GailC

Thank you!

@bfroberts, I know of one other local candle maker, in the next small town west of mine. He has a booth in the same flea marker that I used to rent a bookcase from to sell my candles and melts. He uses jars and tins. I quit that flea market 3 years ago or so. A few months later, I was contacted by a lady who was opening a farm to table store and wanted locally made products. And she wanted to buy my candles wholesale, which was a lot better than trying to make a profit after paying $45 a month to rent a bookcase. Last summer I was contacted by an acquaintance whose husband was opening a meat shop in the next town over. They had bought my candles in the farm to table store and liked them. So now I have 2 wholesale accounts, although the meat shop is a very small one. I'm just glad they evidently hadn't heard of Pittsboro Candle Company right there in their town. No offense to the Pittsboro candle guy if you're on this forum.

I am in the mood to start making spring candles right after Christmas, but it's a little early yet. I made some Winter Candy Apple candles this week. Those are pretty popular. Also some Cinnamon Broom because my inventory was so low after Christmas I had to get busy and make some of the basics that customers like. I got some new jars and have made some new scents as well, plus some fragrances that customers have ordered. Every year I think I'm not going to have any business after Christmas, and every year I do. Not a lot, because I'm a small time operator but enough to keep me as busy making candles as I want to be.

I just do it in the fall/winter. Most spicy scents I offer in the fall and winter months although some people like to burn spicy candles year round, especially the cinnamon ones. In the spring/month months I offer straight up apple scents like Apple Orchard without the spice. For peach, my favorite is Peach Magnolia Raspberry and Georgia Peach from Aztec has been popular.

Two of my best selling candles are Lemon Pound Cake and Spiced Apples & Peaches from FB.

Should I tell the long version, or the short version. Hmmmm. The long version. My daughter found a listing on Facebook Marketplace for 12 oz Libbey Status jars with flat lids. $10 a dozen or best offer. So I messaged the seller and told him I wanted to buy 15 dozen cases. I asked him if he would take $125 since he said best offer and he agreed on that price. So we met yesterday and he said he just went ahead and gave me 18 dozen jars since the lids come 6 dozen to a case and he didn't want to break up a case and count out 3 dozen lids. I gave him an extra $5.00 for the 3 extra cases, even though he said I didn't have to. So I brought the jars home and my daughter pulled one out of the box, and it was so small! The jars weren't 12 ounces; they were 8 ounces. I was so disappointed. I was looking for some 12 oz jars to replace some 12 oz jars I couldn't get anymore. I called the man and told him I had responded to an ad that listed 12 oz Libbey Jars. He said he couldn't believe he had done that. Very apologetic. I thought he just brought me the wrong jars, but he didn't even have any 12 oz jars. I was trying to figure out what to do, I really didn't want any more 8 ounce jars since I used 8 ounce jelly jars for my country line of candles. But I told the guy I would keep them if he would refund me $30. So we met again and he gave me a refund. I got 18 dozen jars for $100.00! That is 46 cents a jar! Just to see how good of a deal I got, I went to Candlewic and put in 18 dozen Libbey jars. Total with shipping and tax would have been $592.00! I decided I will use these more elegant jars for "elegant" scents like Lemon Verbena and Aloe & White Lilac and French Lavender & Honey. Not scents like Apple Pie and Cinnamon. I just had to share with you all who would understand and appreciate the awesome deal I got even if they weren't 12 ounces.

My favorite vanilla for 9 years has been Very Vanilla from Candlescience.

Thank you! I sure do love them. My daughter made me a grandma when I was 42. She gave me 3! I have a good friend who is also 66 and she wants grandchildren so badly. One of her sons is married but his wife is unable to have children and he never wanted to adopt. The other is 36 and divorced, so she is beginning to despair of ever being a grandma.

This is my Great Granddaughter, Cambria Love, holding my Granddaughter, Georgia Gail.

She was born on December 15, and I think that was the last day I made candles, because any more wouldn't have had time to cure before Christmas. My son lives about 45 minutes away, so I've only got to snuggle with her twice so far. I have a precious little Great granddaughter who lives right here in town, so I get to see her more. She will be 4 already in January. I had a little trouble wrapping my brain around becoming a great grandma back in 2015.

Oh I'll make lots of scents because I make small batches at a time. I like to have lots of variety on hand. I like to try out new ones, but I need to make the tried and true ones. (Hey I'm a poet!) So I'll have to make some Apple Pie or Maybe Winter Candy Apple, and my best selling fragrance by far, Cinnamon Vanilla. My son had some previous relationships that didn't work out so that's why it took him so long to become a Father. He finally found The One and they got married in April 2016. He is so happy now.

Thanks @Sunday My son is 40 and this is his first child. I’m so thankful he is finally a daddy and he is over the moon of course. Yes I have sooo many FO’s and I’m already pondering what I will be making after Christmas. I have two customers who want the Cinnamon Chai from Flaming candle and one of them also wanted a vanilla. I told her that I had a new vanilla called Tahitian vanilla (NG) that smells like caramel vanilla and she wants to try that one. So those scents will be the first 2. I’m going to name the candle Caramel Vanilla because I think it will sell better. Merry Christmas to you and yours also!

