001

There is a very thin, almost translucent line here that could easily get you into legal trouble. Using a trademarked name to help sell something without paying is not legal unless you say something like "Compare to." You may get a cease and desist letter. I know LUSH keeps a close eye on it, and I know a few people who have gotten very, very nasty letters from them.

The law above is a blanket law for all products not one for candles specifically. Candle regulations are always vague, and I think it is partially because of the various types of candles. Jar candles can have warning labels on them, pillars and votives can have them on packaging but as soon as it is opened it is void. To have a law on the books that requires burning instructions would also need to create a standard for burning instructions, and each candle has to be burned differently. It really can't be done "right" it is probably better that it isn't done.

I would suggest the soapmakers guild if you do make soap, it is the least expensive way to get insurance for handmade products. http://www.soapguild.org/industry/insurance-faq.php

I have, and it was very positive, it is where I gained my first real customers, some of them are still with me today but it will depend on what kind of flea market you are talking about. Some flea markets are crummy, some are higher quality, and attract a different set of people. Won't know until you try, and give it more than a few days when you do.

Candle Science is my number one fo supplier. I love them!

(2) The net quantity of contents (in terms of weight or mass, measure, or numerical count) shall be separately and accurately stated in a uniform location upon the principal display panel of that label, using the most appropriate units of both the customary inch/pound system of measure. I guess the principal display panel would be the front label? It is a little too subjective for me, I mean my labels are removable so the principal display panel is the front label until they take it off? Then it would switch to the bottom label? I guess I will just put it on the front too? I've always put grams on them though so there is no difference there.

On a legal side note make sure the warning label is water resistant and not removable, reason being is if it sits in water or can be pealed off they could say the warning label washed off, and/or was removed. This is why the warning labels on hair dryers are at the end of the cord where they have to plug it in. I use a generic one from one of my suppliers and then put my location and net weight on the bottom (address labels are great for this!) If that washes off it isn't as much a problem as the warning.

I'm glad everything is working for you! That size space in my area would be at least twice that price, more like three or four times that! I would say go for it, and to help cut down on rent let your friends from the market put stuff in the shop, make little booths and charge them $20-40/month for rent (depending on the size) it will help bring an eclectic mix of people in, they will all market your location. I've seen it done here and have been a part of it. The one shop was a handmade candy shop, around 500 sf. they put in 6 booths in the back (4x3, separated by lattice) they called the crafter's mall and had a waiting list to be in it. If you have 6 vendors in there paying $35/month that would cut rent down by $210 to just $140. Just have them put removable tags on their items and have a hook behind the register, one for each vendor, when something is purchased from their shop just hang the tag in the right place and at the end of the month write them out a check. This is how I've seen it done and I liked being a part of it. Just something to think about! All the best!

I put the net weight on the bottom too. I see a lot of people who label their jar size. I've even had people say they get 2 more ounces in the competitors jars, which are the exact same size.

I like them, One thing I will note is that 100% soy is sort of a misnomer, there are things in a candle that are not soy (fragrance oil for instance) but that is minor. The "rule" is 3-4 times cost. It used to be 4x but 3x generally gives you enough wiggle room and puts you in line with the industry. When I sell 16 ounce apothecary jars I sell them for 16.99. It will depend on your market though, some people sell them for around $12.

I have to say I have dealt with similar things in the past (and to some extent in the present) I have to say packing up is just letting them win, I have a firm belief that the right thing will eventually win out, be it an ideology, policy, or code of ethics. I think the best way to persevere is to just live and act in a way you believe to be acceptable. I would document everything and make sure every time something comes up you can pull out the notebook and say it has also happened here, here and here. Other than that I wouldn't do anything but ignore it. I have seen your prices, and your product and I don't think they are overpriced. IMO they are a little under priced. I would let him know that because in his opinion your products are overpriced and they are just copies of his work then he has permission to not shop at your booth. I would also let him know it is unethical to approach someone's customers in any way. It shows their desperation and frankly reflects the classlessness of their operation. Customers will see this and they often don't respond well to it. Hang in there!

2012 is quickly coming and the Christmas season is beginning to wind down, so I was looking forward to 2012 and am beginning to make the plans and goals. Here is what I will be looking for in 2012 The first, and biggest change will be my jars. I'm going to be eliminating 2 jars and replacing them with 2 others. With the labels they look more professional, I will be able to pump through more candles per hour, and wicking is much, much easier. I will be spending more time looking for consignment shops to be in, and will replace all of the candles in my current shops with the new ones. I will be opening up my private label and will create a custom marketing campaign for each of my "targets" I want to gain at least 3 more pl customers before 2012 ends. I want to open a new, secondary business to compliment the line. This needs to be up by June. Explore soap, both cp and m&p. I think it will add a lot to the line, and would be popular, especially for my exclusive scents. So, what are you guys want to do in 2012?

I am dye free, and I agree that color is very important. Some like the white candles/tarts, some just don't understand it. I chose dye free because I don't like the look of a smooth colored candle and I don't use a wax that mottles. I think the candle culture is changing though, more and more home made companies are going dye free, and even an up and coming big boy Kringle Candle (aka Yankee Jr.) is dye free.

I think 10 pounds is good, and test them with all the same fragrance and figure out what wicking is best for them. It is an ok price for those waxes but I think it misses two of the most important waxes- c3 and 415. I think these two are the best throwing soy waxes. Xcel sort of sucks, 135 is picky about fragrances 444/464 are very similar the biggest difference is the melt point. 444 melts at a higher temp than 464. If I were you I'd buy 10 lbs of c3, 415, 464 and pb then test with those. If you are a 3 hour drive from them you might be close to fillmore container (lancaster, PA) They sell c3 and will give you 5 lbs for the price of shipping and CandleWic (Doylestown, PA) and they carry a wider array of products and have them in stock more reliably than CAS. I purchase from both of these places and am very satisfied. For 415 you might want to try candlescience.com they are in NC but their shipping is not bad. They also carry all of the above waxes. Candlewic says their soy 125 is identical to 415 but I am not sure about that.

