beekeeper_sd

Chairs that sit you up high enough to see over your tables are ESSENTIAL to doing craft shows if you don't plan on standing the entire time! I always felt you should try to make eye contact with every potential customer but getting up and down out of bag chairs all day is very tiring. The best thing I ever did for my shows was to get tall directors chairs so I could remain sitting, make contact with all my potential customers and not have to get up for every looky-loo walking past my booth.

I carry gift baskets containing, one of every item I sell, with me to every show and sell maybe 3 a year, if I'm lucky. Everyone looks at it and thinks it's a nice idea but that's usually as far as it goes.

Hell yea, I would take it back! Then I would use that candle to show my customers that I take care of them no matter what and not how to abuse a candle.

Our company policy is take back anything for any reason, or no time limit period.

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I agree, my policy is 100% satisfaction guarantee and word of mouth advertising is my best spent dollar!!!!

Just another note, and I don't mean to disagree with a previous poster, but I personally would avoid a lip balm sweetener for one simple reason.

From what I have read, using a lip balm sweetener can actually make your lips drier because you are more apt to continually and unconciously lick your lips causing them to dry out. :undecided

I agree that it must be your flavor oil. You are using some of the same oils I use in my lip balms (only I add 2 more oils) and my UNFLAVORED lip balms don't have a bad taste.

What flavor are you using?

I would probabaly use a #2 square braided wick for that size beeswax candle. Remember, you will probably have a much larger flame than you usually have on most other candles but, your beeswax candle should burn up the melt pool and not drip.

Not to be biased or anything but, I would suggest making beeswax pillars. My 6 x 3 pillars will burn for approximately 90+ hours. Most churches, if they are burning real candles, won't burn anything but beeswax because they do not smoke or drip.

I have a grubby electric candle mold that I turned inside out to clean and it ripped down the side and part of the bottom. Is there a way to fix it so I can still pour candles? Grrrr, it was expensive and I've only poured a handful of candles with it.

I have a silicone mold that I made myself that ripped pretty significantly. I just make sure the rip is aligned evenly and rubber band snugly. I've used it for over a year this way and have no problems with the mold. Silicone is very forgiving.

I sell mine in boxes of 6 and then use the same boxes to sell tea lights in sets of 12. I have had a lot of people want to mix and match boxes but now, since I always have extra tea lights and votives when I pour, I sell assorted boxes of each. Seems to work just fine. Got my boxes from papermart. Also, they fit my labels very nicely.

I use my silicone molds to make 100% beeswax candles. I wick directly through the mold and use 100% silicone spray that you get from the hardware store as a mold release. I use only silicone molds for my pillars, tapers, tea lights and all floating candles. They work fantastic. I only wish I could get silicone molds for the votives.

I sell only beeswax products and have sold to a lot of vegans at craft shows so I wonder if it is going to be a problem for you.

When I first started making candles I used two roasters. I kept the wax melted all the time and they worked just fine. I did use water so it was like a double boiler.

My husband then made me a wax melter and now I have a commercial wax melter that keeps about 250 lbs. of wax melted at once. The only time I turn the melter off is after Christmas when I'm not making many candles.

But, I regress, the roasters will work just fine for you. I used mine for probably two years before moving on to something bigger. Just set the thermo. to the temp you want to pour at and leave it going.

Is the silicone and the wick itself enough to keep from wax leaking out the wick hole? Or is there a proper way to seal the hole? The wax leaking is my biggest concern.

I've had my molds for several years and have never had them leak wax.

You'll never get the price you want or paid out of your equipment and, as said before, you might decide to do this again later. What's it going to cost you to keep the equipment, a little storage space? Big deal! Been going through the same thing myself but hate to give up all the stuff I have collected through the years and know that someday I'll use it again. Keep your equipment, sell off any perishable supplies and wait to see what happens in the future.

Well, tell that to my soap because, since I started doing it this way I have never had trouble getting my soap to trace.

Before I had a fifty-fifty chance of making good soap.

I use #2 square braided wick so it's pretty thick. Just look for needles with big eyes. You might try looking in the craft needles. I think one needle I have is a needlepoint needle and has a really big eye. My taper wicking needle I spread the eye out enough to get the wick through.

I don't get a false trace. Actually the soap traces very well. I don't know why you don't understand the cold water, you are essentially cooling the soap the minute you mix the lye mixture with the melted oils, that has to happen to make the soap solidify.

I just wick with a darning needle, then you can use the wick to help pull the candle out of the mold.

My suggestion would be to scrape as much wax out as you can with a credit card or plastic scraper, then use Goo Gone to wipe the microwave out.

Next time, don't melt beeswax in the microwave. You're lucky it only popped. Beeswax is highly flammable!!!

I have found that if you leave your pot full of soap in sink of cold water (enough to go above the level of soap in the pot) it will trace faster. And, you do not have to stir the soap continuously. Just stir it occasionally and make sure you stir in the thinkening soap well.

Slow down!!!

Just one more quick note, I use #2 square braided, cotton wicking for mostly all of my beeswax candles except for my pillars. For pillars I use 60 ply flat braided, cotton wicks.

Chef, the reason your wick is dying is because you are not using a big enough wick. Beeswax candles require almost twice the size wick as other candles. Try a #2 square braided, cotton wick, primed with beeswax. I get mine from www.candlewic.com. They make custom wick tabs. Make sure to ask for beeswax coated. They are also very helpful with advising you of the size wicks you need.

Mine is www.SimplyBeeLightful.com

good luck, Chef! I too would like to see more posts about beeswax. I just don't think there are that many of us who make beeswax candles anymore.

Anytime you need to bounce ideas and questions to me, I would be glad to bounce them back.