morethanrubies

I would say it's grapefruit-y with a SLIGHT green lush note and a bit sugary.  I just want to stop getting the fuel smell because it was a customer request.  I am going to try the Aztec.

Well now I am thoroughly confused!  I thought that Capri Blue was the "brand" and Volcano the scent.  Either way, I've loved it for a long time.  I just need to get mine to burn right!

I'll try theirs.  I hope it's the FO and not my wicks

I'll try that!  Thanks!

I am very confused. If I am taking 1 lb of salt. Adding a half an ounce of fragrance oil. Allowing it to soak up. Then adding one tablespoon or so roughly to my warmer and getting zero scent throw is putting too much in the melter?

I am using 415. And yes I do double Wick. I am using the country Comfort jar with two cd6. I was having trouble with CD4 and CD5 drowning in other sense so I started with the CD 6 in this one. I have to be honest I have not used many other citrus scents because I have found the throw to be too soft and have never really gotten a good throw until this one with Citrus. But that fuel smell is horrible

6 minutes ago, bfroberts said:

I use about a dozen scents from Aztec.  The price is good and these perform well for me.  For candles & clams, I use Grandma's Kitchen, Cranberry & Citrus, Caribbean Breeze, Mango Papaya, Tobacco, Blackberry Sage, Grapefruit Mangosteen.  For soap, I use Volcano, Black Sea, Rosemary Mint, OAK, Alpine Frost...there's more but I can't think.  The Almond makes a good mixer.  For room spray, the Pine Bough & Apple is wonderful.  I also have one customer that orders 8oz square mason jar candles in Cozy Cabin by the dozen.  It's not my favorite, but she obviously loves it.  Caribbean Escape is my best seller in ornies...when I get around to making them.  I haven't tried it in wax.

Is there a reason you don't use Volcano for candles?  I am testing the one from Flaming Candle right now and it is nice and strong but has a "fuel" smell to it.  Like I can smell the wicks as they burn or something.  It's not in the wax itself.  It's weird.  If that were gone, it'd be beautiful and it's strong.

Volcano or Aspen Bay?  RE and Flaminghave Volcano dupes too.

I knew I should have taken chemistry   Thank you for the wick size suggestion!

My customers really like the double wick but it's no good when one is curling into the wax sigh.  Thanks for the info on the Premier's though!

I have never heard of those wicks, I'd be willing to try.  I'm getting frustrated and trying to understand how others are having to wick down with the CD wicks and mine are drowning.  I double wick with the CDs, any idea what I would use to double wick a Country Comfort in the RRD wicks to start?

I too put mine on a candle warmer.  I've put too many on there as of late 

I am so frustrated, I did a test burn with 2 x CD6 in 2017 soy using the Country Comfort (this time the 10 oz to save on wax usage) within the first 30 minutes, one of the wicks was curled completely over.  I used Flaming Candle "Volcano" at 8-9%ish - It was burning and throw fine outside of that.

I'll note it did the same thing with Pear Spice from Flaming but is performing ok in Leather/Whiskey blend, JS Vanilla Buttercream Crunch, and Candlescience Cranberry Marmalade which I thought I'd have to wick up.

I made a few batches and I am getting no hot throw from my warmer  I used 1/2 oz per 16 oz.

Thank thou both!!!  Yes, I tailor the color to the fragrance

On 10/23/2017 at 11:26 AM, Candybee said:

love the look! very chic! you should do well in the higher end boutiques. You will need to develop your salesmanship abilities. I find what really sells my product the best is my knowledge and enthusiasm about my products. When I talk about my candles or my soap people always tell me they were impressed with my knowledge about my product. But I know that my enthusiasm rubs off on them too. So to me being a great salesperson has a lot to do with how well you know and love your product. If you have that kind of salesmanship you can sell ice to an eskimo!

 

I don't know how to help you with samples. I know some like to use samples but I have found in my years of giving out samples that they don't really sell my product. My salesmanship is what sells my product. Whenever I give out samples I never make a sale. Never! So what I do instead is take a case of candles with me to meetings with potential customers (shop owners). I let them look at the actual candles and smell them. Most meetings have the shop owner and their sales people or other admins, assistants, etc. So the more the better. If I can show them the real deal instead of a sample I can sell them my candles. I always make sales this way. Never giving away samples. I show them the real thing. Carrying a case of 12 candles is no real biggie. Its just not that heavy and easy to carry. If I have more samples to carry I simply use a cart.

 

Another thing I would never do is ship samples to potential buyers. If they are interested they can buy the candle at wholesale as their sample candle and you can give them the option of taking that off their first order. Once you secure a new customer you can give them a new free sample candle with each order so they can have the chance to try ones they have not ordered. I would only give an established customer a free sample. As I mentioned, my experience with giving out free samples to non established customers is simply giving out my hard earned cash without the benefit of any sales coming out of it. Get your customer first, then when they become an established customer then give them free samples.

