Sherl

Quickbooks Premier. I enter wax, wicks, ect as inventory.. then pull them out of inventory and put them back in as a candle by making a build. I take the laptop to shows and sell right out of that inventory. I get reports on inventory, can set flags for ordering when stock is low, and get a profitability report on jobs and items sold. WELL worth the $$.

Metal kabob skewers.. has a loop at the end. Bought 4 six years ago and still using them. Plus can be used to poke relief holes in pillars.

I love getting books on subjects I'm interested in and have bought several on candle making.. but have been a bit dissappointed in all of them. Spend time here on the boards going back over the old posts and you will learn tons. Then buy a kit and make a few. If you get hooked [ and you will ] the info you have found here should help you decide on waxes, wicks and such to try and start the really fun part.. testing! Locating suppliers close to you is going to be the big thing and the determining factor on wax choice. Shipping can get ugly fast so finding suppliers close by will be economically wise. Welcome to your new hobby [aka addiction ]

Double wicking causes the candle to consume quicker, they don't last as long as a single wick. Depends on what you want in your candle.

Mango Sage Tea from Tradewinds has been my personal favorite for years. Have recently fallen in love with Ambra de Nepal from JS and it will be a personal favorite for a while too.

Creases bother me.. get them on the end pieces, so they usually are the ones we use in the shower. Or if a friend is into a scent I discount thoses end pieces to them.

I listen to the cd on selling every day for a few days before every show.. kinda gets me in the mood and refreshes the ideas he talks about. I've read several books on selling and his methods for crafters are right on and they work. The booth design cd I listened to alot when I first started out to get the structure of my booth.. but watching people helped with the layout. I found they really did not like to go to the back of the booth... had shelves in the back corner. A friend made the same comment about her booth. We both redesigned to avoid that and both saw an increase in sales and traffic. This is my third year of shows and I can honestly say I've never had a bad one.. made good money at all of them and the cd's helped with that.

The votive cups get me too.. got sliced a few times before I did the upside down in the oven to clean. So far the pillar molds have been well behaved..

Yes the market is over saturated.. but many are just cheap and if you make a nice product and package it right.. you will get the sales. I did a show with 21 vendors, seven of which were candle makers.. and I did great. Four of the seven were on the same floor as I was. I also do some bnb to get more people into the booth. You can't sell if you can't get them in the booth. Every show is a learning situation, you have to watch people, respond to their likes and dislikes, and actually get out there and sell. Long drawn faces behind a table is not a good way to sell anything. Craft show shoppers have seen the poorly made candle for a long time now.. there has to be a reason to take a chance on yours. I recommend Bruce Bakers cd's on booth design and selling to anyone serious about doing well at shows.

The SBA has some tempates you can download to get you started. The local library should also be a good source for how to books. Do not think you need to invest in software. Lots of good, free info out there. Hardest parts is just doing it. I'm in the middle of one now. Forcasting is the hardest part.. but searching online should get you some stats to base your predictions on. Good luck!

That is a large store.. fixtures are expensive.. not to mention the inventory. I looked at some of my notes and I think the recomendation for stocking inventory is $50 per square foot. Average sales per sq ft is $100-$400 so you can see you have to have the inventory. Find out the minimums for these upscale candles, can be hundreds just to rep them and some need to be displayed in their own hutches, more money plus shipping. Lot of money to spend there when you can make them, sell at comparabe prices and make more in the end. Shipping on jars and wax about chokes me.. now pay shipping on the finished product and again.. lots of money going out the door you shoul not have to spend as a candle maker. I am not sure a cande shop of mixed brands would stand alone. I mean at any given craft show many people walk by with no interest in candles, a retail store will be the same thing. There has to be other reasons to get people into the store besides just candles or you will miss a large segment of your tourists. A gift shop with several brands of candes.. maybe. Do the research, and do the math. Write a business plan and see how long it is going to take to actually make a profit. Plan on 3 years to really show a profit. And, after all that.. make your decision. Good luck!

I kinda like both too.. depends on what and where it is needed. To do the all over body the emulsified is a bit easier to apply.

I use Dans Bands and hit them again if they get loose.. they snug up just fine.

