Violetsexoticcandles

I agree with Stella- Ecosoya PB is great. Totally different (as well as better, imo) than V1. Wicking was a challenge, though. But pricewise, depending on where you are, you may be paying a lot no matter what, like someone else said...

I've seen 'info' being sold on Ebay that I'm sure anyone could find on here or elsewhere....

Exchanged for free? Sure! Seen it here as well as elsewhere...

Bottom line, even with those supposed 'secrets,' you still have to test the heck out of any candle you make... down to the scent, wax and wick! Or you could fudge it and try to use someone else's combos, not realizing they may not work for you, therefore causing yourself to own a bad rep. Just MHO.

That being said, there is nothing wrong with exchanging info on tips and wick, wax and scent combos... it is, however, an 'at your own risk' type deal... if you don't test, test, test, no guarantee you're going to be happy with your product, and definitely no guarantee your customer will be.

I actually considered selling 'candle kits' on Ebay, but really, there's so much involved and it's really not all that simple. So let the Michael's and AC Moore's take the liability, I say. Me, I just like makin candles...

Food exports keep our economy going and soy prices are pure supply and demand no matter who is president. Price controls never have worked only leads to shortages. Solar, wind and hydrogen will not help much too little too late. More drilling (we have plenty of oil) nuclear and coal are the answer to energy independence. Lead on a few toys have nothing to do with the problem.

Banirs

NOT wanting to start an argument here, but there is a very LARGE ski resort near me that is totally run on wind energy, enough to fuel around 5 billion homes yearly. Oh and yes, let's just drill, drill, drill until nothing's left of our natural environment. Not saying it's "not" ok to use our natural resources... but why not set a few million windmills in place and see what happens? Drr... because the powers that be will not make $ off of it like they do oil!

And if you have kids, you SHOULD care about what lead can do to kids. Period.

As usual, you hit the nail right on the head, Stella. It's really not about going 'green.' It's the market economy and what's 'popular.' People really need to do their research and understand that a lot of the stuff they are reading is so market-driven it's ridiculous. I live in Upstate NY and the NYC people (forgive me for the stereotype) insist they are doing good by buying soy candles (I don't mislead them, by the way) instead of petro candles... But they drive their expensive SUVs and burn fuel that is 'harming' our environment. They buy land that could be used for farming and build billion dollar homes.... and bitch if they cannot buy acres of land for said purposes (for a NYC retreat or whatever). We are all seemingly subject to those who make more $, in the long run. A fair market economy is a joke. Communism is better, in my opinion, than capitalism...

At least we would all be broke! (Just joking...)

The dead white guys set this crap in place...

Isn't it time for our integrated society to band together and say ENOUGH!? We, as little people, cannot afford to deal with being bullied by the TOP 5%. Nor have we ever.

It's time for us to take a stand, really, and stop believing everything we read.

Biofuel demands are making a dent in the market and it's such a shame for several reasons. Biofuel is NOT an efficient replacement for petroleum fuels. It still pollutes (a hydrocarbon is still a hydrocarbon). Using arable land to grow fuel is insane. When food crops begin rising as a result, people will start howling. We NEED to put the technology we already have in terms of wind, solar, wave and hydrogen to work! A 100 mile square windfarm could power at least half of the US. Britain uses wave motion to generate power for some of its cities. They have a fraction of the coastline that the US does... With the money we've spent on war in the last decade, we could've put solar panels on the tops of every home in this country! Moving this country toward ethanol and other biofuels is an unnecessary step, unless one has a lot of interest in petroleum and bigtime agriculture and wants to make a buttload of money along the way... If BMW can make a hydrogen hybrid, couldn't also the least expensive model on the market? And for those who think the US government cannot handle big expansive projects like that and must contract large jobs to the private sector... to greedy contractors, subcontractors and sub-subcontractors, all dipping their beaks and driving up the prices of big projects (look at the "blue roof" fiasco after Katrina), I would remind them to take a look at the TVA and Hoover Dam projects as well as how long it took us to put a man on the moon. This government CAN do amazing projects in the common interest of people if it will STOP trying to act like a business and more like a government by, for and of the people. Government shouldn't run like a business because a business is profit oriented! The problems we see today are the failings of a capitalist system which basically runs on unbridled greed. I point to the fact that oil prices are high not so much because of demand as from market speculators who are pocketing a buttload of money at the expense of everyone else at the pump. It's time we started calling greed what it is: a crime against the rest of humanity. Instead, we think of folks like this as clever and successful businesspeople and wish we could be more like them!

Only because they are valuing their currency artificially and unfairly to manipulate the markets.

There is nothing much wrong with communism - there IS a lot wrong with totalitarian and repressive governments. There is nothing wrong nor mutually exclusive about communist or socialist philosophies in a democracy. It's time folks started reading and understanding instead of accepting propaganda generated by sources who do not want people to think and reason (ie. the greedheads and the tyrants). That's the point where freedom-fighters change into repressive despots (vis-a-vis Che Guevara and Fidel Castro).

Storm the Bastille! oops, sorry - wrong revolution...:embarasse

... or is it the same one continued?

Ah, well that explains alot - I just learned something new! Thanks for the tip! :smiley2:

Well I won't pretend to know everything. But I still think that if people panic and start running out to purchase larger than normal quantities that prices will increase because of this as well.

I'm not running out to buy any soy at this point in time. I'm not letting the market dictate what I do! PERIOD. It's all well and good that soy suppliers are in demand because of the alternative fuel economy, but in the same sense, we are, for the most part, small businesses, or hobbyists, and don't need to be bullied by anyone. I won't be rushing to buy candle wax, period, at this point. It's the slow season. Let's see what happens when demand rises for US. Who will get our business then? The suppliers who have the most reasonable prices and the 'best wax.' And we have plenty of time to decide who has it!!!

