TheWickChick

It was one of the first ones I did. I didnt keep notes just followed directions. I'm sure I added 1 oz of fo per lb. I'll add just a bit more and see if it helps. I hate wasting wax.

I have a few candles that havent sold, they were some of the first pure soy containers that I made. They aren't strong smelling. I'd like to remelt and repour them and want to add more fo to make them stronger. So the question is, at this point how do I know how much fo is too much?

The lamb and bear are super cute, but I am not a fan of dipped TP. Does it hold scent for a long time or what? I just cant see the attraction.

How can I increase the scent throw without overdoing the fo? I want a safe candle, but they just dont burn with a lot of fragrance.

Had to take the weekend off before my head exploded. But this week I'll be doing gel candles - champaign w/ floating wedding rings, martini's with glass olives, and these cute little candles in a stem glass with colored stones on the bottom clear gel in the middle and a ribbon of colored gel (coordinating with the stones) on the top. I love those.

Thanks everyone. I had a lot of non-business people tell me to go, but I really think I should stay. It was good to have you all tell me the same. Plus, if nothing else I can store my goods here until my craft shows start and then reexamine if I should stay or not.

Good for you! I know it feels good to have a place to call your own. I hope you do well.

My sister and I currently have a booth at a local flea market.

Cons:

The problem is that the market is new (just opened 2 months ago) and isnt getting much traffic. I barely, and sometimes not even, make my weekly booth rental, so basically I'm loosing money every week. And I'm working 2 jobs besides this and i'm tired. My sister is willing to do the market herself, so that helps, but it's still a drain on me. And I dont have much storage room for the candles if I close the booth.

Pros:

The market just signed with an advertising agency and now has 4 billboards up, so that may bring in the customers (I hope!). I like having a steady place for our candles rather than just doing shows, that way if someone wants to see what we have they know where to go. I get a lot of... I'll be calling you to order these for my wedding... kind of comments, and I'd hate to loose that potential business. And my sister is working on a portfolio to take to local flower/bridal shops to market our champaign glasses and other centerpiece candles, so it would be nice to have a "store" for potential clients to meet us at rather than my house.

So, my heart says stay, but my wallet says go. What do you think?

I know in Michigan when you file for a name you can write in any other names that your business might operate under, therefore, one tax ID for all the names you use. That way you can file taxes only under the parent company name not each seperate name. And it also registers all of your names so that other companies in the area cant use it.

You should check with your local government offices and see if it's done the same.

I started at a local farmers market selling my candles. I didnt do that great, but I did mostly gel at that time. Soy is a bigger seller. I do soy now because of all the requests I got at the market. Just be prepared to be able to meet the wants and needs of your customers. And have lots of business cards/brochures available. I do a lot of business with people who didnt buy at the time but wanted things shipped later.

Getting ready for a show next month, so I'm doing beer scented beer - YUCK! My house will smell like a brewery for days!!!

And I'll be doing ice cream sundaes in strawberry, chocolate and oreo cookie. Mix that with the smell of beer - oh yeah, no body will be visiting me this week that's for sure!

I use chopsticks glued at one end for wick holders. And because I use drinking glasses for my candles I get most of them from Goodwill.

For those of you who dont use jars with lids, what do you use to cover the top of your containers?

I do gel drink candles and at every show I have a thousand hands poking the tops of my candles. I generally put bags on all but one (and that one can be poked and sniffed to the customers hearts content). But the bags look messy and sometimes stick to the tops of my candles and mess them up. Shrink wrap isnt working out so well for me, but I dont know what other alternatives I have.

Any ideas?

I had no idea. Sounds like a good idea to me.

I'm having an outdoor wedding this summer and would like my centerpiece candles to be clear gel, but since it's outside I thought I'd add citronella to it to keep the mosquitos away. Has anyone tried this? The FO I bought said it was gel safe although I have not tested it yet.

Thanks everybody. I do take it as a compliment, but I also want to get the credit for my hard work. And your right, money is money.

My sister and I have a booth at a flea market where we sell our candles. We recently were asked for a order of 30 candles by another vendor and didnt think much of it. The next day we found out she planned to sell our candles at a different venue. My sister was mad because we gave this fellow vendor a good deal. I was dissapointed that we weren't told about the resale of the candles, if she had asked I would have still sold her the candles to resell.

The question is: If someone wants to resell your candles, what are the rules? I will tell her that I dont mind as long as she does not sell them anywhere where she is a direct competitor of mine. I shouldnt have to compete against my own product. And I want her to leave my tags on the candles in case someone wants to reorder. Is this fair?

Is it ok for linen spray to be cloudy? The majority of them are clear, but my vanilla always comes out cloudy. It smells fine and doesnt look thick or oily. Also, I did one bottle with Sensual Amber fo and it came out clear, then I mixed up a batch and it came out cloudy. Cant figure out what I'm doing wrong.

I do drink candles and haven't had an accident yet. I would only single wick that though because you dont want to over heat the glass with double wicks. Burning will leave about an inch on the sides, but I think it preserves the beauty of the candle. Also, if the base narrows dramatically use a marble under the wick or a wick crimp to raise it so it does not overheat.

I remember seeing these at a craft show before and they sold really well. I dont remember what she charged for them. How much do you guys retail them at?

I've been doing craft shows for a year now and I'm ready to start placing my candles in flea markets and craft malls. Is there anything I need to look out for? I'm nervous about losing money on this because the craft mall & flea market in my area aren't really big and I dont think they have a lot of traffic. Any other ideas on how to market my product?

Shred is good with wicker baskets, but it might hang out in a wire basket. I've used tissue paper before, and then if you need to build up the bottom you can use more tissue paper or blocks of styrofoam covered in tissue paper.

That is too cute.

$16.50 for 2 ounces? WOW!

I'm looking at Target for their prices and they are about $10 for 3 oz, and $18-$24 for 8 oz. I dont live in an area of high spenders. I tend to raise my prices when I do shows in well-to-do areas and actually make more money then selling cheaper in the more economically challenged areas.

$16.50 huh, that blows my mind.

Holy Cow! I guess I better re-investigate prices.

Thanks