Recyclights

Thanks for the tip on Peaks, I was thinking of trying a few scents from them anyway.

Does anyone have a recommendation of good quality aluminum tealight cups now that I can't use my plastic ones? I wound up going with plastic because 1. I liked the thickness of them and 2. I usually place most of my orders through C.Science and they only carried the plastic. They seem to be the most reasonable on shipping to N.J. Awhile back I ordered some from C & Supplies, but I found them to be thin and bent easily. I felt the effort trying to straighten them all out wasn't worth my time trying to use up my extra bits of wax at the end of a pour. I am also quite envious of those who can pick up locally. I could buy more supplies with the money I'd save on shipping!!

Darn, I just ordered a box of 100 of those cups from CS too. I've been so torn on plastic vs. tin. I don't sell tealights, I just use them for any extra wax after pouring. Then i give them away as thank yous or use them myself. After reading this, I'm going with the tins next time!!

Would you mind sending it to me as well? recyclights@gmail.com

Thanks for all of the great input. Outside of my immediate family, I didn't plan on discounting anyone unless it's a larger order. Let's just hope I start getting some large now! Sharon44, that is an awesome story!!

This morning I woke up to an email from an potential Etsy buyer asking if she bought 2 of an item would I discount her a few dollars on them. I declined saying that I have a very low price on pure soy candles so I would not be able to do so. Do others find people asking this a lot for crafts? Back in the day I used to do many flea markets and antique shows with my mom who was a antique dealer. Cutting a break was just the way it was. Since it was such common place, we'd have to price a few bucks higher just to be sure we got what we wanted. Is it common for buyers to have that same mentality with crafts? Just wondering.

Good luck Jackbenimble!

As someone who is new to selling, I have found my Etsy Store to be a great starting point. I must admit, the sales have been slow, but I have gotten a few customers through there. At this stage of the game, I can not justify the cost of having my own site, but I'm hoping to move in that direction next year. As sakuraserra said, it is great for researching. I'm constantly on there looking over photography, description copy and pricing. It has been a tremendous help in moving my hobby into the business realm. Another way it has been helpful is on Craft Show applications. Some apps have asked for websites or photography and I love having a place to send them to look! I have set up a Facebook page, but I'm not sure how helpful that has been to draw in new people. I think it's a good place to drive existing customers to so they stay in the loop. I didn't make the connection about sending customers to the competition when you send them to etsy. That's a great point! I need to get moving on a site. Maybe I'll make a ton of holiday sales and recoup some of that money I've spent on all that testing waxsantalol

My show went well. It was a local Street Fair, the turn out was smaller this year. We've have nonstop rain in the area and it was threatening to come back that day. I've been to this show as a patron before and this year was just off. It was an overall good experience though. I'm comfortable that my pricing is on target and I have a sense of what type of scents people gravitate towards. The sales were good, not great, but I handed out a tons of cards and got the word out there. I'm curious about cost per show as well. My first time out wasn't a huge money making day, so I'd be nervous shelling out big bucks at this point. The one I did wasn't expensive and it was literally a five minute drive from my house so there was no travel cost to take into consideration. Since I'm a newbie at doing shows, I'd probably keep doing the cheap ones until I built up the business more. After awhile, I figure sending email blasts to existing customers and posts to the facebook page that maybe repeat customers would come out to the big shows to make it worth while.

I've actually been having some better luck with dye lately. I gave up on the dye chips and starting testing with the liquid dyes from Candle Science. The results are much more consistent for me. Currently, I'm using an Eco-Soya CBA/Beeswax blend with various fos.

I felt that tremor the other day too. That was a bit freaky. I've lived in this area all my life and I have never experienced an earthquake before. So far it's raining on and of here nothing too exciting yet. Stella, I like that idea about the ziplock bags! Thanks.

Moon01945, You're so lucky to have a built in IT guy. I'm sure we will both do great at our first markets!

I'm in Rutherford NJ, it's not too far outside of NYC, right by Giants Stadium. I border on some flood zones and I have some friends in areas that have voluntary evacuations happening. They may be heading to our apartment if needed. We're all just hoping this thing looses it's strength before it gets this far north, but an impromptu Hurricane Evacuation Party at my place could be fun! That is really funny about your husband's soap comment. We've been joking about a lack of candles around here all day! We have a couple coolers with ice prepped and I have my french press coffee pot on stand by. Mother nature can go ahead soak my stuff, but she can not mess with my morning coffee!!

I'm hoping we dodge the bullet here in NJ. On the bright side, I sure do have a lot of candles if we loose power!

Good luck at the Farmer's Market! I have my first show coming up soon too. I'm selling Candles at a Labor Day Fair and I'm super excited. Candle making has been an expensive venture as well. I've given many away as gifts, sold a few to friends and had some minimal sales on Etsy. I'd love to start a site someday, but I can't handle the extra cost right now.

It sounds yummy, doesn't it? I placed an order with CS right b4 they put it up. Grh!

I wish I would have read this thread earlier! I just placed an order with CS for some more wax, a few FOs and decided to give their digital thermometer a try. As spark me up said, it is really good to have a back up. I smashed my first glass thermo in the sink and had to run to my local Michaels to get another so I could continue. I was never really thrilled with it. I dropped that second one on Friday, but luckily it was fine. I figured I need to have a backup and the digi version might withstand my clumsiness better than glass! I should have it early this week. http://www.candlescience.com/equipment/5-digital-thermometer/

Thanks

Does anyone have any good recommendations for insurance in NJ?

Thanks all! I worked really hard to make the favors look nice. I ordered the labels from this place online - http://www.myownlabels.com They have some nice templates. I tried printing my own, but I really wanted a more polished look for my favor. I've ordered from them again for the tins I've been selling, but I'm starting to look around for a less expensive option.

I have not had much luck with dye yet. I've been using CB advanced and rediglow chips. Not sure what the term used for it is, but I get these strange blooms of white in the candle. The dye has been mixed in at high temps and stirred well therefore, it's had time to properly melt and mix in with the soy. It's frustrating, but that's part of the experimentation process! I just received 2 liquid dyes I bought from CandleSceince. Hopefully, I'll have better luck. Personally, I do like the natural creamy look of a not overwhelmingly scented candle, BUT I aim to please and not everyone has the same likes. I know I want to offer a diverse line of product eventually.

Hi all, I just wanted to thank you for all of the incredibly helpful information on this board! I'm somewhat new to candlemaking and just found this forum a few weeks ago. Boy, I wish I would have come across this a lot sooner! I've wanted to try candles for years but I knew the cost would be high. Last year, when I was planning my wedding, I finally took the jump and decided to make my own favors. After LOTS of testing, I was quite successful and made almost 70 apple & clover scented soy tins as favors for the fall wedding. The guests loved them! Once some family members found out I actually made them myself, they said they wouldn't burn them and that they would save them! WHAT? It's sweet to save the favor, but I need everyone to burn away and give me feeedback! lol Needless to say, now I'm obsessed with candles! I'm slowly moving my hobby into business. So far, I've made tons for myself and given many away as gifts. I've opened an Etsy shop with a few orders and plan on doing some craft shows soon. I've been testing all type of scents and containers. I'm in love with the Ecosoya Cb advanced, but I've grown unhappy with the scent throw. After finding this forum, it seems like most people using that wax have the same experience. Now it's back to the drawing board! Too bad, I really love it and have grown so comfortable with it, but I won't beat that dead horse in this intro post. I'll have tons of questions about insurance and marketing so you'll be sure to hear more from me as I try to grow the business. Here's an attachement of my wedding favors. All the best, Melissa [ATTACH]22196[/ATTACH]