Well that's a bit sly!

I would NOT order from a supplier who pulled a stunt like that. Ever.

Because he's a supplier. Blue names on here are suppliers.

Good luck and let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Thank you Violet for the offer. I've gotten a great response and I would love to pick your brain. That is exactly why I decided to do this. I've learned that you have to put it out there even if you have to GIVE it away, at least at first.

Now, because I have had such a great response...and I promised bizzy that I would not get over my head... I'm going to do what I told Bizzy I would do if I got too busy. Here goes.

Hi every one. The introductory offer is now closed. I am a professional copy writer now and my services are very expensive. Please get in line and have your check book ready.

Seriously, thank you everyone for your response and offers. I'm going to be very busy for a while and i'm very happy for it. But at this time I really can not accept anymore work. I'm doing quite a few brochures and print material for some of you and that will take the most time. If I have replied to your pm's, rest assured i'm still working with you.

You guys are wonderful. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

-Laura

I've played with the sample idea and I think wickless tealights would be a neat and inexpensive way to go. That way they're portable and easy to carry, yet doesn't cost an arm and a leg to make, either. Then again, some people have said that carrying samples is often a pain for kids. Shrug. I havent done a fundraiser yet, though. Maybe I'll send out some emails/letters. Still takin a break from candles tho.

I think offering to write a few reviews for people's products on here (if they sent you samples, etc) would be a great idea.

I have a BA in English- it's hard getting into the field. I gave up on writing for a long time, but here's the advice I was given: get an internship at a local paper or even small magazine, and get some stuff in your name. You will probably have to do it for free for 6 months, depending on the business you're working for. There are tons of resources out there on the web, as well. Let me know if you would like to put our heads together. I'd be more than happy to help.

I'm just putting things on hold for now. I am financially strapped and business just isn't going well. I'm keeping my stuff until I can focus more on candles and less on stress and being very ill. I realized today (while continuing to pump out candles for two wholesale orders) that I'm really tired of making them and need a bit of a break.

We'll see what happens in the next couple months. Right now it's time for me to sit back and do something else- I've been crocheting my daughter a blanket and playing with my acrylic paints again, plus having fun with B&B and soaping.

I did some serious thinking about soy last night after hearing of all the increases in the past couple weeks. I don't know if I can keep making soy candles and make any money on them. I'm considering putting the whole thing on hold once my C3 and Ecosoya PB is gone... wait til things get better here. This is more of a personal thing, not just the increases, but they sure aren't helping! I've got wholesale accounts that I can probably keep because they have minimum order requirements, but I won't make much $ if I have to use their entire payment just to buy a case of wax! That's what I just did with one of them- I charged an $80 minimum for unscented votives, and that just covered the wax. Sure, I'll have a lot of wax left over after her order is made, and when she comes to me again I'll be able to make something of a profit... but she only orders every 2-3 months.

I should start pushing the palm gg wax I have... I still have around 45 lbs. lol.

That was yesterdays price.

Today is is $61.95...

Are you kidding? Ugh! May as well wait and order from the others... sigh.:embarasse

Not a bad pic... we may have some fighting on our hands! Haha.

$2000 a month! Now that would make me very very satisfied...

Yah I don't like Brad Pitt much so he's all hers.

Just gimme Chris Klein. hehe.

The jar store has some cool glass... only downfall is having to order in large quantities. But their customer service is awesome.

http://www.jarstore.com/

I started out like that but really had to narrow things down and tighten the belt because it's a very expensive 'hobby' otherwise. Now, I sell to a few wholesale accounts and that helps buy wax and new FO's. That's my main issue- I see a cool FO i want to try and get a sample... get addicted to it. Blah.. lol. Ask me how many 1 oz sample bottles i have! LOL...

And now i have the soap and B&B bug. Blah. Luckily most of the oils are available locally.

Well, since I'm going for the world domination thing, here's who I get:

Johnny Depp, Mel Gibson, and Keanu Reeves.

This is not negotiable (refer to page 92 in the World Dominaton Rules )

You gals can fight over the others.

Ok, I'll definitely settle for Chris Klein. I love younger guys anyway..

Candle science has it for $49.50

I usually get mine from The Natural Artisan or The Jar Store, but now they raised prices from like $48 to $55 and $56 something. Ugh.

I might save a few bucks getting it from CS now... Besides, I love their FO's.

Hope they don't raise their prices, too!

Darn it, just checked and it's out of stock.

Well I'm jumping in on this too. I want Keanu Reeves and Chris Klein.

HOT! Hehe...

Er.. we were talking about soap, right? I can think of a couple things involving soap and those guys! hehehe...

I hear ya. I had to explain to a wholesale customer why I had to raise prices on her tealights. That's life, though... when prices go up, we gotta raise prices or not sell... :undecided

Yah, I didn't know what to make of that comment, either. I didn't see that carebear said anything offensive. Geesh.

congratulations on your first soap!

BTW, how's the stop-smoking thing going for you? Is soaping helping to keep your mind off of it?

Thanks Tereasa

Eh... it's not going yet. I pushed it forward a couple weeks til I could get a few more coping skills and a bit less stress in my life. But it's definitely still in the cards!

Yah it was super soft compared to my oatmeal batch. I'll wait 48 hours or so for the next one. Thanks!

That is odd- I would call them, even though they said not to... sounds fishy. Not like it's lye!