I was reading a thread and a lot of people were discussing how many scents they carry so I thought it would be interesting to see how many scents we all carry and how you think it affects sales and whatnot. Personally I found that too many scents confuses people but selection is key with me. I like the idea of having a lot and offering a few so I have around 35 I keep as a core selection and always have in a "scent kit" I then rotate seasonal scents, around 15-30 so I have no more than 65 at any given time. I generally also introduce 1-5 new fragrances each major season (spring, summer, fall, winter) in a floral, fruity, bakery, earthy rotation. Any spectacular sellers bump the lowest seller in the core. Here is a great video from TED 2005 about the paradox of choice.

If they are scentsy people they will warm and pour it out. If they are blankey users they will freeze and pop. If they are new to warming they are completely clueless and will be looking for the wick.

Hundredweight shipping actually starts at 200 pounds but when you get way up there (500, 600 pounds) you get a "freight" option where they actually contract a truck to bring it to you. The best way to really figure out how much shipping is is to figure out what percentage of the total price is shipping. For instance if you are spending $100 for the order and $30 of it is shipping the shipping would be 30% Then to "cost" things you take the pure price (how much it is from the supplier) and then add 30% so if say your pure price was $5 to add 30% you would multiply it by 1.30 to get a total price of 6.50. This give you a more true price than if you just tack it all onto the wax. One thing to think about... Candle Sceince tins are fantastic, I really love them and they are very, very light, which cuts down shipping (percentage wise) even more. Good luck!

16 ounces of wax is roughly 20 fluid ounces. It is really not an exact measurement because each brand of wax has a different density which affects this measurement. It is best to weigh the empty container and then weigh the filled container to figure out how much wax is being used. On a side note $100 for 50 lbs sounds like a lot. You might want to try and find a supplier that is closer to you. I have a supplier that is 3 states away and with shipping I am at $80 shipped when I use UPS. (I use lower weight products to help with shipping also. Ordering wax and fragrance oils together actually cut shipping down pretty dramatically for me) Once you get really big though you can order pallets and have them trucked in. When I get full pallets I pay $90 for shipment of 11 50 lb boxes. I also get a price break when I do a full pallet making the price for each 50 lb box around $65

Aimee have you considered doing the large apothecary jars? The wicking will likely be the same but you'd be able to charge the higher prices getting your margins with satisfied customers? Shipping (and prices) on the larger jars is almost exactly the same, and 8 more ounces of wax would only cost a couple dollars more. You could bump your price and your margins. You may also want to look into the dollar store containers (like the status jars) this could also bring down your price and add another price point without a major commitment (you can buy as few or as many as you'd like) You may also want to look int canning jars. Most large wal-marts have them for $.70-1.25 but you have to buy a dozen. I also would like to say I am not a fan of the 2x3 rule, or when I first got into candle making it was the 2x4 rule Twice the price for wholesale three or four times for retail. If I can make 100 candles an hour for the large jars say and the price is maybe $7... if I doubled it it would mean the profit from that hour would be $700.... which I admit is pretty good. Let's say I employ two people for that hour and it cost me after insurance and everything $35. I take that out of the margins and I have $665. If I spend 5 hours selling them (gaining wholesale customers, shows, designing the website) this would be around $110/hr Personally I am ok with $50/hr after expenses. This would mean I would need to wholesale them for roughly 10.35. The retail price on these would be 19.99 and it leaves wiggle room in there for company sales (like 15% off coupons, which I split with the wholesale clients) Currently Blankey candle markup is 100% and for those who carry blankey they are looking for a similar markup. If you were to offer 33% they may look at you a little funny. Some understand it, others don't. A candle line is a fairly large investment for any company because of the volume they would need to bring in. If it is unsuccessful it is a huge loss to them. Consignment is another story though, it is your liability and you are essentially renting space. I don't suggest doing more than 25% for consignment.

I do have a blog but its all a numbers game on Facebook. They trust the numbers. Someone with 5,000 likes is more trustworthy than someone with only 100 in their eyes. If I did the promo on the blog it wouldn't give me the interaction I enjoyed from the other contests. I guess it will be more of an organic push.

I did one where you posted a pic, and the one with the most likes won a prize, second and third got something too. This was about 3 weeks before they made this contest "illegal" in fb land. It worked though, I gained a few hundred fans. I was going to do one for this Christmas season but it is now illegal...

I don't use that wax or anything but I notice extra hangup when my home is cooler than normal, even a difference of 5º messed my wicking up.

haha. True.

My research is in carbon storage and systems of extraction (carbon trees, bio-mass storage systems) formally geoengineering and I understand the system well. If there were no coal, or oil based industrial revolution we would be better off (environmentally) the fact is... it happened and we need to work to stop it (releasing of more... previously stored carbon) and frankly reverse it. The research I have seen shows the population boom that is set to happen in the next 30-40 years if we don't move towards sustainable energy there will be no oil left and our grandchildren will see this. Oil is not infinite, it WILL Run out. We could find a little more here or there but for all intensive purposes we will be out. You say green energy is real but isn't an option yet... that is the point. We need to make it an option and to get it as affordable as gas we would need to start now and support it. It only takes one step, and the funny thing is now after this I feel like I want to begin advertising my company is all soy. EOS

The smallest barcode I have in my stores are around 1" wide... but if size is an issue they only need to be around 1/4" to 1/3" tall. I think 1/2" tall by 2" would be safe and should fit on just about anything.