 

By the way, when I go to a first meeting with a brand new potential customer and I make a sale, I leave the meeting by giving each of the meeting attendees a sample. I get the sale first, then leave a sample. Never the other way around.

Thank you for all of this advice.  It is well received.  It is my goal to go into high end shops, so it is exciting to hear that you think so!

I DO need to work on my salesmanship, I am very knowlegable about my product so that is good - I just need to work on the social fear aspect!

I like your approach about not shipping samples out and having them buy instead.  I have been screwed over this way and I want to avoid it at all costs!!  When you do give samples either via mail to an established customer or at a meeting, are they full sized samples?  Like do you give them each a candle?

On 10/22/2017 at 10:06 PM, TallTayl said:

How about shallow tins in a pretty box? A 2 oz flat tin holds a good surface area to sniff. And tins are cute and easy to tote around. 

 

I have made up trays of them easily enough. 

Eta a link to the size I used. https://www.sks-bottle.com/340c/fin7.html

 

plenty of places sell these in varous quantites. 

This is a fantastic idea!  Where did  you find trays to fit these?

On 10/22/2017 at 8:47 PM, birdcharm said:

 

I think in some ways, it can depend on the types of scents you use in your candles.  Are your scents anything that someone would wear and are your scents body safe?  If so, there are many options for little sample products using that scent which you could give away without too much expense.  If they are not those types of scents, then little samples would need to be in the form of a "smell only" type of thing, i.e., not to wear.  For instance, I had someone ask me to see if I could find a dupe for her, which I did.  It was a body safe oil that was a floral mix, so could be worn, and I put some on a little cotton cosmetic pad along with some carrier oil and placed it in a very little zipper bag.  I also gave her a dram bottle of another scent, mixed with carrier oil so she could try it out.  For "smell only," one thing that costs very little in order to share a scent (among some others, of course), is incense.

 

As for "who is serious" before sending anything ... well, imo, I've always felt that everyone is a prospect until they become a customer. 

 

some are, some aren't.  I am not necessarily wanting to give samples as much as I am wanting to have a thing of them when needed like walking into a store etc.  You are right about prospects, I've just been screwed over by a few that just wanted free stuff

On 10/22/2017 at 2:16 PM, Clear Black said:

By the way, where do you get your offset boxes printed at?

I buy stock boxes at Papermart and print my own labels for the boxes on clear labels

I've changed my settings multiple times and i still do not get alerts when people post, so here I was thinking nobody responded yet haha.

Thank you to everyone for you compliments about my packaging.  I did want to clear up that I do have the lids labeled with scent name.  As seen here - I decided to go this route because I like a candle that I can set out like  a decor piece.  I can't stand busy jar labeling, personally so I went with a lid label and classic jar label.

I have been making candles for 9 years, I started when I lived in FL and had a pretty good customer base.  I tried building new customers in Indiana (where I'm from and where we moved to) in 09.  That was sort of a struggle.  I sort of gave up but I have standing order every fall for 14 dozen candles.  This year I thought "This is dumb. I am buying just enough for this order every year and our own personal use and I DO make great candles.  The person that has this big order won't even use other candles!"  So - being a graphic designer background, I decided to re-brand, and although (I think) I have a marketable brand/packaging, I've been out of the game for awhile and I'm socially so awkward (working on that lol)  Hubby is super proud of the new look that he was showing it off at work and got a huge response.  But they want want to sample, which is natural.

With all that said, I really want to make more of an effort to get into shops.  So when the ladies at hubby's job asked for smellies, it got me to thinking.  What can I come up with so I always have a sample of every scent I carry that would be portable. 

Also, when approaching far off places (other states, cities, etc.) what do you send for samples.  Full size product/packaging?  How do you know who's serious before you send "money" out the door?  I saw a company that has a meh/mediocre look (imo) and I was shocked to see on their website that they have a crap ton of retail locations, so whatever, they are doing - they are doing it well!  I have attached photos of the new look.

Yes, to me, they smell exactly the same - even though the descriptions are very different.  I was disappointed because I liked the description of Rustic Lodge but - to me - OOB and in wax it smelled just like Apples & Oats with maybe a titch of something different but not enough to carry both.

RE Apples & Oats & RE Rustic Lodge

On 10/12/2017 at 4:34 AM, candyb said:

I think the salt you use is personal preference, big and chunky or fine. I am not familiar with the super soft but I know if after a few days it doesn't absorb all the oil just add more salt.

Thank you!!!

I have those very bags!! Yay!  I'm just hoping I got the right salts.  I purchased Diamond Super Soft instead of Solar Salts and it's day 2 and they are still wet after laying out to dry.  Is there a difference does anyone know in the 2 salt types?