Judy, USMC

I miss him too. Looks like he last visited in May 2011 and was lurking for a while before that. Maybe he just got tired of trying to present educational posts only to be confronted by strongly opinionated personalities that differed.

If you want to get into local stores the only way I know of is to pound the pavement. That involves gas mileage and samples beside the brochures. And that still limits you to the immediate area. If you are more interested in developing a product line to go into your brick&mortar and also offer as wholesale then you may want to pre-plan now to go big. Unfortunately, I didn't do my research in time to let you know about the LA Mart. http://www.lamartgift.com/ It's already closed. But there are permanent showrooms that representatives have rented. (I know most of the reps will only deal with manufacturers who have a D&B Rating.) Also, during the shows, there are temporary exhibitors who man their own booths and are part of Beckman's which showcases hand-crafted items. You can sort out the "Candles" exhibitors. http://mmpicagift-365.ascendeventmedia.com/ExhGuide.aspx?p=37#1081&catid=129 and under "Gifts you will see Candles. Note that the number of candle companies is not the 81 that sorted out. The actual candle company is listed and may also be listed under their rep's business name. I am registered at the Chicago Merchandise Mart and also Columbus; at both I am credentialed as a manufacturer. Consider getting credentialed and registered at the LA Mart and stop by for a visit to get a feel of the floorplan. Then plan taking a day or two to attend the market in March. Just observe how other candle companies display and market their goods. These types of displays and product presentation work at the big mart/markets and will easily transfer to a brick&mortar. An added plus ~ it will give you a great opportunity to pick up their wholesale order forms to check out not only the format they use ~ but also their wholesale pricing. (wink) Hope that helps ...

Guess it's time to call the supplier. They won't know there's a problem unless it's reported.

YES they do.

I really believe that we get almost too intent in making a PERFECT candle. I know I went through the gamut of emotions associated with the grieving process dealing with the difficulty and quirks of different waxes (paraffin, soy & palm) over the almost 14 years I've been doing this. I finally got to the point of acceptance ... it is what it is. It is safe, tested and performes well ... it meets the purchaser's expectations and sells ... and that's the best I can expect to do. The decisive day came when I woke up and realized I was losing income by not selling and was spending/losing even more money to test to perfection. That is/was not a good business decision ... so it was just time to "just get on with it." Get some independent testers you can trust to give you HONEST feedback. If they would buy it then you should seriously consider selling and setting up all the legalities needed to start your business. There are a lot of big companies making major bucks selling inferior candles while you are still tweaking towards perfection. So draw the line and start selling. You can still test ~ but at least you will start to discover the FOs and size candles that will sell in your area. Hope you have a successful 2012.

Was it also the same FO?

Based on my experience ... 100% of the buyers will pick up and open a candle to smell it. I have never noticed anyone turning the jar around to see if there are wet spots. The wax/stearic combo is working fine for me so I'm taking the attitude that it's not a factor in a buyer's decision; it's not broken so why try to fix it? Put yourself in the buyer's place - do you base a candle purchase on your nose or your eyes? @HorsescentS - any time you start playing with additives you open the door to more testing. How will it affect the wicking or scent throw? What percentage would you use? Will your proven FOs still work when the CO is added? The OP was talking about paraffin wax and 6006 is a parasoy so that question may be better served in the veggie section.

4786 and added just 1tsp pp of stearic to get the familiar consistency/hardness. Oh - Forgot to add that with the 4786/stearic combo you will probably see wet spots. The wax shrinks as it cools and the stearic adds to the shrinkage and it can pull away from the side of the jars. To lessen the effect I do pre-heat the jars, but often it is not enough. It hasn't hurt my sales; the throw more than makes up for the appearance.

Just wondering if you have tried moving it around to different spots in the house? I have some drafty spots (especially around windows and doors) where a wick will always dance. Oh, and when the heat pump/furnace comes on there is no living area that doesn't have air movement that affects the flame. I do have one bathroom that has no windows ... and if I place the candle there when the heat isn't on, and close the door, the flame settles nicely.

I started before a lot of these waxes came on the market and used scale wax and stearic which was definitely 2-pour. I quit making candles for 2 years to take care of my mom. Back in 2006 I was given some 4786 and added just 1tsp pp of stearic to get the familiar consistency/hardness. I tried the 4630 but it seemed to have a milder hot throw. Now be warned the 4786 does take more attention than the single pour - but with the FOs I use it makes a great throwing candle. It's just a tad more costlier to reheat the wax for the second pour. And (sticking with whats worked for me) I do use zinc wicks. Now your results may be different. The 4630 and wick combo I used may not have been the best. So I guess I'm really saying testing is in order ...