Round labels are a real pain.. no matter the design program and even with a laser they don't line up perfectly. So the design has to take into account some movement on the label itself. I tried to have the circle outlined and it drove me nuts. I finally designed from the inside and left an area of no printing around the outside to allow for some of this movement... and preserve my sanity.

Mine are all shrink wrapped individually..

$12.00 for 4 oz.. $6.50 for 2 oz

I got stuff every where.. candle stuff is downstairs in the basement and organized. But got into making soap and started keeping things in the pantry.. no more food in there, just oils, cutters, molds and such. Need to haul it downstaris but really like to mix the lye in the sink. Got a sink in the basement so could move that stuff downstaris. Looking at having a shop downtown in the fall and having a nice workshop there.. so putting off really doing much more organizing until we get that going. DUring the show season my inventory stays in the trailer except my jar candle shelf. That comes into the living room so I can rearrange for every show and it is stocked the way I want it. Need to get DH to make a permanant shelp and just move the candles.. leave the shelf in the trailer. I also get locals call and come by for stuff. Kinda a pain to dig out of the trailer.. so really hoping we get this store opened.

I use the FCS too and it is worth the money in your time and getting consistant sized bars..

I use sashbox.. reasonably priced, a zen host [nice free shopping cart that is very powerful] and tech when you need them are good. Follow link on right side of my site..

Figure your wholesale price, give them a suggested retail price and let them price them what ever they want. If they get 3x.. good for them. There is alot to retail and the overhead in that place may demand that kind of markup. Make sure your phone number and web site are on the labels and when people check out your site or call and find they can get it cheaper.. you will benefit. Use them to expose your product to this clientel.

As much as I like free things like fo samples.. they always come after I've spent money with an order. If I was trying to get into some place, I'd probably offer the samples. But a request from nowhere and they can't offer you verifiable info, especially a tax id number..sounds fishy to me. I think they should have to pay something like $25 to get a sample package and cover the shipping. If they place an order, you can credit that off so it becomes a free sample. If they were serious, it is a reasonable amount. Can't think of any [serious] business that would expect to get free samples from a company. I had someone at a show ask for a pink candle for a breast cancer auction. I was busy and asked them to bring me a receipt on letterhead. They said they didn't have anything with them. I wasn't comfortable with the stuff they were telling me but I let a candle go. They were supposed to send info on letterhead so I could have a receipt for tax purposes.. never got it. I think I was scammed.. I don't mind giving to causes or to increase business.. just want to make sure they are legit now before I get involved.

Clear label printed with black from a laser and so far the lables are not smearing.. even after lotion gets on the hands and handles the container.

$2.00 a tube here...

I use for shampoo what ever extra soap I have around. I'm in the country and can tell when the water softener needs more salt.. my hair gets a bit gummy feeling. One wash with a regular shampoo straightens that out. For the most part I find my hair is softer feeling with my soap ithan the store bought shampoo. I also like the soaps that are not as conditioning for use on my hair.. that extra conditioning that is nice for the skin is a bit much for the hair. My hair is naturally fine and straight and for the most part I wear it that way. I do use them every day. Keep thinking I want to design a soap just for the hair but I'm finding using the end pieces of batches that are a bit rough to sell work just fine.

Wow, people amaze me.. I'd love the recipe to Pepsi but sure dont have the cahoonas to ask for it. I've met candle makers at shows and if they do not know about this board I refer them.. but as suggested, this person may just want everybody to give them answers without spending the time [and $$] to learn and understand. So, not sure I'd refer to the board. When I started I spent a lot of time with google.. and think that is what they need to do. I bought for a year stuff out of state before I found local suppliers and saved some money. It's all part of the process. There are too many thrown together candles at the shows these days.. people not doing their homework. They may think that since you are not in the same state, you would not see them as competition and give them the answer. I'd thank them for their interest and let them know that just because I was not a nationally know brand [yet ] like yank##, I still had trade secrets and years of R&D that was not available to anyone for any price. Suggest the library and hobby lobby as a place to start and more info is available online should they decide to persue. Or, Maybe you could forward it to yank## and tell them you couldn't give out your info and wondered if they might help the poor folks out?? ** I just reread the letter and they got your stuff in Dec and are now making candles and stuff 2 1/2 months later.. sounds a bit funky to me... send them the link to google and yank##