Jeana

On 9/14/2018 at 8:50 AM, Laura C said:

Geez, that's awful someone stole your stuff @Jeana. I have had 2 different break ins, it's a horrible feeling and really makes me mad. 

It is horrible to have things stolen. I didn't notice too much until now that I would love to be using the equipment. 

To make things worse, I'm pretty sure it was a homeless guy I was trying to help too. I got a description from people that saw it happening.The description fits the guy and his friend perfectly 😡 I'm just super glad they didn't actually break into my shop. It could have been way worse then.

@MilosCandles That's a nice studio set up. I went to your website and the pics look really nice. They are very consistent. And the lighting looks good. So, you decided to go with the background sets instead of just the product with the white background. What made you chose that way? I'm still on the fence of which way to go. 

I had a couple light set ups, but someone broke into my storage cabinet outside my shop and stole all my photography lights  I really don't want to buy it all again so i'm trying to improvise lately. 

3 minutes ago, Quentin said:

I'm interested in taking a look. We have a classified section on this forum?

Yes, If you hit the forum button, then go down to the last item on the menu and it will say classified there. 

Did you look on Keystone’s website? They have a lot of Peak scents.  https://keystonecandlesupplies.com/

6 minutes ago, Laura C said:

@Jeana your profile pic with the little dog in the cowboy hat is too cute. 🐕

Thanks Laura  He’s my awesome little buddy.

On 8/20/2018 at 7:33 PM, ScentedPleasurez said:

Has anyone ever ordered from box co-op or have gotten a quote before? I ran across them while surfing

 https://www.boxcoop.com/boxes-by-industry/candles/dust-cover-lid/

I used to order from them. They are really close so no shipping. They started out nice but got to be a PITA. When they made my dust covers they would wait until they got an order that there would be extra space between whatever they were cutting to fit my order in. Does that make sense? Instead of just making my order, they would “fit my order in”. The orders started taking longer and longer to get. I stopped using them when they started acting like it was somehow my fault that they were late with my orders. 

I recently found these guys. They have much better prices, they are super nice and occomodating. http://www.westernpress.net/CandleCoverTwoColor.html They sent me quite a few samples. They have a very big selection of papers and print type options.

BTW I have a few dust covers for sale in the classifieds. You should take a look.

1 hour ago, GoldieMN said:

@Jeana Where did you find them?

GoldieMN

I don't remember which manufacturer these came from. I ordered from a couple at the same time. Does it matter who made them? Or are you just wondering in general who makes dust covers?

20 minutes ago, Trappeur said:

Wow!   I've been wanting something like that for so long.....

 

Do you know if they would fit the 12oz status jar?

 

Trappeur

 I don't know the measurements of the status jars. These are a true 3" measurement, so if your opening is at least 3" it will work. It's better if it is a little larger so the top can get in and out easily. Just measure the inside diameter of your jar. 

I got these dust covers by mistake in my order. They are 3" diameter, very thick, quality covers. No coatings or print.  I have 138 darker brown covers, and 490 lighter (more kraft like).  628 total. $50.00 for all or .08 each. They all easily fit in a med flat rate box to ship. 

13 minutes ago, jaybee said:

jeana, I don't know if you've found suitable replacements but keystone is carrying the peak cotton cores now

 Thank you! I’ll check them out.

In my area candles don't sell very well with lids. You may be able to increase your sales with a no-lid container to make up for the increased cost of the dust cover. I'm just curious, where do you find jar lids for 13 cents a piece?

Did you ever find your dust cover source? I'm going to use these guys my next order. They have way better prices than Norman's Printery. The single color, uncoated is only $125.50 for 1000 for 100lb paper. I like that they allow you to order lower quantities. If they have the size you use in stock they don't charge your for the cutting dye, which is very nice. The owner sent me some samples. They are very impressive. You can have a coating too if you have a soft wax that sweats. The woman was really nice to talk to. 

http://www.westernpress.net/CandleCoverFullColor.html    http://www.westernpress.net/CandleCover.html

 They make a few different types. The pressed ones are the prettiest, and you can get them with grommets too. 

