Sherl

I actually have 3 shelves instead of a table.. one just for candles and the others are for bnb. I group most items by product.. but last show did scrubs and butters together as had many of the same scents in both. Could try for add on sales that way. Will see how it works over the next few shows.

I use them some and really like their fragrances. I love Indian Summer and Emerald Sea but they have not really sold well for me. Mango Sage Tea is my all time favorite fo.. love it in anything. Saguaro Cactus is nice in soap as is Blackberry Sage. The Patchouli Raz is getting to be a best seller here for me in several products. Nice quality and I don't order often enough to notice oos.

There are many versions of this bag.. and ways of making them. My local woman duplicated the exact way I made them right down to copying the card I inserted inside. Its been worked out.. she makes a different style and we are both happy. No one mistakes hers for mine. And yes, these are on the web, how to and so forth.. to email me and ask specifically how I do mine was uncalled for. Just like info on making soap or candles is out there on the web. You just don't email a business with a product you like and say I want to make one, what is your recipe? I origionally bought one, liked it and wanted to make some gifts. I lived half way accross the country from where I bought is so was not in a place to compete with the person I got it from. So I looked on the web to get a general sense of what was out there, bought different things and kinda did my own design with them, purposly trying to be different from what I had seen. Some worked, some did not. Got a few scorched ones in the process. When I got one I liked I used it alot. Then made gifts. Had interest in more so now they are added to my product line.

The product is made from fabric and the woman was not interested in purchasing anything.. she was looking to make one [so she said] for herself and as such does not need to know what went into mine. She was very clear all she wanted was info, not product.

I make a non scented product - potato bag - and they sell well for me. Like my other products, it took time and money to figure out what worked and what didn't and they basically asked what material I prefered to make them out of and why, so there was no confusion there. Its a lot cheaper to just buy one than to buy the materials to make one.. because of what you have to buy and the size it comes. Makes no sense to tell me it was for just one so I can trust her with the info. And the thing is.. she is not the first. I had a woman in my hometown last year that I had to serve a c&d letter. Too many people know me and that product around here and her materials we not as nice as mine.. didn't want anyone slamming my product if hers fell apart. If it was a hobby it would be one thing.. but I sell these and I have no desire to impart what works best to someone I don't know. I see that info the same as my wax formula or soap recepies. She can google just as easily as email me.

Got an email yesterday asking if I use this or that in one of my products and after tracing the ip address to nowhere I've done business, I replied that was like asking Yank@@ what they use for wax. The reply I got today to that made some crack about me being offended and I was the only 'not nice' person she emailed, matter of fact I was rude. She said it was like asking if I prefered Tide or Cheer. Are people that dense?? I told her is was like wanting to make Tide and asking the company for the ingredients. Don't get me wrong.. I love people and love 'talking shop' at the shows with other candle or soap people and I don't mind helping others. But we never give 'trade secrets' so to speak. Where do people get off thinking anyone will just give them company business, especially with no relationship, then say the business owner is rude if they refuse? To top is off this person then says they will remember my bad attitiude when they go to place their 'large' Christmas order. Give me a break. Sorry about the vent but I know ya'll know how anoying people like that are.

VERY nice site. Great colors, easy to navigate and pictures are nice too. I have high speed so eveything loaded real quick and crisp. Good Luck!

I tell people there is a science to making candles and it can take years to get a consistant candle.. not to mention the expense. If they want to make candles I suggest the stuff from hobby lobby and the internet and google.

PVC just does not seem to be as strong, even the sch 40, as pipe. Then adjustability comes in. Booths are not always 10x10. 8' of fabric hanging on them will bow the top a bit unless they are the heavier pvc. Only way to find out is to just do it. Base does need to be more stable than the picture shows.. that looks like it would fall if someone bumps it.. and they will. I spent some time thinking about using pvc and just couldn't design around the issues brought up on here.

Having a range of product and price points is good.. gives people more of a reason to come into the booth. Decorate your booth so it is warm and inviting. Most of the shows I do have a Prim feel to them.. I saw women loved that style so I made my booth have that feel. I have women stop and check out the decorating, then decide they will check out what I have to sell. Not everybody wants candles or soaps.. I've actually sold parts of my display. Do not sit! I do not even bring a chair.. I am there to sell and when I don't have people in the booth I am wiping dust and fingerprints off candles or straightening my product displays. Sitting just brings a downer feel to the booth... then, when you get up, it can make people want to leave because they feel like they will be pushed into a sale. You got the smile, have fun! Enjoy everybody that comes by and as you said, learn from each show. Good luck!!

