sockmonkey

Unless you plan on making a large purchase a WSP, it might be more beneficial just to buy a shrink wrap bag at JoAnn Fabrics or Michael's to see how you like it, otherwise, shipping might be way too high from WSP.

Make sure you buy the appropriate size bag for your basket--small, medium, or large. Getting things to look nice and smooth can take a lot of effort with taping, folding, and that &%@$! heat gun. You know, now that I think about it, you might want to pick up a couple of those bags. When I first started using them, I melted holes in quite a few bags.

What are the girl's arms doing?

I would make the text for Grump Girl and Candle Co. larger

Regarding what was said about area codes--I say leave it on. If you ever travel to other cities within your state, or your card gets passed on to friends, they will need to know your area code.

In the state of Indiana, there are 6 area codes. I have no idea how they came to the decision to break up the areas the way they did. My county has 2 area codes--totally confusing for businesses. What's even worse, is that one of the area codes in my county is also used for towns in the northern part of the state, but I'm in the middle. Totally messed up. See why it's best to keep the area code.

That's kind of what I've been doing. I wanted to do a complete makeover of my shop to transform it, but I haven't come up with a clear vision yet. I want it to be something different--better than Bath & Body Works. I don't want rack after rack of identical bottles and more bottles. I like so many different things. One minute I'd like a Parisian theme, the next I'd like a modern one.

See what I'm saying--when you've got a retail store you've got so much to consider. If it was just internet or warehouse, nobody would ever see it!

I just do pre-made bases (WSP), but I scent them and package them, and people rave about them.

It's very expensive to operate a retail store, plus, I'm always stuck at my shop. It's a very nice store, and that's part of the reason why I left the "real" work world behind--I wanted to surround myself with nice things. I carry Yankee candles (my big draw) and accessories, handbags, jewelry, victorian dolls, quilts, small furniture items and other home accents, Gooseberry Patch cookbooks, mailbox covers, tapestries, and gourmet food items among other things.

I'm at the point now where I'm not seeing anything new out there that excites me, or is particularly unique. Lotion and fragrance are what excites me now, so that is what I would like to do. I either want to have a retail store specifically dealing with bath & body, or else I would like to do wholesale/warehousing of bath & body supplies, to include internet sales, but no walk-in traffic.

I've learned that in retail you always need to watch your back because someone else is always wanting a piece of your action, but isn't willing to invest all the the time and money spent researching vendors and merchandise. Instead, they're happy just to copy what you do and not come up with an original idea.

I just wanted to share...I usually don't post too much about what I do because I always stick with pre-made bases--not too exciting compared to many of you here who make your soaps, lotions, and other items from scratch.

Today in my shop I sold one lady $42 worth of lotion, (last week she was in and bought $22.50 worth). She liked it so much she made one of her friends try it, and she also liked it, so she bought her to my store today and she purchased $24 worth.

I've got another lady who wants me to make 6 bottles for her for Christmas presents for her co-workers (that's another $72).

Now I'm all excited again about selling lotion! I plan on hitting some tanning salons and beauty shops to see about selling some "private label" stock to them. I would love it if I could close my retail store and just focus on wholesale or internet sales.

But, in the meantime, I've signed up to do a fleamarket in December. I've never done one before, so I don't know how I'm gonna like it. Well, yes I do...if I sell a lot of lotion I'll like it. If I don't, I won't. Keep your fingers crossed for me--they've also got people there selling Avon and Mary Kay.

First of all, I wish you luck in getting to do a fundraiser with them. If it was meant to be it will happen. If not, thank your lucky stars things turned out the way they did anyway, it could be fate's way of keeping a mistake from happening to you.

I say this, you might be the next candle maker he's going around badmouthing all over town. Do you only know one side of the story he's telling, or have you heard from the candle maker herself? There's always two sides to every story. It is entirely possible that this lady was a little con-artist, however, it is also possible that when you're dealing with hundreds of kids selling candles, as well as their parents getting involved, that mistakes can be made on the part of others, and it's always a lot easier to point fingers than to accept responsibility for failure.

The numbers he gave you regarding student sales sounds really stupendous. Seven hundred kids sold over 8000 candles--that averages over 11 candles per student. I know it's do-able, that just seems hard to believe. It's great if that's what they did, but I'm thinking what things were like when I was in school and had to sell things. Probably 20% of the kids did all the work. The rest were rather apathetic and couldn't care less if they sold an item or not.

This man you were talking to didn't happen to get any free samples from you did he?

What do you think about maybe making the whole label your door with your text on top of the door? Or, maybe you could make the entire label the door, but then have a box on it that looks like a plaque with the company info on it.

