RichardLOZ

Yes that is of course true, however mixing any kind of crystalising palm with soy would have the effect of potentially increasing the melt point of the wax due to palm have a much higher melt point than the soy. I can recall doing some experimentation in this area some time ago, and was not really satisfied with the result I was getting. I cant comment any further than that as I didn't really spend any serious time in experimenting and testing, but was doing so to see what I could do about my soy melting during the hot summer months here. JMHO as usual

I do believe that somewhere over there sells it. Not sure who or even if it is the same, but I do recall a thread sometime ago where it was mentioned. Might take some searching, but it is here somewhere. Whether you can or cant get it I guess isn't really the point. You have to work with what is available in your area / country. Trust me we have a much smaller selection to choose from down here, but we make do, and if it is something that I just have to have, then I will bring it in from the States as long as it is cost effective and contributes to our product. As Stella has mentioned many times, making a great candle is a system, and each persons system is different. Could be wax, wicks, oils, jars, temperature where you live, pour temperature, ambient temperature in the room you are pouring in, etc, etc. There are just so many variables to take into account. Even if you had the exact same wax as I did and I gave you my exact formulation, your result is likely to be different in any case. Read, research and test is about all you can do to find what works for you? yes it is time consuming, yes it is costly and yes sometimes it can be a total PITA, but thats what it is all about. I am not having a go at you here either by the way, just stating my opinion from things that I have learnt. Good luck with it all.

We use 464, but also mix some non crystalising container palm with it. This works for "our system". Lowers the melt point, increases the HT and the sides of the jar and like a baby's bottom. It did not happen overnight however and took many, many hours and much $ to achieve that outcome....

Thanks Georgia, although I think they are the smaller size. I actually need the 3 3/16" size to fit the apothecary jars. Was buying from Factory Direct @ 49c each. Might have to go and look at a supplier in China direct, but dont know if I can sell 50,000 of them....LOL

Hi Candybee Here is a link to our website with the kind of thing we are looking for. Rusty Star Candle Cap

Hey all. Just got an email response from Factory Direct that they have discontinued stocking the rusty candle cappers, which are a good seller for us down here in Australia as no one else has them. Do any of you know where else I would be able to get them from as we would really like to continue having them as one of our accessory lines. Thanks

Zen cart is ok, however I found that it is not that easy to customize. If you need to play around with your site, add additional modules etc, then OSCommerce is probably a better option. Yeah its a little more complex, but I guess thats the price you pay. JMHO

Hey Susan You haven't been around these parts for a while now. You been busy....LOL. Yeah the UV situation is not good right now. Sydney is bloody hopeless as always, seen their jar stock lately - oops sorry you wouldn't have seen it as they have not had any stock for about 8 months! Just got to hope that our lovely people in customs here don't think I am trying to import 1 lb of some illicit white powder for some other use

If they are indoors and there is fluoro (sp) lighting, then yes you are definitely going to need to lace them with a bit of UV. At little goes a very long way though. Roughly 1 - 2 grams / kg so the 1 lb I have coming is going to go the distance quite well.

We have been going for about 3 years or so and I wouldn't say that our business is either too steady or too active, although that depends on the month I guess. We do supply a few shops right now as well as do a few markets and parties, with the odd fundraiser thrown in for good measure. Plan is to grow the business slowly over the next 3 - 5 years so that it can become a FT going concern. Its going to be a balance in growing it as I also work a FT job to pay the bills right now, so for us aty least it is going to have to be slow and steady to get to where we would like to be one of these days.....

Thanks for the info. Never seen a two part powder before, not to mention the exorbitant price! I guess if I get really stuck I could try it, but right now I have 1 lb on its way from the States which should keep us out of trouble for a while anyway. Thanks again and I will keep them in mind as I could probably go and pick it up from there as well.

Hey Eric As far as I can tell it does not brighten the colours at all. We only use the UV in our palm wax line, as thats where the fading is most noticeable. In fact I don't think that I have had a soy candle fade on me yet, although now that I have said that I am sure I will find one For us, the pillars are the biggest concern mainly due to the vibrant, deep colours that Tracy decides to pour them in. We learnt the hard way about UV, after doing an outdoor show back in our early days without any UV in the product. Wow did that short few hours in the sun make a whole lot of difference. Don;t know if I have answered your question or not, but perhaps someone more scientific than I can assist

LOL. Yeah that thought did cross my mind when I asked for a pound also. Wil be interesting to see what happens when it gets here We might see it on Boarder Security or some such TV show.....hahaha

Thanks so much once again guys. UV not expected in Australia till June / July so very very helpful.