I don't know about anyone else ... but I seem to always get a mushroom on the first burn especially if I have trimmed the wick. One explanation I got was that the threads have a tendency to fray when cut and that causes the mushroom. So am not concerned until I see consistent mushrooming on subsequent burns. I expect the slight hang-up will disappear. You may still have a trace of a film on the glass but that is nothing that would cause me any concern. HTH

Flash Point is the temperature when the vapors (mixed with air) will flare when an ignition source is used. So just adding the FO to wax will not cause a flare unless you have a flame present where the vapors accumulate. Think about filling up your car at a gas station. There are vapors ~ but they won't ignite unless there is a flame or static electic spark. (So just as you wouldn't smoke when fueling up don't have a cigarette in your mouth when pouring oils! ) You may be thinking of auto-ignition. That's where a combination of materials will flare when mixed together WITHOUT a spark or flame. HTH

Sent you a pm - hope that's the style you are looking for. If not I have another contact that reworks/combines vintage jewelry into new creations.

This is my method - some may disagree. Since it is a glass container you may not need to remelt/repour. IF THERE IS ENOUGH WAX TO SUPPORT THE WICK AFTER IT HAS RE-SOLIDIFIED (I use 2 inches as my minimum) I take a pair of pliers and pull out the old wick & drop in another size. You can do this several times as long as there is enough wax to continue supporting the wick. After it's lit, and I get a good feeling that it may be the right size, it's time to make a full sized container to test from beginning to end. TIP: If the hole in the wax seems to be too narrow you can ream it out with an ice pick or skewer.

And you need to decide if you are going to be an LLC, decide on an accounting method, look at the IRS tax forms and figure out which one you will be using, go to the county seat and register your business, go to the local tax office and list your business property, register for a sales tax ID number. Then, depending on where you are manufacturing, you may need to arrange for the Fire Dept to do an inspection. Plus you need to check with your homeowners insurance (if you are working at home) to see if you will be covered; if you will have a separate facility you will need a separate policy. Oh, and a visit with a business lawyer should be thrown in there somewhere and don't forget to order all the jars, wicks, molds, FO's, dyes, pour pots, melter(s) that you will need to start. And add in the business cards and label design & purchase. Then if you are planning on selling over the internet you need to get your domain in your business name and probably hire a site builder - plus purchase all your packaging supplies since they will be shipped. And if you only plan on staying local you will need to visit all the shops you are considering offering your candles to and don't forget they will need samples. Many times it may take a year or 2 to just save up enough money to get started with everything required to be legal. And I'm sure I missed a couple of things also .....

The problem I have is: Why call it a candle when it is an oil lamp?

ha is short for Hectare. For those of us not familiar with that type of measurement I found the conversion: 1 hectare = 2.47105381 acres Using those factors soybeans require almost 5 1/2 acres to produce a ton of oil Palm only needs about 7/10 of one acre. Interesting.

8GranOnes - I'm curious - was the FO stored in plastic or glass? Thanks!

Here's the link to the Code of Federal Regulations (16 CFR Part 500-503 addresses labeling requirements) http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fplajump.shtm Although para 500.27 gives soap as an example I'm sure it applies to tealights: (Quoted from the Code) Examples: Deodorant Cakes: "5 Cakes, Net Wt. 4 ozs. (113 g) each, Total Net Wt. 1.25 lb. (566 g)" or "5 Cakes, Total Net Wt. 1 lb. 4 ozs. (566 g)"; Soap Packets: "10 Packets, Net Wt. 2 ozs. (56.6 g) each, total Net Wt 1.25 lb. (566 g)" or "Net Wt 1 lb. 4 ozs. (566 g)" or "10 Packets, Total Net Wt. 1 lb. 4 ozs. (566 g)." Hope that helps!

My mom passed away in 2006 and I still couldn't part with some of her favorite tops ... she would always say "I don't want anyone else to wear this one." Thanks for the solution to that problem. It's a wonderful idea that I'm going to adopt. Sorry for your loss.

I don't know of any mandated standard. Even though common sense would say that it should be at least 51% soy. But, without any guidance, I guess that means they can call it soy-based at any percentage.

Just wanted to add a comment. I've been pouring paraffin candles since 1997 and never experienced or had any reports of this type of problem with paraffins. However, when I started developing a soy line (CB-135) I did have one flare on me just like the video. It was a 4oz quilted jelly jar with 8% load of Monkey Farts FO, no dye, and an LX wick. I felt it best to continue onward and never tried to figure that out ... and never made that combo again. That is the only 1 out of thousands I've made over the last 15 years. My best "educated guess" is since there are a few FOs that need to be wicked up so there must be a few that need to be wicked down ... and that FO just happened to be one of them.

Thanks for the heads up on this. May I ask what ISP you have? I had a Microsoft software update last night but didn't check what it was for.

Funny how a brand name can turn into a generic reference. Saran means plastic wrap, Kleenex means tissues, Popsicle is used for any type of ice on a stick. I'm sure you can come up with more.

Perfume is made up of more than just frangrance oil ... sometimes it has an alcohol base. Added ingredients just don't make for a good (and sometimes safe) candle. Crayons use a different coloring method ... and may clog the wick (will not allow the wax to travel up the wick to create a good flame.) That may be the problem you are seeing with the melt pool. That's why if you are looking at this seriously, you need to decide on the wax, wick, fragrance and dye (liquid or solid.) Suppliers have come up with the kits and that takes some of the guess work out of it. I can't guide you to a different wick if you made the candle with perfume and crayons ... it's just not a professional chandling method.