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If you're happy with it, don't worry about what others say. Some want a crystal clear glass leftover but this is often a sign of an over wicked candle, (the glass gets too hot) A slight film is perfectly normal.... though my slight film and yours might be different, to me it is a film you can see through. Where was this picture you are talking about?

My vote is for clear silicone II 3 hour shower ready. I love that stuff. Cheap, easy, reliable. It just takes a few hours for it to 'stick' but it gives you an excuse to take a long lunch in the middle of the day. The 2.8 ounce squeeze tube does 200-300 wicks for me, not bad for $4 Just make sure you squeeze all the air out of the tube before you seal it back up. Learned that the hard way... ended up with a fully hardened brick of silicone still in the tube...

I agree you should go to an accountant but from what I understand the above is sort of right, they would not be considered your employee, if that were the case you'd need to provide workers comp insurance for them, but instead they would be an independent contractor. The 1099 would be because of this and the money paid to them would be filed under commissions expense. They would also only need the 1099 if they made over 599.49 They would still legally have to claim that money but you wouldn't have to tell the IRS where that money went. (keep track of it though for audits) Again, best to go to an accountant because each state/municipality treats it differently.

Yeah, the cylinders I am looking for (I call them tumblers because of blankey) The jar store has them but they are fairly expensive. 2.54 for the large ones. I just was looking for them without he lids (or... without those lids, I don't think they "fit" the style) I think Michaels has them, I might go get a dozen or so and test em' out. I do want to move in that direction for 2012.

nm didn't see the post by beth

I think we need to pressure some companies to start carrying them, I did look at the b2b catalog from Libbey and theirs are actually 3.75" wide but even those would be acceptable to me.

http://b2b.libbey.com/catalogs/b2b/catalog.html

Page 5 has them, they also have a 4.75" 18 and 26 ounce jars which would be great too for a 16 and 22-24 ounce candle.

The candle science website needs to be updated the manufacturer states it is 125-130 but in my experience it is completely liquid at 120. Now 464 was a mess for me in hot climates, when I shipped to phoenix and LV in August it slumped bad (one candle ended up in the lid) c-3 made it with a slight slump (same package) 444 made it without much of a problem either.

I do agree with you there is something about those jars that make them hard to wick. This is why I am diligently looking for a 4" wide tumbler that holds more than 12 ounces of wax. I know libbey makes them but I have yet to find a supplier that stocks them.

6006 is primarily paraffin and it is best to treat it like paraffin. I have not used that company but I did notice that they are very expensive. If you are having trouble with Candle Science's fragrance oils it might be the wick/wax combo. If you're looking for an all soy wax try c-3 415, para-soy 6006 is very good, or a custom blend. All paraffin 4630.

I agree that you should post your method, there might be something you're doing that is making the combo not work (though with cb advanced there is likely no chance of that ever 'working' imo)

464 has a significantly lower melt point over C-3 (464 I believe is around 100, c3 is around 120) In 4630 I know cd3 and 4 work double wicked. I get a fmp at around 2 1/2 hours and it holds at around 1/2" through power burns with the 10, 12, and 14. I have also used two eco 4's in 4630 fairly successfully. 4630 is what I PL with if they prefer paraffin.

I've noticed though that people in the hotter regions have less trouble single wicking than ones in cooler region. I have never been able to single wick any veggie wax over 3" with a cd-14 even with very long burns. I also keep my home between 68-70. I had a candle swap with several people in much warmer regions and their candles did nothing but tunnel for me, but I know they work in other parts of the country. Just something to note.

I primarily use c3 at 5-7% no dye. Smaller wicks for me end up not getting a fmp and drown later on with 3.5-4 hour burns. I also noticed that some of you are burning for 6 hours or more at a time, this is really not realistic for a customer. Most consumers burn candles for less than 3 hours. 1 hour per inch max. This is why a lot of people think Blankey or other major candle companies tunnel.

Now if you're doing a candle with a draft lid is a little different, you can slightly under wick and still get a great melt pool.

I notice a lot of people talking about the cd-4? Are you guys double wicking with cd-4s? If so I am kind of amazed. The only successful double wick I have had on 4" apothecaries were cd 10, 12, and 14.

and RJ, if you go with Ecos start with double wicking with a pair of eco 10s

Does anybody know where I can get draft lids (like illumalids) and shades wholesale, or maybe know a metal worker that is willing to make them?