Glad things are going well! I do not think you will have a trademark issue using an alligator that is not the trademark and colors of your team. Up here in Buckeye country I see a lot of 'Go Bucks' and 'Ohio Buckeye' on crafts that is not in the trademarked font.. and from what I have heard, it is ok.. there has never been an issue. HTH

The home page seems at odds with the rest of the site. You have a banner then pretty much the same thing below..then the font is large. This is the page that will determine if people stay or move on. Don't like the google ads on the right and the comment about manufacturers I agree with.. not really necessary unless you will have others. If so, maybe turn on that module when you have the others set up. Otherwise very nice site.

Maybe it's me.. but I got a bit lost in the navigation.. used to having them on the left side I guess. Your off to a good start and it takes a bit to get used to zen. As suggested, a banner that reflects what you are selling would be good. Scent descriptions will also be a nice addition. On my laptop the site streatches accross the entire screen.. need to see it on the desktop to see if you would need to scroll left to right to read your pages. Personally I find that a pain. Keep at it and good luck.

I use Tony's Love Spell and Dragons Blood in candles 1oz per pound and they are both great. I found Cedarberry very weak and Coconut Lime Verbena threw ok but the scent gagged me. Have several other oils I'm using in bnb and need to get tested in wax. HTH

I compared printers and decided I wanted th OKI 5500. About $600 worth of printer. So, figured this seasons shows would get that paid for. Walked into Staples for labels a few months ago and saw that printer for $350.. had been a floor model. Very quickly got that loaded into the car and did the happy dance all the way home. I love the labels I get out of it. I print on clear and kraft and just love the crisp quality of the ink. Lasers are well worth the investment.

Nice site.. good choice of colors and the navigations is simple. Best of luck with it!

The warmers I use and sell use a 40 watt bulb. They quickly melt the wax melts and it seems like minutes and the fragrance is floating around the room.

I like zencart as well. So many sites I use have you register so I guess I don't think anything about it. Never had anyone comments about it either. ZenCart does such a nice job and is FREE. You can always try the zencart and if it does not work, then invest money in the others.

My shopping cart has set the tone of my site. I changed the colors and added pictures but it has the feel of many others. I like clean lines and easy navigation and wanted a cart that would calculate shipping. Check the links on the right side of the page for info on cart and host.

Having 50 products to a page is a bit much for me. I don't like having to scroll so far down to look at things, espcially just names. Just curious, why do you not have the scent description showing on the product page? Pictures loaded ok, but then I'm not dialup. On the right side the language module isn't really necessary [imho]. Otherwise nice site, like the clean feel of it.

I too bought a Wagner after I burnt up a supposed commercial one. This is one for stripping paint and it can shrink wrap all day and be fine. Think I paid $30 but was on sale at Lowes.. reg $39.95. So much better because the settings are adjustable.. and it blows gently on low so I dont have things shrinking too fast and tearing holes in the shrink.

Where you place a candle in a room makes a difference too. There should be some sort of return vent for the heat/ac system in your home.. and you want to put the candle as far away from that as possible so when the system kicks on it pulls the scent through the room.. not just down the vent. Fragrance quality, wax used and how its wicked are also issues. Are you using a wax that most people get a good throw from? If no you may want to reconsider changing. Don't go cheap with fragrances.. find some good suppliers.. seach the archives and you will get a feel for those that most people have found to constantly sell good fo's. Then you play with the wick.. are you getting a good melt pool? If not changes need to be made. There is as much science as art in producing a good candle.. and it comes with a cost in time and money.

For me the cost of the label is part of the cogs for the candle.. and the ink is the cost of doing business.. another expense like lights or fuel. Lot easier to figure and unless you have a dedicated printer for lables, really won't do you much good.

Instead of creating a new inventor item, you create and inventor assembly. There is a box to do say 1 jar, 1 wick, 16 oz wax, 1 oz fo.. ect. Then you go into the activities tab and do a build. I create new items with out the price.. do a build then go back to the item and it shows the cost of the build. I then price the item accordingly. If you need more info feel free to pm. My version is the 2003. I got mine off Ebay for about $300 new and with a $120 rebate [had earlier version]. At the time that version was going for about $500. Watch Ebay and get a feel for what they are going for and try that route to get a good buy on the software. Might even see if you can get the 2003 version for a good price.

$1.25 .. 6 or more and they are $1