There's a lot of white space on the label, and to me, it makes me think of a woodworking magazine. (My husband reads them all of the time, and they're always laying around, so maybe nobody but me would think that.) It's definitely not a bad label--it just doesn't look like a candle label.

If the basket is deeper than I would like it to be I put styrofoam in it and cover that with crinkled paper shreds. I don't like that hard green styrofoam you find in craft stores. I like the soft, white stuff that is used in packing. Since I get a lot of deliveries I save it and use it as needed. You can secure the styrofoam to the basket with hot glue, double sided tape, or "glue dots." Then be generous with the paper, since it usually mashes down if you have an item of much weight.

How many people are you expecting at the open house? It sounds like a lot of food, and EXPENSIVE food at that! Watch her have a bunch of her relatives and friends show up for the banquet you're having.

Wow, I see on their website they say they normally ship within 48 hours. I wonder what happened. The good news is the stuff's on the way. Probably because you mentioned it is all it took. That's the way it always works for me. The day I decide to call a company and complain is invariably the day it will show up and make me look like a butt!

Well, it is distilled water, so that's at least better than tap water. There is no law that states you have to have preservative in lotion. Perhaps some people are alergic to them and maybe that is who this lady is making her lotion for. There are shops that promote their products as all natural, or no preservatives, even though they have a shorter shelf life. If this lady's lotions happens to turn funky, I'm sure the drug store owner will learn about it and remove it from the store.

If your friend owns the drug store, is he/she a pharmacist? If so, I imagine he or she is fully aware of what is in the lotion, since you have to take a great deal of chemistry in college to become a pharmacist. Plus, don't you think he or she would have tried it before putting it on the shelf?

Here is a link to a "calculator" you may find useful at times...(I know I have).

http://thesage.com/calcs/measures.html

I was told HDPE is Hard Density, and MDPE is Medium Density.

The same thing happened with some M&P I just made (hemp soap). It's the first time that's ever happened, and I just attributed it to the new fragrance oil I used.

What fragrance oil were you using and where did you get it?

Here are some of the reasons I think they are losing ground in the candle biz:

They are already too expensive and are raising prices again this month.

They were once very selective in where their product could be placed, now they are all about placing their product in just about any large scale chain to make a buck, and it is CHEAPENING THEIR IMAGE. I just learned the other day that they will be placing Car Jars and other air fresheners in hundreds of Staples office supply stores across the country (although they claim they will not be selling candles there). They are already in Bed, Bath & Beyond, Linens & Things, Penney's, Hallmark, Costco, VonMaur, Cracker Barrel, and who knows how many other chains I've forgotten. Do any of them seem like prestigious places, other than possibly VonMaur? I recently saw some of their discontinued candles in Marshalls for less than wholesale cost.

They are selling domestic items like clocks, dishes, and other items that are not related to candles, and seem to have little appeal to anyone. Those items are also substantially over-priced. I don't think they can quite figure out what people want or need in their homes besides their candles. They spend who knows how much doing their candle research, yet I wonder how much they've invested in researching what people buy in home decor. They need to eliminate that stuff completely. They've mastered candles, but don't have a clue about the other stuff.

They provide terrible customer service to wholesalers.

Something else I read about them in another forum stated that Yankee is considering creating and marketing their own brand of "cheap" candles for sale in discount stores or supermarkets in order to grab part of the multi-billion dollar industry in cheap candles. How sad is that, that you claim to have a "premium" candle, but you now want to take a step backward and make an inferior candle just so you can make more money. They're digging their own grave at this point.

Yankee is coming out with a new look for their housewarmer candles soon. The change doesn't sound drastic, but I think it is just an attempt to drum up more sales from stores who will not want the "old style" around once the new ones are available.

For everyone who makes candles here, if you're good at it, now's the time to hit small independent shops and show them what you've got. Inthe past it cost a minimum investment of $3,000 to get Yankees in your shop. Now wholesale cost is going up to $11 for the 22 oz jar, so I'm sure the minimum investment will increase as well.

I don't know what kind of game this lady is playing with you. First of all, I'd like to find out who her other suppliers are. Who ever heard of a shop that places an order on Monday and thinks their supplier will have it to them by Friday of the same week, especially with custom orders. It doesn't happen-- especially around this time of year! Most of my suppliers take at least 7 - 10 days, some even longer--and those are companies that sell mass produced items world wide.

Another thing, most companies require a first time order be paid by credit card only. It is practically unheard of to find a company that will ship a first time order COD.

If she needed them by Friday, you should have offered to ship them overnight, at her expense. I bet she would have decided she didn't need them so urgently afterall.

