CatlinPM

I was studying latin at the same time that we were trying to come up with a business name and I wanted something unique but that had meaning. I looked up a couple of different things the first was obviously candle which in latin is candela but that is also candle in spanish and probably several other languages and I wanted something that most people wouldn't be able to figure out. Eventually I came upon Candeo (pronounced Can-Day-Oh by the way, most people say Candy-Oh) which means "to shine, glow, grow brilliant, sparkle" Since I was making palm wax candles this fit even more perfectly and it was immediately decided. Candeo Candle Factory...

One of my new favorites is English Garden from CS! It's floral but is also has some green notes to it like Ivy maybe? If you have ever smelled Heather from peaks it is similar but about 10 times stronger and much more complex. I just added it to my line 2 weeks ago and it is already a hit.

I don't know how to find out which suppliers buy there oils from where, but I came across this the other day at the national candle association... http://www.candles.org/nca_suppliers.html#FragranceS/Flavors It lists all the suppliers that are registered with the NCA including many fragrance oil suppliers.

My favorite is also Peak's and CS I almost always just by lbs of oil right off from either of them. I also recently tried Bert's oils and I was really impressed, I'll definitely be back to try more!

Ok let me rephrase this than, I would like to have a piece of paper laying out my terms where they may or may not sign at the bottom. I'm just not sure how it should be structured... I'm really just wanting to see what other people have done so I can make sure I'm doing it right. I know that it's a requirement to have either the other persons tax id number or a copy of their license for wholesaling purposes right? Isn't that something you would want them to put on paper along with their business name, location etc....? I guess I just assumed that if they were already filling out this info, signing at the bottom would be no big deal? I guess I'm just really not sure what most people do, and I want to make sure that these more experienced retailers i'm dealing with don't laugh their butts off at me

It's not really a contract I'm after so much as laying out my terms on paper so that we're all on the same page so to speak. I just want to make sure that they are clear on my policies. I'm thinking that this same page will also incorporate and order sheet of some kind as i will be meeting with these three prospective wholesale customers in person. I kind of want to make this legitimate and as solid as possible, I've already gotten burnt and don't want to go there again...

I know this has been asked oh so many times before... I'm trying to put together a wholesale contract as I have 3 stores interested in buying my candles wholesale. I have several ideas of what I want to put in there such a minimum first order and reorder, lead times, payment terms, scent minimums etc... I just really have no idea how to lay it all out on paper? If anyone has a sample contract they would be willing to share I would be greatly appreciative!

That was pretty much my line of thought as well. Peaks is just better. Both me and my husband agree on this and I just wanted to make sure it wasn't just us Thank you all for your input! Peak's it is!

You should try Cucumber Melon from Bert's if you haven't already. It's awesome, a very crisp sweet smell. It's more of a cantaloupe smell than honeydew,but it's delicious! I just introduced it to my line last week and the response has been huge.

I ordered a sample of plumeria from both peaks and cs and I like both of them but they are definitely different. Personally I think I am leaning towards Peaks, but does anyone know what plumeria is supposed to smell like and which one is closer? Any opinions would be appreciated!

Peaks also has an awesome lilac FO, very strong!

Mistletoe (CS) Red Hot Cinnamon (CS) Homemade Apple Pie (KY) Peppermint (Peaks) Gingerbread (Peaks)

I just have to say, I tried this recipe with a few modifications and.... Holy Moly!! This stuff is awesome! I have horribly dry skin that is extremely sensitive and normally when I put lotion or cream on it just soaks in and 30 minutes - 2 hours later, my skin feels dry again! This stuff glides on so easily, soaks in quickly, and keeps my skin feeling soft and moisturized forever! You can tell that it's not just a quick fix like most stuff out there, it's actually moisturizing and healing to your skin! Here's what I modified... 15.6 ozs Water 1.5 ozs Palm Steric 1.5 ozs Beeswax (That's what I had) 7 ozs Olive OIl .5 ozs castor oil 2.5 ozs shea butter .5 ozs cocoa butter .20 ozs coconut oil .3 ozs FO Gardenia .10 ozs Vit E .15 ozs cornstarch I didn't have any preservative besides vit e but this will be used quickly and just for me, so hopefully it will be ok! I wanted to also say thanks for the new addiction, because now that I know how good homemade beauty products are i'm not going back!!

WOW! Your swirls are gorgeous!

Thank you everybody for the responses! I agree I love backwoods FO's! Every FO I have tried from them so far I love, and I have a list that just keeps growing of new ones I want to try...

That sounds like a good idea. I use liquid dye when I make candles and I do it that way too. I kinda figured there was going to be alot of testing involved in making soap! That's what I look forward too!

