FarmerJill

my husband says no to almost everything except

Wild oaks - but doesn't say anything about business

some think I should go country some think more traditional

Mom likes K.D. Essentials

Oh, I'm with hubby! I like Wild Oaks much better than any of the other offerings. But that's just me because I'm not much of an "essentials" or "serenity" spa-type gal and yet obviously you are. That said, I can easily see K.D. Essentials on a label or website.

Just trust your instincts (and research like Prairieannie said) and then when you decide, really commit mentally to it without any second-guessing or worrying what anybody else thinks. Too many opinions can spoil the soup. Naming a business is kind of like naming your kids -you agonize over the decision when they're born but it doesn't take but a blink of the eye to realize you can't imagine them named anything else. Good luck!

Bekka, I'm glad you asked the question. Can I ask another one related to this subject?

For those of you selling clamshell melts, how many of you dye them? I love a nicely colored candle but keep wondering why bother coloring a clamshell full of wax that's just going to get liquified anyway. It's not like its purpose is visual satisfaction. Yet would it seem odd to offer a dyed candle while its clamshell counterpart is dye-free?

We started harvesting strawberries this week - good news, I guess, because it means we'll finish that crop up early this year, maybe even before the 4th of July (Yeah!). But it also means my wax is just sitting and staring at me. I try to apologize to it at least once a day but I'm pretty sure it's still pouting. Maybe have to schedule a midnight rendezvous....

Just a thought - when I'm shopping online one of my pet peeves is when there isn't an option to take a close-up look at an item. Or, just as bad, the larger picture is too fuzzy to make out any detail. IMO, asking people to buy online is asking them to take a major leap of faith - especially with products where the fragrance IS the selling point - so the visuals need to be extra good.

I ran across a webpage quite a while back that briefly talked about doing imprints after the candle was made, using common household items - hex nuts, cookie cutters - which had been heated. And, while I agree the candles in question are so perfect they were probably molded that way, one of the interesting suggestions on the website was to brush a little dye on whatever you're using to imprint before pressing it into the wax. I always thought that could be a cool effect to play around with.

Darn it, we don't need them giving mason jars a bad reputation.

I also have a large box in the entry hall with molds from Nu Scents. Forgot what I even ordered. Donita Louise

Oh, that's the best way to open a delivery - after you've forgotten what you ordered. It's like getting a Christmas present form the UPS man!

I love pink or peach with that color. I'd go for a co-ordinating color rather than trying to match the same shade of blue/green.

This may be a dumb question but in order to promote a product as nut-free would you also have to ensure that your facilities are completely nut-free, meaning none of those other oils could be stored onsite? Not that I'm thinking of going that direction but just for future reference. My workshop is my kitchen and your post got me to thinking of the peanut butter in one cupboard and the jar of Planters in another. I never thought of those as possible sources of problems for people with allergies.

Dharma Trading Co. carries it. That is where I purchase it for dyeing.

HTH

http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/2174-AA.shtml?lnav=chemicals.html

I wonder if there are different grades of it or not. If not, this is a fairly common fertilizer found in farm stores. And, geez, I complained about what I had to pay for it for my strawberries but the prices listed above are...::gulp::...much, much higher.

Willow Hills?

I haven't figured out how I am going to incorporate my candle makers info in but I know I am for sure having it on there. Because I did not make the product I only make the label. So if my buyer has issues they can flip it over and contact the candle maker.

Don't expect any unhappy customers to take that route back to the maufacturer, and rightfully so. They'll come right to you with any complaints and IMO it's all part of being a reseller to gracefully deal directly with a customer over problems and then you go back to your wholesaler to handle the issue later. Imagine having somebody like Walmart try to direct you to GE when the lightbulbs you bought don't work. But the good news is that handling a problem with skill is when your customer service skills should shine, winning you loyal customers.

I had a lady wanting a fireplace smoke. She went from wood burning to gas logs and missed that scent...I asked her isn't that why you changed to gas logs??? Why would you want your house to smell like smoke????????? I found the scent and to me it stunk but she loved it. Some people's children:confused:

Oh, I love the smell of a fireplace! It's the mess of ash and hauling wood that convinced me to switch to gas. It never dawned on me to scent a candle that way but now I'm off in search of a fragrance. Thanks for the idea

Oh! My!! God!!! Now that is art.

I did it once before, but of course I didn't write down the steps and I can not for the life of me figure it out. I want to print different labels on one sheet all at once (ex. van lotion, van butter, etc). Not having any luck with the help file either although that is how I found the directions in the first place. Help anyone???:embarasse

I use Publisher a lot but am not sure I understand the question. (Don't worry, my family tells me that's nothing new ) I'll take a stab at this anyway.

If you're printing a full sheet of labels but want to make them each a little different....

First go into "layout guides" and set up your paper, using columns and rows to simulate your individual labels. With those as a guide, you should be able to set up one label. When you have that one how you want it, go to "edit" and click on "select all". That highlights everything. Do a copy and paste, and then move the new grouping to the appropriate spot on your next blank label space. Fill in all the labels this way first and then go back later to make the fine-tuning changes to each one (i.e. change the word "lotion" to "butter", etc.) Most importantly, save your work. Nothing irritates me more than to go back looking for something and realizing I must not have saved it.

And if this isn't what you were looking for in an answer....sorry...

Connie

and I fell in love with the Pink Sugar, which I was not expecting

I love Peak's Pink Sugar, also, preferring it over some others which came highly recommended. And I agree about not changing the name of Amish Harvest. The people who fall in love with that fragrance won't think of it as seasonal.

Primitive Earth Beads has a good selection of pewter charms if you can meet their minimums. I've never dealt with them, though, but am thinking about it.

IMO, Juniper Breeze is one of those love it or hate it type fragrances - at least that's how the opinions came back from my scent-testers. I used Peak's and, yes, I fell into the "hate it" category.

We use HTP 104 in our jelly, hex and square mason they have always work great for us in all of out scents.

And we use HTP 105 in our square masons because repeated testing gave us a shallower meltpool than the HTP 104s in accu-soy. Thanks to Candleman, at last an explanation!

Yeah, I thought I would just go and buy a little wax, a little FO, or even liquid potpourri because it's cheaper. Then I would pour the wax into some molds (homemade not store bought) let it set, and watch the money flow!!!

Well, you're half-right. The money IS flowing, maybe just not the right direction. :smiley2:

As far as the double boiler you want to use a pot with water in it place a metal cookie cutter or something like that on the bottom to keep your pouring pot up away from the main heat.

Putting a couple of canning jar rings into the bottom pot works like a charm as a double boiler, also. Good luck to you, Leesters