moonshine

16 minutes ago, aptommo said:

Here's a dumb question. On melts how would you know if you used too much FO and got leakage? 

No question is dumb 😉 - I have never used over 10% FO in melts and have never seen seepage in melts but I would imagine you would see beads of FO form like you would in candles - candles I have made that had this look like they were out in the sun for a long while and form liquid little droplets all over but I think my issue was additives I used not too much FO as I use 8% in candles and never saw it in many blends of waxes until I started playing with additives 

6 hours ago, Candybee said:

 

Oh now you did it. I will just have to pick up some next time I order my FOs from them. Do you think it would make a nice soap scent? That is probably what I would use it for.

I think it would be fantastic in soap, the dry notes just make it seem to be a perfect marriage to scrub a dub dub with  - But I love most all green clean scents though - even ones people turn their nose up to 😂

I really like it and will be testing it in wax now that I found it 

Candy her green cactus is aaamaaazing! 

I have not put it in wax - I actually forgot I had a sample of it until I reorganized and destashed a bunch of oils - it’s so clean and green and very unique - kinda dry 

Morning sunrise when it was MW which PFO is the original was very very weak - the smell was amazing but I couldn’t get throw in 415 at the time 

The other 2 I never tried 

2 hours ago, Laura C said:

 

Thanks for bringing these things up. Those are all great questions and not always easy to answer. And you make a good point above about the craft show. This is all stuff I'm going to have to seriously consider and research. I'm not doing shows right now, I'm not even selling anything right now, LOL, but they are in my future plans.

 

In my area, West Palm Beach to the FL Keys, there's tons of arts & craft shows, farmers markets, etc. all year long, particularly in the fall and winter when tourists and seasonal residents are escaping the cold weather up north. I've been wanting to get out there and be a vendor instead of a customer. 

http://www.sunshineartist.com/events/eventlisting

http://www.craftsfaironline.com/

If I were in your area I would be all over it - huge tourist attraction and when I visited the keys I bought everything in site 😂

Like TT said people buy experiences and who doesn’t like candles....A Florida line or collection with names based off big points of interest in that surrounding area I would think would be huge - especially in a more upscale jar and labeling

most flea markets I went to in southern Florida had jelly jar candles that looked like total crap .....boring....

we stayed at Casa Marina in key west and what I would have paid for a beautiful upscale candle that smelled like that place when you walked in had one been offered- I asked front desk if I could have some of that smell in a bottle to take home 😂

and actually I kinda found it in sweetcakes hotel costes - very similar 

so many things you could run with in that luring the tourist around there into taking a piece of Florida home 😉

56 minutes ago, The Candle Nook said:

Have you tried it or heard experience about how effective it may be against cigarette smoke?

I am told Phenomenal....an acquaintance smokes in her house and between that and multiple cats she says it does wonders - now I haven’t been to her house to attest to that and being a smoker myself  (half quit and trying hard) I don’t smoke in my house at all so I can’t speak from experience on that but I have made deep fried shrimp and fries and you know how long smells like that take to get out of a house....deep fried stench everywhere for days upon days - putting one of these in a warmer wipes the smell out in a couple hours 🤷‍♀️ 

I am amazed by this and not sure if it’s psychological but I’m rolling with it 😂 

Here is one side - the other side with the table setup wasn’t finished yet before I had to leave  so tomorrow I will get that pic and hope my people finished it right 😂

4 hours ago, aptommo said:

 

As I said, I had opened one each of the different scents for people to see, I just did so after the photos were taken. But yes, even then I had to explain to almost everyone what I was selling so that definitely did not help my sales. I really thought it was obvious but the amount of people that even after I said "wax melts" had a blank look on their face until I went on to show them the melter and say something like "candles without the wick" then they were OH OKAY. I really didn't understand that many people never having heard of these before. 

 

Also I do have a banner for the front of my table but ........ I forgot the pins to hold it on. The only thing I forgot the entire day. I even asked around if anyone had any safety pins or anything but most were using theirs or didn't have extras.

 

The colors are on purpose but I don't agree that it's too dark or goth?? Also the banner is white so that offsets it a lot when it's hung on there and I'm not dumb and forget the pins. I don't wish to change the colors at all otherwise.

 

The more I look at the photos the more I want to change things though. It's too strewn across the table. People kept picking up the same tins over and over because they were the closest for them to reach and I had to keep pointing out that there were many other scents and the sniffers at the front. 

 

The only nice thing about the lack of sales was my next one takes far less prep on supply I guess. I do need to come up with an alternate design but still incorporate the money I've already spent. I can't just keep buying stuff endlessly. I'm running out of cash fast!

