RichardLOZ

As frustrating as it can be sometimes, we all go through it and deal with it in our own way....LOL. Personally I find coffee calms me while test burning, or I will test on days when I am working from home so I can get a couple of burns in through the day. Whenever I ask Tracy to light the testers if I happen to be in the office for the day, she will either forget to light ot forget to extinguish at the appropriate time....such is life. I like Stella like to let mine sit for at least a week if able prior to testing. I still have some scents that like 2 weeks + after pouring to throw well, but only a couple like that. As Stella also said the was will get harder over time, particularly palm waxes, and as that can also make a difference to the burn it is recommended to wait. Soy I will test after 48 hours, but palm I always wait at least a week to make sure my burn is good. Main thing to remember is to have fun and enjoy it, take plenty of great and detailed notes and you will learn from your mistakes Cheers Richard

I think they girls we are dealing with are genuine. We have been working with them to test certain scents that they are looking for etc, but it is also an education process. The real question is are they also educating their customers in regards to the difference in candles as well. I admit that this particular competitor I have not tried yet, probably the only large local that I havent, and will definitely be buying one this coming weekend to see for myself. I am curious to test both for throw and burn, and interested to see if they do soot the top of the jar like most of the others we have purchased. Although white, they appear to have no frosting or wetspots whatsoever, which is possible, although reasonably unlikely in every single candle. I am trying to guide them more towards melts, particularly if the customers are looking for scent over ambiance as a melt in most cases if not all is going to out perform a candle every time, not to mention is a far cheaper option for the customers overall if they are burning a lot of candles. We will see what happens over the next few weeks I guess as the testing process continues. Cheers Richard

We usually use coffee jugs, you know the ones that come with the drip filter coffee makers. We find them at the fight price in various thrift stores and they work very well. For some items I also use washed tin cans of the larger size which I can squeeze to form a spout. These work well also, and once used for a night of pouring get tossed and a new one used the next time. Just a couple of ideas for you to think about. Cheers Richard

Why is it so hard for people to understand the fact that a jar with a 2 1/4" diameter is not going to throw as well as a jar with a 4" diameter. We have been working on a range of jars for a prospective wholesale account and sent our first test marketing order to them a couple of weeks ago. We poured these in the medium status jar, and their current supplier uses the large status jar. The medium jar is of course single wicked whereas their large jar is double wicked. Their website also states "made from the finest soy based wax". They are non coloured, however no frosting or wet spots are evident, and the fact that they state "soy based wax" to me indicates a parasoy blend rather that 100% soy. The account gave our candles out to their best customers and feedback is that they were not as strong to the point of being not noticeable at all. Now I know that this cannot be the case as like all of our products this range has also been extensively tested in our own house, in a suitable sized room for the candle jar in question. Keeping in mind that we are always pouring / burning / testing something, which means candle nose is a distinct possibility, I am still able to smell them. No they definitely dont throw as well as our apothecary jars, but there is also 1 3/4" difference in jar diameter. It frustrates me and make me question what we are doing. I guess it rocks your confidence a little, however in saying that, out regular customers that we supple from our shows and markets keep on coming back, which obviously means something. Just guess I had to vent a little due to the frustration of trying to make someone who really hos no idea understand how the process works and that different sized candles are suited to different sized rooms or situations..... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Cheers Richard

I tare and then pour into the weighed wax. Have always done it this way. If I do overshoot (and when I do it is by a decent amount, not just a drop, you know how it gets when you get a little absent minded ) I just go ahead and work out how much additional wax I need to ad from the presto and end up with a couple more jars / melts / pillars of that particular scent. Richard

We use NG's Monkey Farts in both jars & melts. The palm melts throw really well, as soes most things in palm. In out jars which are a soy / palm blend it throws well also, however this is an oil that needs some cure time. I typically will not sell / burn this one unless it has been poured for at least 2 weeks. Have had no complaints so far and many repeat sales. The soy we use is 464. Richard

Thanks Stella, got it

We are the same over here. Pouring candles, shrink wrapping, packing all week for weekend markets or parties. I had a market and a party last Saturday. Fun doing 2 in one day. Got home around 9 pm Saturday night, poured more candles, printed labels, went to bed to get up early for a flight to New Zealand for my full time job. Currently in New Zealand where I have placed orders, answered emails (as well as worked of course). Gly back Friday morning, pick supplies up in Sydney, drive 2 hours home, pour more candles, load car for a party on Friday night. Up early Saturday morning for the first day of a 2 day fair, both Saturday & Sunday. Finish around 4 pm Sunday, pack up, load car, drive home, inload car, put suitcase in and drive to airport for a late flight to Melbourne for 2 days work down there! It never stops, so yeah we are tired....LOL Sure its nice but it will be nice to have a break after Christmas for the best part of the 2 hottest months of the year, where we will work on new products and testing, getting ready to begin it all again in March. Good fun, but bloody hard work. Most people have no idea what goes into it all..... Cheers Richard

