall that this subject has been discussed here many times. You might want to try different words and search. SHould be a lot of info already available here.

You will not regret your decision to close down shop since your children will always remember you were there for them. My DH went from being a head coach to an assistant so he could be in the same school as our son. He has never regretted going backwards in his career since he was able to attend everything DS participated in.

And I understand the emotional rollercoaster ride about your decision also. AND you can always go back to making candles when your youngest graduates.

And I am impressed that you would publicly apologize.

In my area, I can't sell a gift basket for anything so I quit trying them. I only do gift baskets as donations to organizations now.

If I waited on random people to "find" my website I would never sell anything due to the huge number of sites. I don't sell candles but soap and lotion.

My online sales come from people that have bought or received my product as a gift. Slowly but surely I am developing a decent amount of online sales but I have had the website for 3 years. It is a slow process to build a business.

I am on facebook and picked up a couple of sales from there so it is another option.

Glycerin is a humectant but I only use 1 - 2 % as too much can cause a sticky feeling.

It's been a while since I ordered anything from Daystar but if my memory serves me, it just showed up on my front porch one day. No notice.

I have a contact for simon caleb. simon@simoncaleb.com

He is in CA but the emu oil comes from a plant in OK so the shipping was not bad for me since I am in Texas. I have been using this oil for goat milk lotions for the past 3 years with no problems. I bought the first Simon emu oil in a coop and was pleased with the product. He does not always have oil available though.

I can also buy it from a couple of local emu producers but it is much higher in price per gallon so even with shipping, Caleb's emu oil is less expensive. Even though all of it is processed at the same plant in OK.

I also have the land of milk and honey emu oil that I use for personal use straight from the container. I store it in the refrigerator so have not detected any problems. I buy a at least a gallon a year for my use as well as other family members. So the quality is not that big of an issue for me.

It depends on what you are going to do with it. I could not bring myself to make soap with simon's emu oil but I do make some with the land of milk and honey due to the price.

If you have to respond ( I would ignore) say no I cannot accept your offer. period.