9 hours ago, Bahbah1182 said:

I think these are the replacements. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-3-1-4-in-High-Speed-Steel-Planer-Blades-for-use-with-3-1-4-in-planers-D-46230/203349981

 

Thank you, this is a really big help! I may be able to replace the blades on my current one with these. There’s nothing wrong with it other than bad blades. But if these don’t fit, I’ll check out the acrylic one  

Can anyone recommend a beveler/planer? I would like to be able to buy replacement blades. I've had the one I have now for years, but I can't change the blades on it. I see some acrylic ones and bladeless ones now. I'm wondering how well they work. 

29 minutes ago, Grungedoll said:

Thank you for the ideas! I’m looking into it. I’ve been searching small places for rent and my fiancée and I have been asking around to see if anyone we know has garage space so hopefully something works out... no word yet though. I’ve been wanting to pour elsewhere for awhile now anyway. Do you think they’d allow a person to make candles in a storage unit...? Last I knew they didn’t have electricity in those, but I could be wrong! I’ve only ever shared one many years ago. What do you use for a shop?

I don’t know about the electricity in storage units really, I’m just throwing out ideas. I was lucky to get a small office space about 9 years ago. When I started I used one side of the shop as a hair salon, and made products on the other side of my shop. When I built up enough accounts I dropped off the hair part. That’s why I say you can get creative and make it work. 

18 minutes ago, Grungedoll said:

At the moment I’m not selling them yet as I’m still doing tons of testing to see which wax, wick, FO combos I’m looking to stick with, testing burns, etc. So Ive only really been pouring at most maybe two pounds at a time (enough for two different scents in three 8 ounce canning jars each) but it can still get pretty strong in here since everything’s connected... (there’s only doors to the bedrooms and bathroom) and I’m doing it a few times a week. I am a bit concerned when I do start pouring more too since I do want to start selling them once I get everything where I want it and legal things in order. 

Sometimes you have to get really creative to keep moving forward. Can you borrow a corner in a friends garage to pour? Maybe rent an inexpensive storage place to pour in. I don't know where you live but some places have storage places for about $50 month. You could possibly ask some commercial places in business parks if they have 100 sq ft areas to rent. If you look around you never know what you could find. But if you want to sell, and you are bothered by the scents already, you'll have trouble when things ramp up pouring at home. My whole shop is only 325 sq ft. But I have a front and back door, and I can leave. Even if you have a porch or balcony, I would pour out there on a table.

8 hours ago, Candybee said:

I've used beeswax before to firm up soy. But you can only use a very small % of less than 5% otherwise you can get cracks in the wax. After experimenting further I found using a bit of paraffin was far better for me than beeswax.

I've been playing with a lot of paraffin lately and I really start having respiratory issues with it. Even at small amount. I've used several types and it gets pretty bad. I don't get this with natural waxes. I was ready to switch completely to paraffin, but couldn't handle it even for testing. 

18 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Totally depends on your brand of wax. Some do not blend well with beeswax. Sometimes stearic will cause loss of HT. 

I forgot about loss of HT with Stearic. I used to use it with palm pillars and it wasn't too bad. The max I would use it is 2%. I would prefer to use BW, but it is so expensive I have to keep my options open. The waxes I'm playing with right now are compatible with both BW and stearic. 

I've seen on other posts that you pour a lot of BW candles. Do you ever see inconsistencies from order to order of it? (Like we see in soys and paraffins) Does it ever burn differently? I don't mind about color differences, but I do mind if it would have varying burn results every order. 

Who would you say has the best prices for BW? 

18 hours ago, Grungedoll said:

As I’d told moonshine, sadly I don’t have anywhere else to make my candles besides right in our open kitchen/living room of my apartment... so I don’t have anyway of really “leaving” the area...  I really wish I had a garage or something. How long would you wear it in my situation?

