Judy, USMC

Stick to your guns! Sometimes people forget that they are dealing with a business person and try to treat you like a flea market vendor! Doncha hate it when they keep pestering you hoping that they'll get it at their price? - and sometimes you give in just to be rid of them. Guess that's their tactic. Good for you! :highfive:

Have a friend with the same problem. She wanted to test unscented jars just to see how the melt pool would go. She compromised with hubby. She put the candle in the spare bathroom and left the bathroom door open a few inches to get the airflow - - - and turned on the fan to get the hot air out when she was through! (That logic worked on him, anyway! )

The suppliers by state gives you a good reference point to start with even if you don't drive to them. The shipping charges for your zone will be a lot cheaper than if you get them from a supplier in, let's say, New York. So it's still a handy guide. And if you buy from an adjoining state you won't have to pay sales tax. A supplier in your state may charge tax if you don't have a TN Tax #. HTH

I've poured in Ice Cube Trays before - but mine were more square and chunky. And I loved the look of yours so I ran out to Target but no 2/$1 trays there. The ones they did have looked like the same shape but were $1.49 each! They are white and made by Sterilite...is that what you got? The local Dollar Store carries that brand so if it is the same I may be able to pick up some there! I only sell at the base craft fair twice a year and at a small shop in town. Been to your site and will try to stop at the store the next time I have to go to the VA! I think they are the perfect size. Congrats on the packaging, too! TYIA

Wanted to PM or email you but you don't have either feature turned on. If/when you go to the NG site to read don't worry about the wax or additives they use. If you want to use soy that part will be different once you find the wax you want to use. And I don't think you are using the right search! You need to go to the first Candletech forum page (where everything is listed). Go to "Access the Archives" block and click on Candlemaking FAQ. The reason I don't think you've found that is because the answer to you Heat Gun question is there! And you may find more of the answers for questions that others have already asked. HTH PS - I'm done

Thought about it for a little while ... if they're being imported what's to say they aren't using things like lead in their wicks? Or funkey fillers in the wax? No safety regs on the export country - and the USA is too busy to check on what's coming in until there's a complaint. Hope they take a big chunk - right out of his profit margin! Good warning and reminder for us, too. I can't afford to lose a big chunk!

I know I don't do pillars ... maybe no responses yet because of the uniqueness of the mold - Cinnamon Bun ???

Imported from Thailand Guess there's no Consumer Product Safety there! http://www.vancekitira.com/about.html

"Heavy" refers to the viscosity of the oil. If it is thick you will need to make it thinner in order to travel up the reeds. And the more base you add the less FO ... and the weaker the throw ... that's why they don't work or "throw" well. When I get a new FO I can tell by how full the container is. If a 1 lb bottle is filled close to the top I consider it light. If it's an inch from the top it's heavy. Once you get familiar with how the oil pours from the bottle you'll be able to tell. BTW, Vanillas for me have been problematic. HTH

www.Naturesgardencandles.com has a tab on the left side for their "Candle Manual". Nothing you need to register or sign in for. Contains a lot of info that may help !

The term testing refers to "testing the whole candle." Timing the melt to the sides of the container, making sure the wick is the right size, evaluating the aroma throw. www.Naturesgardencandles.com has a listing on the left side titled "Candle Manual" that will help explain a lot of things.

I use my presto pot to melt the wax. The melted wax goes into the pour pot where I add my dye and fragrance. That way one batch can be cooling while I'm preparing another aroma with a different color in a different pourer!

