jonsie

We went on vacation last week and while we were gone, I left my aluminum pour pot sitting in a stock pot with water in it.

When I tried to use the pour pot today I saw it had some corrosion on it, so much so that holes had formed in the pot

I've left my pour pot sitting in water for extended lengths of time before without any problems so this was a surprise for me. I talked to hubby about it and this is what he thinks happened... since the stock pot looks to be made from nickel-plated steel (cheap steel on the interior) a reaction occured between the two dissimilar metals, causing the corrosion.

I don't know how correct that is, but hopefully it will keep someone from losing their pour pot in the future.

As for hot through I feel it was improved, definetly there was great adhesion to the glass, no dreaded air pockets (which I hate) ... I love the texture ( or should I say smooth lack of texture) It is so smooth and shiney to me compared to 100% 464 ... HT was improved

Adhesion to glass improved

So does that mean no flakiness, no craters and icky tops after burning that we see so often with soy?

Considering how Rate of Consumption (RoC) is affected by the room temperature, and we can't always control the customer's room temperature, how do you design your candle? I'm curious how broad of a room temperature range everyone wicks their veggie waxes, if you don't mind sharing. And, do you state on the candle the ideal temperatures in which to burn the candle?

Thanks,

Susan

Don't worry. It will give you time to get your website in order and organize a marketing plan.

Thanks Candybee! It has let me give more attention to the things that needed it.

I know what you mean though, I used to say I didn't want to wholesale, but once I started doing it I really enjoyed the relationship I had with my wholesale clients.

Gucci, I actually look forward to those relationships. I enjoy the customer service side of doing business. I'm just conflicted over how much obligation I want to take on. I think once my daughter is in school five days a week starting in February, I'll be in a much better position to pursue and make these commitments.

Was the store in Subi or somewhere else, just out of interest.

Yup, within walking distance of my house. I'll PM you the details.

I emaile a few places over the past two weeks with a brochure and a bit about us, heard back from a couple, but no bites unfortunately, however one of the responses I found quite strange and amusing at the same time.

"Thank you for your email but at this stage we are not interested. Good luck with your plans and we may re visit this as you grow larger."

I guess they prefer that awesome made factory product that can be supplied readily with no fisk of non supply. Lets not consider the fact that ours are hand-made, contain what is stated and actually cheaper wholesale than the Ecoya range that they currently stock. I guess it wasnt meant to be either.

I'd be interested to know what Ecoya charges for wholesale. Ecoya is everywhere here and we are both using the same glassware.

Good luck with it and I am sure you will score an account soon enough. If you are looking for something smallish to begin with, you could try contacting "First Avenue" in the Centro shopping centre in Kalamunda. They have some candles in there as well as a bunch of country type stuff, and they also have a second shop in the same centre selling kitchen wares. Might be worth a shot. By the time we had our product sorted we were just about to move back to NSW so we didnt bother.

if you go up there, go for dinner at the Blue Ox Steakhouse in Kalamunda as well. A little know restaurant, but awesome one with very reasonable prices by Perth standards. as well as that my eldest daughter is a waitress there

Thanks for the suggestions, I just may look into it. And thanks for the restaurant recommendation, we may go just to get the steak!

Well, I hate to admit this, but the wholesale order fell through

The store owners admitted they didn't quite know what direction they wanted their store to go into. It is a new store and I would have to agree they had an eclectic collection of goods and they could use some focus. However, I can't help but believe my candles would have fit in nicely just about anywhere

Anyway, my good friend reminded me how I had been saying I didn't want to do wholesale yet because I wanted to enjoy myself with this, and not make it a job. And my good sense tries to remind me that is what I want. But then to be rejected makes me want what I can't have!

Anyway, easy come, easy go!

I use Bramble Berry's Lavender FO in my 464 candles and it throws very well, both hot and cold.

Thank you Sue, I appreciate you looking into it

All kidding aside, I am glad to know that I can find GG there. I really didn't know!

I have also stocked up on corded wicks and I plan to learn more about them (as you suggested a lifetime ago).

Can't wait to get Christmas behind me!

Off you go

LMAO!!!!!

I don't even know where to get GG! Does ACS have it?

I don't know of anything that smells like grass but you can blend essential oils to get earthy smells with out the sweet or floral smells.

Thanks, Lorrie, that is good to know. Essential oils seem to be pretty expensive here in Australia (unless it's Eucalyptus) so I'll gladly admit I don't know what I'm doing and ask for help!

Richard, you soooo hit the nail on the head! I definitely seem to go for the challenge. I'm about finished up with my website so I guess I'm tee'ing up something else to consume me

Thank you Sue! I'd really appreciate that

Is there such a thing?

I'd like something that isn't sweet or floral. I'd try to use it to blend with other essential oils to add a fresh, green outdoorsy scent.

I know essential oils can be a p.i.t.a., but I thought I'd at least try.