I just had to share. I am not a large scale candle maker. I make small batches at a time, and sell to family, friends and through Facebook. Also have 2 wholesale accounts. I thought one had ended, but the guy finally called me yesterday wanting more candles. I told him I would have to get back with him a couple of weeks after Christmas, because yesterday, after my cousin came over to buy 10 candles, and I gave one for a gift, I had 14 candles left in my cabinet! I have never been that low! Some of those I have left are seasonal like Candy Corn and floral, although I have sold 2 or 3 floral candles this week. I should have stayed busy making more candles, but I had no idea so many customers would contact me out of the blue wanting candles in the past couple of weeks. Facebook has been a good venue for me to get new customers. Our town has a Brownsburg Chatter page and ever so often I advertise my candles and get new contacts. Several times, the customer has turned out to live in my own neighborhood and best of all, these ladies are becoming repeat customers! One more thing, to toot my own horn, I have been getting so many compliments on my candles. One customer even posted a picture of a candle she bought from me on our neighborhood Facebook page and raved about how good they are. Another customer compared them to a commercial candle, and said mine was so much better, hands down. The other one burned too high, even after trimming the wick and got soot on her ceiling. I know you all will understand how gratifying it is to make a product that people love, and how good it makes me feel when they post on Facebook, telling others they should buy my candles. I am anxious to get back to making candles, right after Christmas. Two ladies already have put orders in, plus the wholesale account. I had to quit making them for awhile, because of getting ready for Christmas and medical appointments, and having a new granddaughter born a week ago today! It is a very Happy Christmas time for our family and I hope each of you have a wonderful Christmas as well.

I'm surprised no one has responded. A lot of people seem to like JS fragrance oils. I've only ordered 4 from there and really liked one, Chestnuts & Brown Sugar. Didn't care for Buttery Gingerbread at all and it didn't sell for me. I ordered from JS because I had a specific request for Cashmere Glow, and that is one of my most detested scents I've ordered in these past 9+ years. I've yet to put Bahama Mama in wax, it smells kind of weird OOB to me and I have so many other tropical scents I like better. I really shouldn't give my 2 cents worth because I didn't like 3 out of the 4 I ordered so that put me off JS. I'm sure she has several lovely FO's just like any other supplier.

Cotton candy? I made pink Magnolia candles. Also Pink Sands, tried to color those barely pink. Once I made pink Sugar & Spice (and everything nice) candles for my granddaughter's baby shower.

@Crafty1_AJ I love frosted jars too! I sometimes make candles in 8 ounce white frosted tumblers I ordered from Candles & Supplies.

@Trappeur, aww, thanks Trap. I made those before I even had a name for my business. I don't remember where I got those jars. Maybe a local individual.

I got mine at Aztec. They're on sale right now for $1.50 a dozen. Cheaper than the shipping.

I only ordered 2 dozen of these jelly jar lids a few months ago. Put this picture on my Facebook Page, and I've gotten quite a response, from potential new customers as well as people I know. My neighbor came over and bought 6 yesterday. So even though I skipped all the sales, today a ordered 6 dozen more red lids, and 4 dozen green ones. Plus just ONE Christmas FO I just ran out of. Perhaps part of the appeal is the scent itself, but people are wanting them without smelling them first.

I use soy wax and I like Sea Island Cotton Blueberry Cobbler Apple Butter Caramel Pumpkin Pecan Waffle Island Dreaming Baja Cactus Blossom

Me too, Linda. I haven't ordered anything this time. I made it through Black Friday...hoping to stay strong through Cyber Monday.

Mine too, but I still don't have any you ordered. Here's what I have: 1. Apple Mango Tango 2. Bird of Paradise 3. Cappuccino Espresso 4. Caribbean Escape 5. Chestnuts & Brown Sugar 6. Cinnamon Broom 7. Cranberry Woods 8. Cucumber & Melon 9. Fairy Garden 10. Honey Pear Cider 11. Jamaica Me Crazy 12. Lavender Fields 13. Lemon Pound Cake 14. Pineapple Cilantro 15. Pomegranate 16. Pumpkin Cupcake 17. Pumpkin Sugared Donut 18. Salted Caramel 19. Sea Witch 20. Spiced Apples & Peaches 21. Sun & Sand 22. This Old House 23. Vanilla Bean Noel A few of those, I haven't gotten around to putting in wax yet. That's why I don't need more. I am well stocked on Lemon Pound Cake and Cinnamon Broom so I'm good. Oh I see I do have one you ordered, Lavender Fields, but I haven't used it yet.

I highly recommend FB's Lemon Pound Cake, Cinnamon Broom and Spiced Apples & Peaches. Their Sea Witch is a really good ocean scent.

@aptommo, I have 23 of FB's FO's but not one of those you ordered. We all have such different preferences! I'm passing on this sale but some of those you ordered sound good to keep in mind for a future sale. I'm still determined to use up some of the 250 or so bottles I have before buying more. Seems like when I do empty a bottle, there still isn't any extra room in my cabinet.