I understand how to use the parts but as an example, with the blue sugar I was trying to go for the darkest shade of deep ocean for CPSOAP. It calls for 1 purple velvet, 1/2 aquamarine, and 1 marmalade. I understand that I could do 1/2 tsp purple velvet, 1/4 tsp aquamarine, and 1/2 tsp marmalade if I chose 1/2 tsp as my part. What I was confused about is the usage recommendation for the shade you are going for on the chart. The deepest shade of deep ocean suggests a usage rate of 1tsp per lb of soap. Is that what you should use as your part for this shade? So I should use 1tsp purple velvet, 1/2tsp aquamarine, and 1tsp marmalade to achieve this color? I think I got confused because i read somewhere that you shouldn't exceed 1tsp of colorant per lb of soap or it would color your lather. That and I'm overthinking this... I used 1/2 tsp purple velvet 1/4tsp aquamarine and 1/2 tsp marmalade and it still turned green. Maybe it's my recipe? There's no olive oil in there though. Oh well, I guess I should probably do a color test beforehand in the future :smiley2:.

These are some of my first soaps. I should specify that these aren't my first ones I have made about 5 batches before these but didn't feel they were pic worthy. Cocoa Butter Soap, Unscented Pumpkin Soap, with Pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice added Scented with Backwoods Pumpkin Cornbread. I tried to swirl in the pot and this is what i got... Coffee Scrubby Soap with coffee used instead of water and ground coffee added. Scented with Backwoods Hazelnut Coffee Peppermint Soap, Scented with peaks Peppermint This was my first time using select shades and I was going for red but that's ok, I like the way they came out anyway. That is crushed candy cane that you see on the top by the way. Blue Sugar Soap scented with Backwoods Blue Sugar. I don't think I'm using the select shades right because this was supposed to be blue but obviously came out green. Hmmm... And I topped this one with turbinado sugar. I'm assuming the scented portion (the white portion) is going to discolor to brown? And this is my latest batch, Goats milk, oatmeal and honey. I used the fresh meyenberg goats milk and added about 3/4 cup finely ground oatmeal and about 2tbsp honey. It's scented Peaks wild mountain honey. If anyone has any tips for using select shades I would be grateful, I was using the chart but wasn't sure what the usage amounts meant which is probably why my colors came out funky. Is usage the total amount of colorant that you should use per lb of soap? Anyway, thanks for looking!

The only place I could find freezer paper around here was at Wal-mart, none of the regular grocery stores seemed to have it.

Ok, I went and bought some at Lowe's just because I really really want to make soap and I don't want to wait for shipping right now. It was $7.60 per 2lb bottle, (ok actually my mom bought it because she works at Lowe's and gets a discount ). I knew about Snowdrift Farm but was trying not to have to pay shipping. The other places I called which were all chemical companies in the yellow pages all either had to have the lye shipped to them after I ordered (which I would have to pay for) or I would have to buy 50 lbs of it. Oh, well, at least I have my lye! Thank you all for your responses!!

I've called around to a couple of places here in arizona (the phoenix area) and so far haven't found anybody who sells lye in amounts smaller than 50lbs. Does anybody know where I can buy lye here in smaller amounts? I'm going to keep looking but I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask.

I agree with Donita, I'm an avid crocheter and when I first tried knitting in the English method about a year ago, I couldn't get it right. Especially when I'm used to holding the yarn in my left hand and not using such big motions when making stitches. I recently tried knitting again, this time using the Continental method (which I think is what Donita is talking about). When you knit this way you hold the yarn in your left hand and when you switch from knit to pearl its like your just reversing them. For me this method is also so much faster and I was also able to get my tension right doing it this way, where as before my stitches were way too lose on the end rows. Since you crochet this might be an easier way for you to learn knitting, they have videos on youtube for the continental method as well I believe.

I got mine at Sam's Club (actually dh got it for me for Christmas year before last) it was $249 for the Professional HD, I just use mine for food so far though.

I think I figured it out, reading some more on the difference between the two waxes a couple people have said that the C-3 is greasier. Well in one of the bags the flakes are definitely greasier and softer, whereas the other bag seems drier and the flakes are harder.

This is going to sound dumb, but when I first started candlemaking I bought a bag of C-1 and a bag of C-3 from Genwax, and when they came the wax was in a ziplock type bag and was labeled with marker. I played with the wax a little than it got shoved in my cabinet and has been there ever since. I decided it might be fun to try it again today and when I took both bags out of the cupboard I realized the marker that was labeling the bags has rubbed off and now I don't know which one is which?? Is there a way to figure out which one is C-1 and which one is C-3?