Jeana

So I'm in the middle of making a very important order yesterday when we have a massive black out. I decided to press on any way and hand stir since there was no electricity for the stick blender. Every thing seemed to go well, took much longer to get it to trace but it appeared to thicken up as usual. I go to unmold them today and they all seem extremely soft, and oily. Does anyone hand mix? I'm just curious why they would be like this if they were at trace when I poured them. Is it normal to have to cure soap longer when it is hand mixed? I'm hoping they will be ok in the end.

How adequate is 300GB disk space and 50GB of bandwidth with a web host program for a general soap and candle website? I'm not so concerned about the disk space, but the bandwidth concerns me a little. Not sure if this is good enough.

I got something similar a couple weeks ago. Mine actually placed an order with items from my website in the email so I wasn't super sure. I googled their email address and it came up as a scam. I thought it was very unusual that they didn't care about how much shipping was, or how much the wholesale prices were. Definitely not normal behavior of a real wholesale account.

My favs are the two layers. I love the look of the thin line separating the layers but I can never get it right. You did a nice job of that on the second one.

I just looked at the chart and noticed that even though the 126 has a higher ROC the yield is higher and this is what they say about that - "Yield = Measured in yards of wick per pound in weight. The higher the yield, the smaller the wick and the flame and the resulting heat generated." The yield number for 126 is 249, 1212 is 201, and 1313 is 182. So according to this statement the 126 is smaller than the 1212 or 1313. It should have a smaller flame and generate less heat. Hmmm, very confusing chart!

I know the 126 is supposed to have a higher ROC but I still found that 1212 and the 1313 were not suitable as the next step up from 105. Both 1212 and 1313 are very large wicks. That's why I stop testing with HTPs. They are nice burning wicks and up to the 105 they are spaced out appropriately, but who knows what the manufacturers were thinking after the 105. You should be fine with HTPs in smaller containers. If you can order from candlesupply.com you should try the performas. They can mushroom but the other benefits outweigh that issue. I love that they don't curl like the other wicks. They get a slight bend but nothing like cds. Although the ACS wicks you ordered may work fine, I've never tried them.

Are the wicks you're waiting for the HTP and ACS? I use 3" diameter containers and my results always fell between the HTP 105 and 126. The 105 was slightly too small, and 126 was much too large for me. Very large gap between those two sizes. I loved HTP wicks and really wanted them to work. They had a very nice burn and throw for me. If they made something in between 105 and 126 they would be my wick of choice. Hope they work better for you.

I haven't had any issues wicking Patchouli or Lemongrass EO. I think I wicked up one size for Patchouli but stayed my normal size for Lemongrass. I use my own blend of soy, mainly 464 so your results should be similar. I think Orange is very hard to wick, and clove.

I think the biggest question for you should be what is the absolute most you could get for this product. Don't go by what you have been getting so far or everyone else's formulas. It sounds like you have been underselling your retail price so far. Because these are made from custom molds and hand painted you may be able to get more for them. What are people saying now when you tell them they are $7.50 retail? Maybe you could have been getting $9.95 or even more all this time you have been selling them. You could test the waters with a much higher price to see if she could get that in her store. I think when we first start out we under sell ourselves. I remember how amazed I was that I actually sold more soap when I raised my prices. I started to wholesale and wanted to be more in line with what my accounts were charging. If you plan on selling soap for a business you should also start looking for ways to cut your costs such as finding cheaper suppliers, and ordering at larger quantities. HTH

The soap is still really splotchy looking and tacky feeling when dry. The container of the oil I used says it is pure pomace oo. I will check it again to be sure. I've heard of the oils being mixed before. I've been using the soap and giving it away to family. Every one says they like it even though it is a little weird feeling before you wet it. I know soap makers say OO soap doesn't lather but it lathers great even on my dogs. Big bubbles too. I will absolutely make another batch again. I'm going to do some things differently though. TT I'm jealous of your brick OO soap. How long do you cure yours for? I would love to try the oven tip but I don't have an oven at my shop. I could drag it home after I make it at the shop. How long do you put it in the oven for?

Those are the ones I use too but when I use the hammer it squishes them. I was told I could get a tool but I thought I would be fine with the hammer. I need to go back and get the tool. yours look much better than mine.

Still looking around for a reasonably priced web design and cart program that I could switch over to. These guys look really good. I tried their demo and I could actually figure it out even their cart was super easy. Great price, everything for $24 a month. The only thing that could be a draw back is the testimonial sites took a while to load. That was annoying. I am on a broadband connection though so it could have just been my computer. Anyone have any feedback about them?

The colored one has a more airy beach feel, and as you said the sepia definitely has a vintage feel. I like the one with color more, its happier. I would base it on the over all feel you are wanting to get across to the customer. Also quick question, do you squeeze the eyelets tight or just place them in the hole? I do these on one of my labels but don't like how mine look flatten when I squeeze them together. Yours don't have this look, so I'm wondering how tight they are in the hole. Am I making sense?

I totally agree with this. I mix a couple soys and some CO. I get very good throws right away. When I am testing I don't usually even cure them. I also like performa wicks in them. I tried many wicks and performas got a much better throw. I never had much luck with ECOs CDs or CDNs with any soy waxes. I almost gave up on all soys before finding performas.

The point of making the OO soap is to have an allergen free bar. In particular coconut oil free. I don't use palm anymore in my recipes, so without palm and coconut what would you use? What about Rice bran and OO? I find that the pure OO soap has a good lather if you learn that it works a little differently. When you first wet it and you get that slick feel on your hands, wet your hands again and it turns in to bigger bubbles. You just have to wet it twice to have it bubble like a normal soap.

