racolvin

I'm not to the point of considering giving up just yet. These price increases merely put us on an even par with paraffin prices, on a per-pound basis. At least that's what I'm seeing down here but I'm lucky enough to be able to get my wax fairly local to avoid monstrous shipping charges. Those that have to have their wax shipped will be in trouble for sure

Um ... I'm sorry but ... which jar are you referring to? Did you mean to put a link in here?

Hiya!

As you know, I use 464 and it does just dandy for me

If you don't have Excel, you would need a compatible program to open these files and use them. For a free alternative, I would suggest Open Office, which can open these files and let you use them normally. Go to www.openoffice.org and get the software there.

I use the Color Crystals from Makes Scents (http://makesscentscandles.com/shopping/colorants.html#crystals) They're easy to use with consistency if you use a set of small measuring spoons and they're nowhere near as messy as liquids. The crystals are basically the same material as the blocks/chips, but they've been rendered into tiny pellets for easy measuring.

precisely the kind of question that makes me focus my marketing on my local geographic area I'll sell to outsiders and ship, but my focus is local clients. My personal goal is to get to where I sell 1k candles/month in a local area of about 350k population. If I can hit that, I'll just settle in and be done - not really interested in getting bigger than that and then I don't have to worry about how my candles burn in Alaska

Lorrie:

Just out of curiosity, why couldn't they use their MK or PC accounts for credit card processing? I know MK ladies around here that charge for some ancillary services - gift wrap, baskets,etc - don't they have the ability to run those types of things through their accounts?

Thanks for replying

My questions boil down to this: Assuming that the product lines don't overlap (compete) is there any reason a single home party can't represent multiple lines? For example, could someone that does Mary Kay also do Pampered Chef? Or, is there any reason a joint party couldn't be held where Mary Kay and Pampered Chef products are presented simultaneously?

Of course where I'm going with this ultimately is: would there be any reason someone repping Mary Kay could NOT also sell my candles at the same party? Call it a "Cuticles & Candles" party or something?

What I'd like to do is recruit the ladies that do these parties already to represent my candles at the same time. Call them portable wholesale accounts if you like

These companies are built around the "home party" idea so if any of you readers out there do these things, I'd like to post some questions here, both for my own benefit and the possible benefit of others.

I don't think you have a "bad batch" of LX22's at all. I did extensive testing with LX and they're all I use in my products. My wax is different (GW464) but LX22's particularly did poorly in every single test. In almost all cases, they would have a pitiful flame and eventually drown out.

In a 3.5" diameter jar, an LX24 or higher would be the way to go if you were using my particular wax. I would start there and give it a shot.

I use the color crystals from Makes Scents and have been very happy with the colors they create in my soy wax. They're basically the same material as the color blocks but they've been rendered into tiny pellets that I can measure out with a set of tiny measuring spoons.

heh ... one of my customers called it a "tonsilectomy tool"

Hmmm ... can you elaborate on the "made the wax slightly more brittle" part?

To my understanding, the MP is the result of the "equation" as you put it. Additives+Oils+Emulsifiers+Glycerides (mono,di, or tri) = MP/hardness. To extend that, the higher the MP of the wax, the harder the wax will be. (for those of you reading along, I'm NOT saying this is fact/gospel, just the way I currently understand it - I am frequently wrong, so take it with a large mound of salt )

Anyway, when I was using CO as an additive, it changed the consistency of my wax, making it softer to the touch. In doing so, it did have an effect on the smooth/creaminess of my tops. Granted I was using 1/2 tablespoon per lb of wax, so that might have something to do with it

I hadda go back and reread what you said about hot and humid, then I saw where you are... I get it now!

The coconut oil will harden the wax a little bit, so don't be surprised if the "magic" wears off when the weather turns cool again. Glad it worked out for ya! It's GREAT when a plan works out, eh?

Stella:

Why would you think it would harden the wax? My impression is that it makes it softer. The coconut oil I get from Wal-Mart has a melt point of 76 degrees, which is lower than the melt point of my wax (GW464), so by adding CO, it would bring down the average melt point of the mixture, which makes it softer.

Or am I missing something?

For a standard 2oz votive that's about dead on the expected burn time, so it sounds like you're doing just dandy

lol .. only if you tell me what it means first

please don't tell me that... I've looked at a few different options and thought I was getting a deal at $17/month...zutalors!!

Yea, $17/month (US or Canadian) is a bit much. Sorry about that.

Um ... what exactly is "zutalors!!"? Is that some sort of Canadian curse word that I'm unfamiliar with?

Cost of a website? how much do you pay for webhosting? Heavens, if it takes a case of 16oz to pay for it, you might consider a different host

I use www.webhostingbuzz.com and pay$84 for 2 Years at a time and get a massive amount of storage space, bandwidth, etc. I've never found a better deal for webhosting for what they give me.

Personally I don't think it's possible to stir too much. I use an automatic stirring device that stirs my pour pots from the time I put raw wax in until the moment just before I start pouring.

The case quantities was added for wholesale accounts actually. I'm in the process of creating a whole new and separate shopping cart for wholesalers, so those case quantities will go away from the retail shopping cart soon.

The only case quantities I sold to retail customers was for the little 3oz tureens, mostly to baby showers and wedding parties.

Thankx Kat :embarasse

Now if I could only get these soy votives to work the way I want them to, I could round out my product line for a while and go back to working on my sales and marketing

Hey, I saw Martha Stewart do it ... poured the wax right into a hollowed out bamboo piece. If Martha does it, it must be correct

Personally I use the Color Crystals from Makes Scents ... liquid dyes were just way too messy for me. Or is that I was too messy for them? Well, either way, I don't use them anymore

www.makesscentscandles.com

heh .. keep an eye on that 464 ... it WILL frost like sonuvabeech if the conditions are right

Thanx for the suggestions everyone