The display is usually a little different to the way it was here. There are normally 4 crates on the bottom row, with 2 stacked on top. Tins are then usually in the top crates which of course does raise them up and put them well into view. We did it differently here as the tables were quite large and it would have looked strange the other way we do it. The melts work well like this also. These are roughly half sized melts, approximately 1/2 oz each which we sell either individually or in a tin tie window bag at a better rate. We still do the full 1 oz melts, but only wholesale now as shrink wrapping is a total PITA....LOL Cheers Richard

Thanks again to all for your nice comments Richard

Hey someone, just wondering if I am missing something here. This sounds like something I need.....LOL. if someone could send that would be awesome. Cheers Richard

The burn is definietly going to change from summer to winter given the ambient temperatures. Here in the mountains in winter we can be in single digits, yet the past few days it has been high 30's. I do not change wick sizes based on weather. I think you would go mad trying to do that. What happens to the batch of candles that you poured during winter that have not all sold? Do you melt, change wick out and repour? There are going to be some differences in the burn, however I think that it is something that you have to take into account to a certain degree. Our place is not airconditioned, so yeah in summer candles do burn and develop a melt pool more quickly than in winter when it is cold. Thats my story, but I will also be interested in seeing what others have to say about it all. Cheers Richard

Hey Trappeur Personally I totally agree with you. It is something that I would not do either. It is like people who take used jars back for refills. Again something that we will not do at all. We spent many hours, days, years perfecting our craft, our look and building our reputation so I am totally against anything that has the potential to compromise that. Here is Australia on various facebook pages of small "chandlers" and I do use the term loosely, I have seen many doing candles in small & large wine glasses, supersize martini glasses, and I also agree that these are a definite accident waiting to happen. Perhaps there are manufacturers who make suitable glassware (Libby?) for burning candles however there is still the safety aspect to consider. Long stems, top heavy glassware with melted wax and naked flames do not make for a safe product, no matter how great or pretty they look. JMHO Cheers Richard

Thanks all for the nice comments. It has taken us a while, lots or arguments, to get to the point that we have, I think that sometime the look and presentation can be more difficult that making the actual product..... Richard

They are tine that we recycle ourselves. Basically food tins. There is a lot of work in getting those completed, but they do sell very well, and they suit our look, so we keep on with them. Richard

It is basically a glass glow palm in the tins. Works very well in that medium, although you cant see the glow Richard

We use the Fresh Cut Grass from NG in one product that we make and it works very well. Quite true to life and smells like a freshly mowed lawn. Richard

Thanks guys. It was over 2 days and we did do pretty well. Better than we expected in fact

And a couple more.....

Not the greatest pics, and not our "usual" stall setup, but had had to work with the space we had.

I quite like that. Very nice

Welcome and some sensible questions that you are asking. As for which scents to choose, if you cant sniff, then you only have either the descriptions listed on the website to go by, with perhaps some reviews, or recommendations from people here who have perhaps bought those particular oils. Even then it is still a guessing game as what smells devine to one person smells like vomit to another. read the descriptions and choose a couple that you think you may like to try and then go for it. As long as you are only buying 1 oz samples you do not have too much to loose. As for mixing, well that will come in time and with experience. Some things go with other things and some just dont, but that is something that you will learn, and both your nose and your customers will let you know how successful you may be at it. The main thing is to have fun and enjoy it, and learn the basics. Once you have mastered one or two oils and a particular jar (if that is what you are planning on making), then and only then move onto the next oils or two. Trust me, we all would love to run before we walk, but it is the easist way to get frustrated and to stop enjoying it all. Good luck, and keep on reading the forums for more advice and suggestions. Richard

Well said. If I recall when we first started it was with 6 oils. At last count on my shelf I believe that we have about 140 now, and that is not counting all the ones we have tried and either relegated to the discontinued, way too hard or just dont like basket. Crazy is the word, and many people here cary way more scents than we do. I really don't know how they do it

You may even wish to start with the 1 oz or 2 oz little take out containers that the chinese places use for sweet & sour sauce etc. They are cheap & easy to get, again before you go crazy with molds of any description, particularly silicone as that does get very pricey. The main thing is to have fun with it all.

Welcome to the addiction. Just a quick word of advice which you can choose to ignore if you so wish. I would start with only a couple of different scents to begin with. You also have your wax, jars, wicks, or tart molds to choose as well. if you try to do too much, you are just going to totally frustrate yourself before you even get started. Choose a few scents that you think you may like. Depending on the jar / melt size, these may be either 1 oz or 4 oz samples. I typically now choose 4 oz as that give me the ability to make a number of jars / wax / wick combinations to ensure myself that I both like the oil, and that it works for me in MY system. Making a candle is a system and you are going to have to do much reading and testing to work out just what it is that works for you. As I said, this is advice you can take or leave. Just my humble opinion and trying to assist you so as you don't get too frustrated before you have even started. Richard