This might be a lost cause, but at least you've learned how to protect yourself in the future:

*Production will not be started until the wholesale order form is signed and returned.

*If a certain delivery date is needed, it must be requested in writing prior to production (you could use your wholesale sheet for this.)

*Orders are paid for up front by credit card or check (only if you do not accept credit cards). Another option is to at least get 1/2 up front prior to starting production.

*No orders will be shipped COD

*Rush orders will incur an additional charge.

Have you thought about laundromats and libraries? Some libraries have community bulletin boards and you might be able to post a flyer there. A sandwich shop around here (Jimmy Johns) offers to put advertising in their bags they deliver to customers at no charge. All you have to do is provide the ads.

Another thing to consider is the warmer that you put your candle on. Some people use coffee warmers as candle warmers, which it states to only use with mugs. Another thing is the inexpensive warmers you find in discount stores are only made to hold a certain weight and dimension of candle. From your picture it looks like the candle extends over the warming area.

I sell decorative candle warmers in my store, and I can't tell you how many I've sold to customers who complained that the $4.99 warmers they bought at Walmart or Michaels don't work.

Juniper Fields

Juniper Winds

Juniper Fairy

Spring Sweet Pea

Sweet Pea Meadows

Fresh Sweet Pea

What about after the bomb dissolves and you've got the string/fuse floating around in the tub? That doesn't seem very desirable.

This is blacklisted in my book:

https://www.soapandthings.com/t-orderinfo.aspx

I know people have said good things about her, but I don't believe in doing business with a company who doesn't respond to inquiries. I never placed an order with her simply because she did not reply to my emails. The way I see things, if they won't respond to you before you spend money with them, they sure won't care about anything once they have your money.

This company isn't blacklisted, but annoys me for their obscene shipping & handling charges: Craftlobby

I bought several bottles of fragrance when I visited their store. They come in cheap, clear plastic bottles, so it would be wise if you could find another container to store them in, but having said that, I don't really have any other complaints about their fragrances. They don't really offer any "designer" scents, but they did have many nice smelling ones. This summer I used their apple fragrance mixed with heather for a very nicely scented lotion. I recently visited their store and found they were wiped out of the fall type scents that I wanted.

I haven't ordered online from them, so I can't tell you how their service will be, but they are a legitimate business, and even sell their bath salts in places like Hobby Lobby.

I just placed an order with Tony's for the first time last week. I got my samples today. One of the samples I got was Frank. & Myrrh, which I thought smelled nice. I compared it to Indigo Wild's Zum Bar, and thought it smelled very close.

I haven't used any of the FO's in soaps or lotions yet, but I was very pleased with the quality of the scents. Also, I don't feel like I was ripped off by shipping, which sooooo many places do.

I personally don't think the prices for his 1 oz bottles are unreasonable. $3 - $3.50 seems to be pretty common for the places on the web that I visit. I agree with what others have said in this case, you get what you pay for. Having said that, I will let you know that I checked his site tonight, and the samples are on sale for $.30 - $.35 off reg. price!

I just got black raspberry vanilla. I haven't soaped it yet, but it smells yummy in the bottle.

This was my first order with Tony's and I have to say that I'm very pleased with the quality of scents that I chose. I will definitely be ordering from him again.

Unfortunately, I don't think I'm in a position to give you costs for utilities, because they can vary wildly from location to location. In my first store for example, gas during the winter, ran around $50 per month. The store I'm in now, my gas bill was over $200 per month! So, my advice is to check with the utilities--electric, gas, water, sewer and see what the previous tennant paid.

Regarding trash, where I am there is a lot of competition among waste removal companies--you should call a few in your area to get the best pricing. They might try to sell you a dumpster, but do you really need one, or could you get buy with an oversized trash can?

As for your checking account, do you already have a business account, or are you referring to your personal account? Banks will have different programs for business accounts vs. personal accounts.

You definitely need to check out the new place. Make sure you have adequate electrical outlets, and that they all work! Check on the plumbing--toilet flush ok? Adequate water pressure in the sinks, with hot and cold water? Furnace/AC work ok? Any leaks in the ceiling? The first place I rented was not the least bit appealing to the eye--ugly, dirty mint green paint and lots of dark paneling was everywhere. My husband took one look and couldn't believe I rented it. He just shook his head in disbelief. It's amazing what a coat of paint and a little creativity can do though. I transformed that place into a very charming gift shop and received many compliments. Not to brag--well, who am I kidding, yes I am...People would walk in the door and stop in their tracks and look around in awe because there was nothing else like it around the area. So, don't be discouraged if this place isn't everything you hoped it would be. Keep an open mind, and develop a vision for what you can do to the place.