Jewls, the ACS Richard and I were talking about is Aussie Candle Supply. I'm very curious to see which kind of wick they are going to carry!

Oh wow! Richard, I had no idea!

My first wooden wick order was about 10 months ago with Candlewic. I think I got some bad Small wicks from them because they did not burn well at all.

My second wooden wick order was with Unity (they are the manufacturer of these wicks). These seemed to perform better but I've learned not to expect crackle from each wick .

All of my testing has been in GW 464 soy and different palms. I'd avoid using wooden wicks with palm unless it is small amounts of palm mixed into other waxes.

I haven't tested in any Parasoy, so no help there.

Good luck!

Let's see if Stella taught me how to do this right:laugh2:

Jonsie you are a hit more power to ya girl.

You are such a dear! Thank you so much!

But again, with complete respect to Stella and the veterans here who've fought many candle battles so I wouldn't have to... I'm realizing consistent candles can be achieved without fancy thermometers.

However, I think an item like this has saved me time because of the alarms on it, and time for me is money.

I also prefer digital simply because that is my nature. I'm a neurotic digit head, and I want to KNOW the temp, and be able to read it easily.

So please know I don't mean to presume that I know more about chandling, because I sure as hell don't. But this little gadget has been a great source of peace of mind for me when everything else is so variable.

I respect that you specifically asked for input from candle veterans, and I admit that I am not that. But I'm gonna puff myself up with my mechanical engineering background and my experience with instruments and measurements, calibration, and accuracy. So there!

Anyway, I highly recommend an item like this: CND Probe Thermometer With Timer/Clock

My first one lasted 10 years in the kitchen and I think the thermocouple probe finally fizzled out. I bought five more on eBay for about $16 each so I'll have backups. I have each one labeled and I've set one as my primary, and have marked the others with their temperature offsets from the primary.

What I like about these is you can set a high temperature alarm, and a low temperature alarm. So if the wax gets too hot, the alarm goes off, and it will also go off when it reaches my ideal pouring temperature. I LOVE THAT!!!

I've bought and tested other probes, but these are my favorites by far.

Then I use shrink wrap bags for my votive samplers and some jars. I use the excess from this to shrink wrap my tealights.

That sounds lovely, and I like the idea of reusing materials. Do they sell compostible shrink wrap bags/film? I see that it is made, but I'm not sure where to actually buy it.

:cheesy2:I so love your idea and theory. But honestly, as a consumer, I am irritated with extra wrap, twist ties, etc. on product. I would rather just open a box.

Thanks! And I completely agree, I hate messing with the additional packaging. The only purpose I have for individually wrapping them is for retail sale so they don't get dinged up and smell up the store. I'm also imagining selling mixed sets of tealights from my website as scent samplers, and I didn't want the fragrances to mix in the mailer.

I tried the cello sacks, and didn't like how the teas got beat up; use Sunshine for boxes. They stay nice and safe. HTH

I LOVE how the Sunshine tealight boxes look, but I've been under the impression they aren't very eco-friendly. Are they recycleable?

I would like an eco-friendly box for six tealights. Does such a thing exist?

I'm also looking for an eco-friendly way to package individual tea lights to avoid mixing their scents with other tealights.

I'm considering using waxed paper bags but I'd prefer a more elegant solution. But just so you know what I mean, I've attached a photo of the little bags with some tealights.

In the photo, the middle shows you the bag compared to the tealight. And then you can see the two ways I'm thinking about wrapping it. Both ways use a 1-1/2 in diameter label on the bottom which helps the packaging lay flat. What I like about the twisted version is you can untwist to smell the scent, and it will twist back, holding its closed shape. The flat version (on the right) is what I'm thinking to use in a six-pack package. Each bag costs 2 cents at Papermart.com.

So... lemme have it. Is this a viable way to package tealights in a eco-friendly way? Does it look pretty ridiculous?

If the wax paper bags aren't a good idea, then can you please help me know of other options?

Thanks in advance!

Susan

Yay for the new workroom!

And by the way, have you checked your thermometers?

Thank you Richard, it all happened so much easier than I had expected. I didn't even have business cards yet. I've been so focused on my website lately I've ignored everything else. Housekeeping, laundry, some personal hygiene...

Ah, let me make sure I understand...

1 lb of parrafin (by weight) = 20 oz (by volume)

Right?

If you aren't doing it already, I'd weigh your wax before melting it. Actually, weigh everything... your FO, and additives, etc. Because weighing is the best way to quantify the amounts you are working with.

I'm sorry if I completely misunderstood your question. Are you handling big blocks of wax from a supplier?

Thats typical...

Anyone know if sugar cookie from ACS is the same as NCS I need tealight cups and prefer to only pay 1 lot of shipping

Thanks

Personally, I love ACS's Sugar Cookie. I have lots of it so I'd be happy to send you a sample if you like. But I don't know if NCS and ACS have the same scent.