Beverley

Any suggestions for alternatives to the pig fat in this formula?

haha! Guess I'm just trying to make excuses to get off the east coast! Too bloody cold!

Was just on the show site.... seems extracts is at the Cali show as well.... Product Divisions At Home; Boutique; EX•TRACTS®; Fashion Accessories; Gifts Etc.; Jewelry (Cash & Carry); Made by Hand; Resort, Souvenir & Licensing; Stationery & More; Vintage Collection and World Style.

I will certainly look into your recommendations for shows in this area. Thanks and I hope you get to extracts!

said that I have some experience.... My husband does several of them each year but not for the candle/gift industry. He is in the travel business and does alot of big shows for that industry. I just wanted to know as stated in my original post if anyone has done this show or not.

Hi Jacqui, Absolutely no need to apologize for suggesting the co-op. [removed] I do appreciate your post (and those of you who have emailed me directly). I don't intend to leave the forum simply because of some juvenile behavior, you will get that most anywhere and from some of the most unsuspecting places! I have however found the forum to be quite helpful in my endeavor and will stick around as I grow my business. I still have to wick other jar sizes ya know! I am sure I will have plenty of questions when I start playing with other jar sizes after Christmas and would love to continue to learn from those of you who have been helpful - it is all very much appreciated! I would have posted this on the "other" thread but it seems I can read what is being said about me but do not yet have privileges to post there..... I may be new HERE but not totally new to candles so if you all would give me some time and get to know me I am sure everyone can benefit from the wealth of knowledge to be found on this forum. If anyone has questions about the nature of my business, why the Bahamas is listed on my site, why I have a PA phone number, how I'm selling in other countries more so than here in the states, etc... I invite you all (you know who you are) to ask whatever you like. Maybe I am ignorant, but I didn't know that when I joined here to find some information on wicking a tumbler that I'd need to be interrogated, tarred and feathered and a get a credit check! I just want to make candles...... Happy Holidays to everyone.

I don't know if it's an emulsifier issue or not. Can't be sure. I will try changing my proportions as suggested by CareBear. (By the way, the PA # you mentioned on the other thread is my cell phone and I use it for business. I live in PA but own property on Kamalame in the Bahamas and travel there quite often for work as well as pleasure. The owner of the island is my daughters godfather. Hope this clears some things up)

Neem oil may help as well, mixed into a little carrier oil. Doesn't smell very good though..... maybe try Neem powder in your soaps??

Try this. www.snowdriftfarm.com/cremophor.html

Thanks for all of the helpful info. Also, I just want to say thanks to the folks in the off topic thread. I checked my website stats and I have had a lot of extra traffic to my website in the past 24 hours!

Hi Sock Monkey,, thanks for all of your insight. We contacted them about 1 1/2 years ago and received the packet for exhibitors so I am very familiar with all of the costs etc. My husband is well versed in trade shows (does about 4 per year) and I have had some experience with them as well. We will take a look at some advertising options and see if anything would be suitable. Thanks again....... Have you been to the show/done any other larger trade shows?

Nope. If I did I would know how to make it.....

Thanks for your very helpful response! We do a fair amount of wholesale in various other countries (Bahamas, Seychelles, Russia, Mexico, etc) but not so much in the states. We are hoping to expand our wholesale accounts here at some point. I did figure that the economic situation that things would be less than fantastic but I don't bother with craft shows and since I have some experience with trade shows and my husband has a ton of experience with them, we thought this would be a good fit for us. As for getting two booths, that is something we were considering in order to give each of my businesses it's own personality. The body care line has a totally different vibe than the candles and want to brand them separately but we will certainly look at booth sizes, locations on their "map" and probably do a mock up of the space in order to see if we can make one booth work in the various size options. I regard to the lamps, I pour my wax pretty cool compared what I see is the norm here which seems to help my fragrance throw so I like to have a nice warm jar for adhesion. Thanks so much for your advice.... Had a rough time on this board lately and I do appreciate your feedback! Merry Christmas!!

I have done a show before and yes, I am aware it's not a craft show. We are planning to do the bath and body and possibly candles but if we do the candles, they will be at a separate booth since they are two entirely different companies. Just wanted to see what peoples experiences were at this show if any.

Hubby and I have been thinking about doing this show for a couple years and began to discuss it again this evening...... http://www.californiagiftshow.com/

Perfect! Thanks for responding. Huge help!!

Anyone using restaurant type overhead heat lamps to heat jars? I'm thinking of buying a double overhead warmer to hang over my tables but wasn't sure if this is an effective way to heat them.

My husband made a mock box last night in the 4x4x6 last night and it just looks way too bulky. I'd have to stuff alot of paper in there to keep the candle from moving around too much and I think it would look too big on retailer shelves. I may actually change my jar to the 11 oz tumblers and see how that will work as the lids will still fit on that size. Thanks for the input!!

Thanks I'll look into it and see if they fit.... problem seems to be that I have silver spa lids on my jars that are adding a little to the height of the jar.

I am searching for candle boxes for a 14oz tumbler. I am looking for a box that is 3.5 x 3.5 x 4.5.... All I seem to be able to find are 4x4x6. I made a mock up of that size and 6in is just too deep.

I appreciate that you posted the co-op rules. I had no idea of what I was getting in to!! Yes, I have noticed that people are very attached to their suppliers and I will continue to look for one that is suitable for me to use when testing new fragrances and there are a few that are often mentioned here that are within driving distance. I am hoping to set up an appointment and visit one of them that is about 2 hours drive for me and see how it goes. Although I am planning to use a direct source for a handfull of FO's, it doesn't make much sense to do that with FO's that aren't selling as well yet still sell enough to warrant keeping the fragrance as a buying option. I will possibly look into the co-op option once I have met the requirements. Thanks for your help!

Im not saying that I have this down for every FO I am going to try in the future. But so far the ones I have tried from the mfgr have worked for me. I am fully expecting to run into problems with certain oils as I go along. But for now, I am able to offer the FO's that I tested and that worked. I'm not trying to launch 80 candle fragrances at one time! I agree that each oil needs to be tested thoroughly which is why I made samples in the jars I will be selling in and so far I only needed to wick up on one candle and all have burned beautifully.

Hi Traci, I get my jars locally but haven't been able to find the silver spa lids anywhere else. Would you mind sharing where you get yours? They are quite expensive at SN!

I totally understand the rules for the co-op.... just couldn't find them. The link wasn't working. The thing that got me a bit upset about this whole thing was that I wasn't even the one who suggested a co-op. It was suggested to me and I thought I'd go for it if anyone wanted to do one. I don't even care anymore. I have my happy candles and my happy FO's and now I'm off to my happy bed!

I too use the tumbler (14 oz)and they get a great response! I added silver spa lids to them as well from the Scented Nest. Very chic.... we are adding a box to finish off the packaging as well for spring. Just need to find one I like. Lots to do!! My tumblers go for $28.00 ea. but we also have apothecary jars in 3 sizes for folks who want the "yankee" look rather than the "Seda France" look and I have different labels for the tumblers than the apothecary jars too.