sisters3

I know this thread is old but I wanted to say I just ran into this situation but i was the company who's label was copied. Basically my products have been in a certain store for years and I haven't been there for quite some time. My mother in law sells her handmade items there and just a month ago I helped her deliver some items to the store (she normally takes my candles in for me) just to see in a seperate room candles that i though for a split second were mine. Nope....come to find out one of the owners of the store decided to start making candles too and also decided to copy EXACTLY my labels for jars, votives and melts straight down to the packaging and homespun. I was a little ticked off to put it lightly. It's not a nice feeling to spend endless hours sitting at a computer designing something you think is going to be your own and you are proud of just to have someone steal it right out from under you. That tells you alot about that person. Sorry ....thanks for letting me vent !!!!

So sorry that happened to you, its terrible. In PA you can and we did submit photos of our labels just to be on the safe side. I see that you are from PA, have you done that? I can tell you where to submit if you like. I would absolutely call that shop owner out on this.

I am having the hardest time finding a good cinnamon stick smell that burns well in candles and doesn't have a harsh smell while burning. Suggestions?

Not sure if you have ordered yet but we've been using CS cinnamon stick for a long time, will never switch, its really nice. We have one customer that orders nothing but that and by the case.

PS I should say we use 464 soy with nothing added

IYO is there a big difference between HTP and CD wicks? From what ive read they are basically the same except HTP is made in USA and CD is made in Germany. What are the performance differences in GW 464?

Sorry for the delay.....I have never used HTP, we moved from ECO wicks to CD because of the 464, we really wanted to stick with one soy wax which is what we did, so we kept testing, testing, testing. So eventually our pour procedure using 464, cd wicks, and 3 jar sizes (plus tins) worked great. BUT I must say, there are times like with a new FO that we won't get the result we want, so we do not spend too much time if our wax does not perform well with particular FO's BUT with our 2 main suppliers we have only hit 3 or 4 FOs that simply would not work for us.

Glad to hear everything is going great for you! How are those black monticiano jars selling for you?

My switch over from 464 to 415 is almost complete (I have about 20 scent left to complete) and I am very happy with the results! I am now testing the waters in parasoy with clarus 3022 and I have to say it is so much easier than soy but I love my 415 and will never give it up!

I hope your lotions do amazing this spring!

Sorry for the delay, was on the road (Pittsburgh) for a few days. We're still with 464, what took you away? Our black jars have done pretty good, the "gent scents", the only weird thing is that most guys want the standard comfort scents and NOT the manly ones...who knew?

Hi there...hope this helps. We switched to ALL CD wicks except for some of our "touchy" FO's (in which case we use ECO wicks) With the right container and CD wick size combination we've been able to get the "no hot throw in soy" FOs to actually do a very good job. If we find that the hot throw is just not there we simply move on. But there are SO MANY great scents that WILL have a super throw in soy. We use GB464. Good luck!

Tracey....I missed you guys too!! I've promised to give myself more time to post, I really love being a part our group. Tennessee huh? How exciting!! What part? We looked at some vacation homes there for 2013, beautiful! So dish....how are your candles coming? Anything new?

Welcome soylux- my name is moonshine and I have been addicted for 5 years...

Welcome back sisters! I was wondering what happened to you- how are the candles going for you?

Chefmom- drinking coffee as I type AND sniffing many FO sample bottles trying to decide what to pour next! Lol

Dawn!!! Hey there!! The candles have really taken off, it was getting a little tough keeping up because of my "real job". We've actually started offering soy hand and body lotion too. We are finished with our product testing and will debut the lotion line at our March show. How are you? How is the candle making coming on your end?

Welcome Vanessa...

AND HELLO TRACEY!! I haven't been on the forum in a loooong time, but checking in now and again. We're still knee deep in our soy candles, picked up a few local accounts, and STILL traveling all the time (my job that pays for my candle obsession)

How are you??

Susan

Congratulations that is fabulous news..

Thank you!!

Great news! Congrats! You've got great looking products, I'm sure they are a hit!

Thanks so much!! It sure is great to be back home for a bit and back posting, at least for a bit

Hi there, jeez, its been a while since I posted. TONS of travel for my real job , you know...the one I need to be able to continue making candles.....LOL. But, anyway, just wanted to share that our candles were just picked up in a really nice shop, we're very excited and our Gent Scents were a big hit at our March show.