I've definitely been there. I used to pour in my kitchen at a house I lived in. I really didn't like doing that when I started to make enough to sell.

How many are you pouring at one time? And how often are you pouring? Are you selling them?

For those of you who like to firm up your container candle wax (just a little) Which do you prefer stearic or beeswax? And does anyone have any input if both are consistent order to order without seeing changes in the way the candle burns or behaves?

1 minute ago, Grungedoll said:

How long after you get everything mixed do you continue to wear your respirator?

If I stay in the shop I'll continue to wear it until the candles set up. While pouring I have both doors open for ventilation and use the mask. I prefer to shut the doors when the candles cool, so they cool more slowly. That's why i usually just leave after pouring. 

Since you're talking respirators, I have to give a shout out to this one. I LOVE it. It is the first one that is small enough and comfortable enough for me to wear for extended times. It is really light and easy to get on and off.  I get a really weird feeling if I don't wear it when making a lot of candles. I wear it when I make soaps too. 

https://www.amazon.com/GVS-SPR449-Elipse-Nuisance-Medium/dp/B016630UJU/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1527124248&sr=8-10&keywords=elipse+respirator

3 hours ago, bfroberts said:

As it stands at the moment, I am having to wick up 2 sizes with this wax.  Two freaking sizes, and I'm not even sure that is gonna cut it.  I'm blowing through production wax trying to get this mess tested, and I haven't managed to put a single candle on the store shelves.  And to top it all off, I will have to order more wicks, although I just ordered freaking wicks......but now I need bigger wicks.  I want to kick someone in the teeth.

I am placing an order with Candlewic tonight, and if their wax proves consistent, they'll have a customer for life.

Ugh! Now I have to run tests, AGAIN! What wax are you getting from candlewic?

1 hour ago, ncraiders said:

I feel so sorry for everyone on here that sell candles for a living.  I can only image how much frustration it causes as well as how it can effect all of you on here that make candles to sell.  It t would be bad enough for someone like me that is only doing it as a hobby.

It is very hard. I've had to put very large wholesale orders on hold to run tests on waxes that have changed. I makes you look incompetent to your accounts. They don't understand the dynamics of candle making, and they don't want to. They just want the candles. How many times can they hear the same excuse of why they can't keep their candles in stock? It seems like every couple months all the waxes are changing. And of course, waiting on orders to re-test, is a significant loss of income. 

1 hour ago, bfroberts said:

I began burning my testers this morning, and it is obvious that this batch of 4630 will require wicking adjustments  There is no doubt about it.  My wicking will have to be adjusted at least one size up.  I'll have to do more extensive testing.  So far, after a 4 hour burn on 3 separate FO's, I know I'm underwicked across the board, and my flames are more erratic than I'm used to.  Bummer.

 

I emailed CS and this is the gist of the response I received:

 

Thank you for contacting us! It sounds like you may have gotten slabs from a harder batch of 4630. The physical properties of the wax are tailored by refining processes, but the resulting product can vary in hardness and texture. We've have had some recent batches that were softer than usual and others that were harder. This is typical of any wax and usually does not cause significant adjustments in performance. You may find that the wicking needs to be bumped up or down, but the burn quality and fragrance performance should hold true. 

 

I have been buying this wax for several years (although not usually from CS), and while I have noticed slight variations in the past, this variation was the most significant.  I have never had to adjust my wicking before.  Apparently that lucky streak is over.

Funny because with the soy we hear it’s because it’s a natural product and they can’t help the variances. And now we hear the paraffin manufacturers can’t help the way it’s refined. Which, by the way, most are from China because the domestic refined patroleum is not affordable for wax manufacturers in the US, so who knows what the quality control is like there. 

 I love how CS makes it sound so easy to adjust your wicking. I spend so much time and money retesting all these wax issues, it almost makes it impossible move forward  and have a quality candle business.