OH, if it only were that easy! There is no magic formula - that's why there are so many members and posts on this forum. We've all gotten into candle making for our own reasons ... and are still striving to produce the best candle we can. Guess what I'm trying to say is most of the members have attempted the basics already and are on this forum to just work out the kinks. My first bit of advice is - DO NOT EXPECT TO MAKE ANY "POCKET" MONEY. The cost of all your equipment (melter, pour pots, stirers, scales, thermometer) and supplies (lots of jars, wick bars and lids for containers, molds and sealer for pillars, wax, wick sample packs, dyes, additives if you need them, and fragrance oil samples) will add up to quite a tidy sum...I'm talking hundreds of dollars. And then getting a variety of fragrance oils just adds to the bill. Then add shipping and handling charges to get all this to you - see how quickly it adds up. This can be (IS) quite an expensive hobby! I think that it may be best to develope a relationship with a supplier in your area. Many have instructions on their sites and have a staff that can give you specific guidance, when needed. Finding a supplier within driving distance will help with the shipping bills especially with a large first order! One note of caution - if you find someone in your state expect to pay sales tax on your purchase (unless you have a state issued tax number.) Some suppliers charge - some don't. The link to find someone close to you is www.suppliersbystate.com . Let them mentor you using their products. If you ask 10 people here what wax to use you will get 10 different answers...and it will just more confusing. That's why the kit was mentioned. The kit has everything matched to work as a unit. And gives you an opportunity to try on a small scale before you invest the big bucks. Whatever way you want to go - I'm sure we all wish you well!

If you're looking for someone local - we need to know where you're at!!!

So ... True or False. Does Y'kee hold the trademark on the word "Tart" when it refers to a wickless lump of wax? How many small sellers put "tart" on their label? How many people ask for "tarts"? So now we have to go for alternative terms: melts, melties, shots, and snappers in the clamshells. So I could go and copyright all of them right now and hire a lawyer to send the cease and desist letters? When I started selling for profit, I pasted my labels for my jars and "snappers" on 4 pieces of paper which I dated and signed. I then proceeded to mail 1 of each duplicate sheet in 4 separate envelopes - to myself. That way if it does become subject of litigation I can prove (by the cancellation date on the UNOPENED and in my safe envelopes) that I was using it before it was copyrighted. Maybe a false sense of security - but it makes me feel better!

The one on the left kind of looks like an ice cube tray - but more angular.. and smaller. The right one looks really oval...thinking ... t h i n k i n g ... all right already I give up! :rolleyes2 And when I find out I think it may be one of those "DUH - why didn't I think of that?" moments.

GREAT NEWS about registration! And the rates you got for the Hampton Inn are $20 less than the deepest discount I can get (Military)! Just hope the timing will work out for me - Great variety on the schedule so far.

www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49788&highlight=glass+glow Here's the link to the photos of the Glass Glow. Wicking of large diameter candles is under discussion now...seems anything over 3 1/2 inches will require double wicking. When is the wedding? You may not have enough time to do all the testing.

The only thing that I've seen come close to that glitter effect is the Glass Glow palm wax. A lot of forum users are in the testing phase and lots of pictures in the Gallery, too.

I personally had a problem with the chips. When I started out 8 years ago I must have gotten bad chips and had speckles in the candles. From there I went to powder dye and a grain scale. Now I'm strictly using the liquid from CS. Haven't had any aroma problems with theirs!

Interesting reading. And a lot of very expressive creative writing - on both sides.

I know of one forum member who successfully uses CDN wicks for both palm and soy. For a jelly jar (2 3/8" inside diameter) she uses the CDN-12's, if I remember correctly.

OOPS, Sorry, didn't mean to post on this thread!

Looks like you were posting when I was. If the distributor has a showroom they may have rental fees higher than a normal retailer and will expect some sort of price break. Although in the US the wholesale price is the same as what would be ordered through a distributor, the distributor will receive a kick-back or commission on what is sold. It's just simpler for bookkeeping to offer the discount up front. Also consider requiring incremental ordering - 1 dozen OR 10 OR 6 - minimum of each aroma. Wishing you success !

Think about offering a percentage off wholesale at 'Benchmarks'. If they order up to $1,500 discount 5%; $1,501 - $2,500 discount 10%; and so on. That way it is more profitable for you if you can create larger batches at one time and gives them a bigger profit margin if they buy more. I'd just be sure to address who would be responsible for shipping charges, too.