I have to agree with Laura on this one and agree with TT's suggestions-  Not to be mean or cut it down just hoping to give you the feedback you asked for to make it better

Your display does look a little flat and the colors are just a little too dark, for my taste as a perspective customer anyway- it would be different if you had candle jars bursting with color everywhere to detract from the dark a little -  Adding some white would help tremendously as well as heightening things up, maybe wood crates or tiered shelving - the tins displayed flat especially the ones on trays just don't do anything for me, It is very hard to tell what it is your actually selling or even attracting my eye enough to "want" to know what it is your selling

Opening one of each scent for people to see I am sure helped some but maybe a restructure on adding in some brightness and height will help a lot....and maybe display some samples people can touch and smell rather than opening a tin you have on display for sale- people love to be able to handle what they may purchase

A white banner does not make up for an extremely dark table setup-  maybe some white or even white and purple bandannas rather than the solid dark purple laid out in certain sections will help brighten it up some- signage up up up, balloons don't do anything for me either- a big banner way above your set up would be more attractive imo

you have a good base to work with and you do not have to spend a ton of money to improve on it-- I personally would stack up more more more product on the table, not keeping it underneath hidden yet maintaining a balance of clean and not making it look cluttered - or easily bumped into and falling all over the place, crates are a wonderful tool or even bakers racks like TT suggested

We are doing a trade show right now for our Landscape business and its a little different in respect that we are not selling cash and carry on the spot- we are trying to lure people in to talk to us about what we do sell and gain them as a customer for their future mulch needs -  if we only had a little box of mulch set out on display on a flat table it wouldn't really tell a good story about our product..... we made our booth into a park like setting with brick paved borders showing off the 7 different mulches we have complete with trees, flowers and boulders so the visual is there immediately 

hope that helps some and again I am not trying to be cruel just food for thought on what I see as a perspective customer

I ditched it a long time ago....at the start of all the changes in soy 

as sad as I was and mad, I had so many scents tested, like over a 100 and so many jars already permanently wicked and ready to go for 415 and I just couldn’t bring myself to settle for the “new” norm with this wax 

been over a year testing new waxes and finally think I’m there and it’s so worth it because now I feel my candles will be so much more consistent and overall better in every aspect but I also do this more on the side than as a full time business not depending on it for income so I had enough old stock to keep going while I tested new  

if it’s working for you and your customers are happy you have to ask yourself if it’s worth it to you and your business to switch because switching isn’t a overnight thing - it takes forever I’m sure you know to learn a new wax and know how it’s going to behave a month - two- 6 to a year down the road - but then again the new 415 is to be determined as well how it will perform down the road 

It’s been my go to cleaner for years - I LOVE it 

actually tried it rather than denatured alcohol for cleaning my oak cabinets that I’m in the process of refinishing and it worked like a charm and no headache unlike the alcohol crap!

I have never diluted mine though- use it straight from the bottle - am I supposed to 🙊

I second that 

works fabulous in all wax I have used it in 

Quentin it’s more than likely a scam, nothing wrong with waiting him out but probably not legit - this how these people get away with other people’s money 

my business account was just hacked for several thousand dollars, first time that has ever happened to me and it had to be from a debit sale online not secure but the stories the banker told me about what these people do is insane to get your money 

if they legit wanted to buy from you they would more likely have a rep from their company here in the US coming to you to purchase - a family member of mine does this overseas purchasing for her company-  they don’t email and not see and sample products before buying 

2 hours ago, coffeebean said:

I'm finding it so hard to find Amish Harvest closest to his 😞

 

American soy organics is identical to my nose 

I have yet to put it in wax until my peak supply runs out 

Sooooo glad I didn’t buy into buying from him anymore - I replaced all that I used the first time around, very proud of myself!

That’s a tough one for me as I dislike bakery scents in a candle so much I find I don’t add/make them nearly enough 

I would think something cinnamon like cinnamon buns or cinnamon vanilla or apples and cinnamon 

something blueberry like a cobbler or a pie 

Something simple like a cupcake or a cake batter

something pumpkin and maybe something different like you see pop up in candle places like the caramels and waffles and such 🤷‍♀️

Need to work on this myself as people do ask I just don’t have many 

I forgot a lemon - I have made lemon pound cake in the past from peak but it smelled like fruity pebbles to me and I have a sample of Fillmore iced lemon biscotti and that one does smell pretty good oob 

14 hours ago, pughaus said:

What do you suppose is the difference between Naturewax Coconut 1 (MP 90-102)  and plain old Coconut Oil (92)?

From what I can tell nothing - it looks, feels and behaves the same in candles 

coconut 2 is supposed to have 2% soy in it and it is a little firmer blended in other waxes but would be too soft imo to use alone in a candle 

I have a western line I have been doing the same for years and although I don’t tie anything around the square mason jar you might be interested in little horseshoe candy molds for your little do dads on top of the candle - amazon had them 

the horseshoe sits nicely around the wick 😉 I also stopped doing this, way too much time for me but I know you do some type on all your candles so thought you may be interested  

LOVE your label....as always 👍

#3 is my vote - great job as always 

Hi Chad

I don’t recommend buying wax from local hobby stores if your looking to pursue making good consistent candles 

There are so many suppliers out there that specialize in this and have quality waxes 

if your looking to do a coconut soy blend there are several to choose from however many are out of stock right now because of production/manufacturing issues 

a few of them to check out are:

candles and supplies 

Northwood candle supply

calcandle supply 

and I think cargil nature wax C6 is a soy coconut blend that can be found at the flaming candle 

if you do a search on the forum for coconut wax you can read a lot of good information and problem solving we have all been going through with this new trend 

Beautiful as always 

probably a dumb question but having never made soap myself does the glitter stick on you when you use it or does it wash off easily?

only asking because with some certain makeup’s I can’t get the glitter off for nothing and it ends up in my eyeballs every time 😂