All now sorted thanks to another wonderful CT member.

Hi there, As is typical here, both of our local suppliers are OOS of UV inhibitor, and have been for some weeks now. There's a surprise! Just wondering if anyone in Aus would have some UV spare that I could grab as a tide over till our illustrious suppliers get there act together once again? It would be so much appreciated. Failing that, if any of you lovely people in the States would be willing to ship some over to me here (can paypal immediately) as it is very hard to get shipping quotes from the US sites and then the ones that you do get can be way up there, such as 1lb from Bittercreek North at $85 shipping! Any assistance would be very much appreciated. Thanks

I use 5 different types of palm as well as 2 different types of soy. Some varieties from Perth and some from Sydney. I do not use soy pillar blend at all as we only make palm pilllars, and both palm and soy jars. As other people have mentioned in various threads, you need to get some 1kg samples of each wax that you are interested in as well as a variety of wicks to test. This will change depending on whether you are making pillars or jars. For example I use CDN's in my soy & palm jars as well as votives. In my pillars I use ACS wicks. Then you also have to take the FO into account as well. For example in my palm jars I use a CDN 8 for Sandalwood and up to a CDN 14 for some other scents, as well as just about everything inbetween. Also for example Sandalwood from one company can wick totally differently to Sandalwood from another company. Spend on some samples first, decide which way you would like to go, whether it be jars or pillars, decide on your wax, get a couple of FO's to start with and then test test test and then test further until you have a nice burning safe candle. Once you have mastered that, then and only then go ahead and try your next FO. It is not a cheap hobby my any means, despite what most of us thought when we started. Yes we do sell now, but we had invested the better part of about $5000 before we ever sold our first candle. Good luck and keep smiling.

As ACS are the only supplier who supply ACS wicks it is very unlikely that you will find anything in regards to them via Google. Why not just give David a call and ask him?

We do candle parties pretty regularly and most people who are hosting the party when you ask, say that there about 10 - 14 people coming. Don't be dishartened as the number of people at the party really does not have too much baring on the overall sales as crazy as that statement seems. One of our best parties had 1 person turn up and one of our worst had about 15. It really depends on the day, the people and how much they like candles as well as how much they have to spend. We also offer mobile card transactions for Visa, Mastercard, AMEX and plain old debit cards and I reckon in doing so our sales have probably doubled. Many people dont carry cash, but offer them card facilities and they seem to spend with willful abandon Let us know how it goes, but I am sure it will be ok.

That kid even got a small write-up in one of the papers here in Sydney Australia. Not a national daily or anything, just a freebee handed out to commuters on the afternoon train, but no doubt still read by 10's of 1000's of people. I cant even make them for $5.00!!!

Have to agree with everyone. Love some of her oils, and she gets them to Australia in about 6 days so cant complain about that at all.

Yeah you have to love those people. Pick up the jar, and then take a huge shiff through the glass! Whats up with that? Do they think I use some magic glass that holds the hot liquid wax in, however allows the scent to permiate through the glass for their sniffing pleasure. When you then say to them, "it's ok to take the lid off", they look at you as though you have 4 heads and say "I can smell it fine" Ok I guess - what can you do except humour them.......... although sometime a good slap may work wonders

Depending on the FO, a CDN 22 or 24 "should" work ok in that jar. Might die down a little towars the end is all. As always test, test, test Cheers

Hi there A question for those of you who do successful fund raisers. We are looking at doing one soon for the local primary school (approx 400 kids). The issue is with sample packs. When the kids sell chocolates, they typically go around door to door with the chocolates and sell on the spot, however we are not going to make hundreds of clams for this to happen, so people will need to order. We are only doing clams as people will not pay the price for jars, so how do you do your samples? Kids are going to want to take them home to show and sniff, which is where the problems lies. How many sample packs do we supply, how do the kids work it so that people can look and smell. To do a couple for each class might work and then have them in the classroom, however not every parent goes up to the school, with many kids catching the bus etc. Any ideas, suggestions or insights would be most helpful and appreciated for the more seasoned vets in the fund-raising arena. Cheers

You think you have it bad. You want to try shipping from Australia to the US. 1 3 x 6 pillar and a few melts was $48.00 to NJ. Lucky it was for a friend, but I dont think we will be shipping to the US anytime soon