Thanks

Same here, I put the wick bases around 1/4" apart they end up being about an inch and a quarter apart. They burn more evenly when they are that close together.

I've in the past double wicked c3 in a 3" container 6% fragrance load with cd4-6 depending on the fo. I've found if you split the regular size in half you'll likely end up with the perfect wick.

"Soy friendly" is a blanket statement that can not really be answered. We'd need to know the type of soy and even then something that is considered acceptable to one would not be acceptable to another. The thread at the top of the veg candle making forum is a nice place to start.

The link you provided gave suggestions for when to add it. All the waxes I've seen should have fragrance added to them at around 180 including every kind of soy I've ever used.

Based on your posts over the last few days I would say maybe the best thing would be melts for fragrance and unscented candles for you.

CandleWarmers.com customer service is pretty bad via email, it takes quite a while to get ahold of them. Try calling them on Monday if you get no response early Monday morning.

Yankee's signature style is a mottled paraffin. I have Yankee candles from 10-15 years ago and they were mottled back then too. I personally love the mottled paraffin and palm look. Soy frosting doesn't look anything like it though. Soy frosting has no clarity in it, with paraffin and palm it has a bit of clarity which creates a depth of color that is (to me) visually appealing. They are going towards a new wax they call the "smooth wax" which looks like a dyed 4630 candle. They currently use it in the perfect pillars, Yankee for Target, and some of the new tumblers.

Kringle is the son's candle company but they do all white 16 oz (I think) candles in status jars (for 22 bucks a pop)

The plate warmers I suggest to my customers 1 cube which is about 1/2 ounce, the lighted warmers at least 1 ounce. It only really needs to be covered though the more they put in the lower the temp of the melt pool, so it will actually last longer with more, but be stronger with less.

The maximum sustained temp I have recorded in a candlewarmer plate warmer with a 1 ounce tart in it was 194.

How big are the shrooms? They are fairly common in all candles and it will happen to almost every candle. Little ones are not really a problem.

Soy 125 will do well with CD wicks, and they are not just for hard waxes. (I've used them in candlewic 125, GB 464, 444, and C3 with great success)

I once offered an opt out on the lids, if they opted out they got a free 1 ounce tart. I'm going to say 90% of the people opted out, and the ones that didn't were generally giving them as gifts. I also gained a whole new "warming" following because a lot of candle people who never tried warming fell in love.

I use bears from C&S and have not had any of them leak. I'll inject oil into each leg, arms, belly area and head. I have scented bears that I made back in June and they are still very fragrant. The plushies have to be filled with stuffing (poly-fiber), not the beads. It's the fiber filler that absorbs the oil. Bitter Creek has bears that have velcro openings in the back for scented sachets, I tried that, but I like my method better.

Hmm, I'm going to have to try this! I would have thought the oils would eat the stuffing out of them like they do plastics.

Wow! Everyone's labels look so much better then ours LOL =) Time to get to work and I think we are going with the glossy clear ones =) Thanks for sharing with us everyone!

Where will you be labeling? I see you dye your candles and tarts, just remember whatever color is behind it will serve as the base color for the label, so if you're printing black and you put it on a dark blue you'll have a hard time seeing it, or if you're printing blue and putting it on a yellow candle it will look green. I had a problem with this when I dyed my candles. Most major label companies online will send out samples too, so you can get those. I went through 30 sheets finding what I wanted and I ended up with removable matte white paper for inkjet. I may be moving to laser soon but I've had a workhorse inkjet that is fast and reliable.

I've never heard of injecting straight oil into the core of the bears, does it ever leak? I've often put scented beads in them (1/2" cut, and funnel into the center, few stitches) but never straight oil. Interesting.

Around here we have two major markets that call themselves flea markets. One prominently features the used tire person and used clothing vendor who I'm sure is infested with bed bugs. The other one is full of crafty upcyclers that take trash and junk and make some pretty amazing furniture and art with it. The culture is different in each of them and one feels very trashy, the other has that cafe feel (they have a premium coffee vendor there every week) This is the market I made it in. I never even thought to go to the other. They would expect the candles to be stolen, or a dollar... or both. Basically if you walk the market and see things that are like yours, or merch you would buy to pair with your product you'll be good. Otherwise stay away.