That's it for now...still lovin GB464 too!!

Hope everyone is doing well !!

Peace!

Oh, I melt my wax in a crock pot on low setting. I had that crock pot for about 3 years and never got a chance to actually cook in. I weigh out my wax and then just pour it in the crock pot and let it melt. Low setting with the top on seems to work quite well. I've only used the high setting once but noticed that as long as the top is on the pot it really doesn't take that long IMO.

Is there condensation on the lid of your crock pot? I could be very wrong BUT off the top of my head I would think that by using the lid would keep in or develop moisture in your wax. Anyone else have input on this??

Also, does your wax reach 185 degrees on a thermometer? I ask this because it has been my experience that GB464 is very touchy when it comes to temp. Too much one way or too little the other has had great consequence in my testing.

Ditto all that MoonShine wrote. I have only ever used GB464, through the ups and downs and TONS OF TESTING container/wick/FO combinations. I heat to 185, add FO, cool to 160ish, pour, cool on wire racks, cap, cure for 7 days.

I can't stress enough the importance the right wick has made in the HT of my candles. Do you weigh your FO (sorry if I missed that) I go with 8% as my "jumping off" FO load, and has worked great. If you have the patience to hang in there with GB464 you will be happy, I am

Stick to paraffin, avoid soy wax like the plague -- it's too temperamental and hard to work with, therefore it will take too much money to get a half-way decent candle out of it, and the scent throw is not as good as paraffin anyway. Disbelieve the environmental/health hype about soy wax, it's not true anyway.

Hunter123, welcome to you!! I can't tell you what is right or wrong, but I can share with you my success with soy. That is how I started (got a starter kit for Christmas a few years ago) and have stuck with GB464 soy wax, straight, nothing added but FO and I LOVE IT. Like with ANY wax you decide on there will be test, after test, after test. If you decide to start out with soy I will be happy to share formula, technique, etc. All you need to do is ask.

Listen to what Beth wrote, start by reading the forum, its a wealth of knowledge. Feel free to PM me when you can. I will look foward to following you on this fun, frustrating at times, journey into the world of candles!

Fantastic! Really great! The photos are great quality too! Nice job!

Hi Sandra.....sorry, my head is spinning today. Which other label to you mean?

Edited to say, if you mean the "actual semi-gloss label" affixed to the jar, I thinks its on page 6 or 7 of this post. Sorry if I'm being thick headed

Horsescents and Debbie, thank you both very much! You kind of remind me of what goes on inside my head with this new jar...."label....no label...label" Ha ha, one of my sisters and I made a deal and SOME will be labeled for the Gent Scents and others will be no label. So, the best of both worlds

Label looks great but I'm really torn because I loved the look with no label and that candlelight showing through. You know you are a troublemaker here...I'm going to be in deep doodoo when the order arrives and hubby sees multiple boxes! Or worse yet, when he goes South and I ask him to pick it all up for me.. :highfive:

Ha ha!! I know!! Honestly, I really pondered on the entire label, no label thing as well and my decision my change again, who knows, its really tough. But for now we'll go with and see what kind of feedback we get. OMG your hubby is going to be close to GW ?? You are a very lucky gal!!!! Thanks so much for the nice words too!!

ksranch, Tracey, thanks so much!! and Tracey, good to know about the chrome jars!!!!

Very pretty and very attractive packaging, nice job!!!

Hello All!! As promised here is a photo of the lable affixed to the jar so you can get an idea of what it looks like. Hope this helps those of you wanting to start offering the black jar. I like the look, I think we'll stick with it.

Thanks so much everyone!

Candy bee, you are correct, I was trying something with the longer hang tags for the photo, the smaller tags kind of got lost. Good eye!

I have melted wax going in the Presto pot, into pour pot, use electric burner (hot plate) to push the temp to 185, then add FO. I like the second step of using the hot plate because it seems like there is always too much going on to safely monitor my presto, so that wax stays at about 165-170. Have fun!!

WOW is RIGHT!!! Just Beautiful!! I'm sure your new client will love them, how couldn't they?? Good Luck!!

Thanks so much for taking a look and the kind words!