Jonsie, that stinks. I wonder how he broke them. I've opened MANY containers in my day and never once broke one. I've never had a customer break anything, but I've always wondered what to do if they did. BTW I just noticed your location, I was an American in Perth too many years ago.

Pretty sure she wasn't a competitor, and I totally agree that she could have gotten some bad soy candles, but I really think it was more that she was a nut. I forgot to add another part of the story. When I told her my soaps were in a particular store, she didn't even let me finish which location but responded that she had seen them there a few months ago and really like them. I just stood there not knowing at all what to say cuz the only location of this store where my soaps are in just opened last week. I'm sure I had a weird look on my face but said "glad you liked them", knowing she didn't know what the heck she was talking about at all. It seems weird to have that many bad candles. But if she actually is burning them correctly, then all should be well and I may have a devoted customer - weird customer - but devoted. Horsescents - I actually like that! I hope I can remember to turn the situation around like your training taught you in the future. With her I could barely get any words out without talking over her. In the end I took her down to my friends who sell local honey cuz she started a rant about that. She insisted their honey wasn't really local - OMG what a nut. Apparently she bought something from them too cuz they gave me some fruit for sending her to them. Imagine going through life with that attitude.

I know at markets you get all kinds. I'm usually good at blowing them off but I had this lady today pick up one of my candles and talk about how amazing it smelled. It was an all soy candle. She must have seen that on my label then proceeded to have a rant about how she has a problem with soy candles "don't get her started" I was with another customer so I didn't let it bother me. Then she starts conversing with the customer who was already buying some of my products about why she doesn't like soy candles. Ok, now I start paying attention. She's saying the flame drowns out, they put out so much soot, they never last as long as they say....blah blah blah. She said she personally watches the clock to time them. :rolleyes2 Come on, I believe that. I normally don't get stern with customers, I feel either they like what you have or they don't. I couldn't stand it any longer. I told her, her experiences were with someone else's candles. I didn't know who's candles she'd tried but mine didn't have any of the issues she had explained. She was seriously bashing my candles only based on her experiences with others. After she went on and on still about all the brands she'd tried I went back to the other customer. Then the ranting woman actually bought a candle. I was shocked and a little scared. This could turn out good or bad, hmmmm.

wow I can't believe some of those comments? I have ordered from them several times. I've always been satisfied with my orders. I always get and recommend their organic teas. I've gotten some of their resins and other things. I got some peppermint leaf recently that makes my whole hallway smell divine. I've called them with questions before and they were helpful.

I think it depends on the fee. If the fee is very reasonable you could make it work. It also depends on how large the market is. Personally I don't like to deal with competition in a small market. Like others have said it is a good idea to have other products, and look like you really have it together. I used to practice my displays at home so I would be prepared when I got to my markets. A couple things you can do to stand out is to create a soap club card where the customer gets punches and work toward a free bar of soap. Have 3 for deals to encourage buying more than one bar. I did well recently by giving a very inexpensive soap dish away with a purchase of three bars of soap. I didn't like the dishes really but other people went nuts for them, they wanted to get something free. You could do a gift with a purchase of like $25 or $35 or what ever amount you want. This works pretty good too. One time I gave a lip balm for a purchase of $35.00 people look for other stuff to buy to up get to the amount where they get the free gift. Don't do everything at once, but maybe run each promo for a month then switch. If you are near an Ikea they have $15 folding chalk boards that you could write your specials on. Some other things. People usually don't like to walk into your booth unless you get pretty established, at our markets here people are very cautious. Set your table up in front of your booth if you can. Bed risers are great to bring the table up more eye level. Don't spend time talking to other vendors. Focus on the customers. Try not to sit in your booth, this makes customers feel like they are bothering you. Be friendly, make eye and say hello to people as they pass. Many will stop just because you are friendly. Be prepared to talk about your product like you know what you're doing. Prepare conversation starters about your products. Say things like "have you ever tried handcrafted soaps before"? I still have to work on this but I've gotten better. Sometimes there can be an awkward silence after you say hello if you don't have any thing to follow up with. Probably more info than you wanted but these things really do make you look professional and set you above other vendors.

Something I think helps me is to remove a little soap from a batch I'm making. Then I take colors I'm curious about and make little samples to see what they will look like in the soap without committing an entire batch to find out. I try to keep notes to remind myself for planning future looks. Its not perfect because different scents can change the colors too but at least it gives me a bit of an idea of whether to use a color or not. Some of the most beautiful colors end up looking like mud in the mini samplers, very sad. Some of the the colors from TKB totally morphed for me when I was told they wouldn't so I was glad I did samplers on those. This way you can try several colors at one time.

I used a total of .75 EOs. It is curing in my shop that is a steady 70 degrees. Very airy, no humidity. The bars are on wire shelves so the air can circulate around the entire bar.

Sorry it took so long to get back to this. Yes this is the one I posted in May. It hasn't been humid. The soaps have actual oil spots you can wipe off. They weren't there until about two weeks ago. I looked at my recipe again which is: 38 oz of pomace oo 10-14 oz of water - I did 11 oz 4.8 oz of lye. I did use the lower end of for the water, but it looks like I could have used more lye. This is 7% fat according to the Sage calculator. That is higher than I normally do. I'm not sure why I did this. My scale is very accurate. Is there a more successful fat range? Would I have been better doing like 5.5% Also does anyone do straight oo for liquid soap?

I'm still letting the castile I posted in the gallery cure, but now there are oil spots all over the soap. Does this mean I used too much water, or maybe i should increase the lye? I really hope I can fix the problem I like everything else about the soap. The fat % was 6%. Any ideas?

Jen where can you get it cheaper than columbus? Maybe I should have them ship it to me.