Several Questions from Australia

[EvyStar]

Good Afternoon All,

Greets from the tropics of Australia. Where the sun shines 365 days of the year and the average temperature is 33-35 degrees celcius. Current humidity level 82% )

I have several questions to ask which I have been building up over the last few months.

Please excuse any double up of past questions. I have made an effort to search previous threads to try and minimise any duplication questions.

I will attempt to list my questions in an organised manner )

1) - I would like to considering purchasing wholesale quantities of candle & wax warmers and plate warmers. The electric ones. Any idea where/who I can contact for such things.

2) Candle Embelishments and Decoration for Pillar Candles. Where does one go to buy such things. I have some ideas for decorative pillar candles - however not sure where to start looking to purchase the embellishments. See one example below. I love it. I don't want to go to that extreme but it's a great inspiring decorative candle don't you think?

Also - if you know of any tutorials on how to safely make decorative pillar candles and any safety information and instructions which need to go with it.

http://www.katwalkdivaz.com/cart/fluerdelisdecorativecandleswarovskipillarcandle4x9decorcandles-p-1518.html

3) Candle Jars. Where can one go to buy interesting candle jars. I absolutely love the jars and lids Rigaud use.

http://www.rigaud-paris.com/fragrances/lilas/large-model-complete

http://www.candlecreations.co.nz/shop/Candle+Making+Supplies/LibbeyCandleGlassware/Other+Glassware/Glass+Ribbon+Box.html

4) If I were to purchase bulk fragrance quantities from a USA supplier which top 5 companies would you recommend to me and why?

5) Time Management/Candle Making Management.

Do you make your candles weekly/bi-weekly/monthly?

Do you use a double boiler or candle melter? If you use a double boiler - any time keeping tips again would be helpful.

For the amount of time it takes to make decorative candle melts - for little money you can earn back from it - do you think it's worth the effort?

Silicone Wax Moulds

Which brands do you suggest to make cute and interesting candle melts.

See attached picture above. Do you think the little rose at the top is made from wax? And do you think the cream was created using a tool which a cake maker would use?

I used Golden GW wax for my container candles. The only other brands are the Eco -Soy Candles here.

If you have made successful candle tarts/cupcake candles - please do share the best waxes to use to create something like the above.

Financials

Do you pay yourself a weekly wage or hourly rate or put a % away from each weeks sales?

For those of you who do markets - what is the gross average medium of sales you make each week?

Packaging Tarts, Cupcake Candles, Decorative Tarts and Melts

Suggestions on most sustainable way to package and post small candle items such as tarts, individual decorative candle melts, cupcake candles.

Also - how best would you have the above items displayed at your stall?

Best Xmas Fragrances For Xmas in the tropics, where it's hot, humid and possible chances of thunderstorm or a cyclone! Xmas is spent by the pool with cold beers and prawns on the BBQ. Any suggestions. I love all the wintery type suggestions I have seen posted on the threads - however don't quite think they would work here in the tropics.

Apologies for all the questions. I am sure I will have more to follow. I hope some of the questions are not too personal. I'm not trying to pry ) I'm all alone up here and don't have a lot of crafty people around me to bounce ideas of. It's a continual learning process and I hope that I too may be able to provide useful information to those in need when the time comes.

Oh - and one final question. Do any of you do this as a full-time job? I still work full time for the Northern Territory Government and I make all my own craft and candles and do the markets every Saturday from 5am to 2pm. Earlier this year I was doing two markets per week. Every Saturday and Sunday. I almost burnt myself out so had to stop one.

Thanking you all in advance.

Kind regards,

Evy

[EvyStar]

Sorry! I also forgot to ask. Does anyone have any contacts or website details for Golden Wax (GW) manufacturer? I would like to make direct contact and see if I might be able to purchase a few pallet loads and have sent directly to me.

[Belinda]

I'm not very accomplished at making container candles, but I might be able to help you with a couple of your questions. There are many on here that will be much more help than I am though and will probably be more than happy to answer your questions.

Candle wax warmers-I order from www.vistawholesale.com and also candle warmers.com. They have both the ones with light bulbs and also plate warmers. There may be other places to order from but those are the two I use.

I have no idea where to find candle embellishments, but someone should be able to help you with that.

Since I've only done a few container candles and prefer apothecary jars or mason jars, I have no idea where to find the ones you're looking for.

Top five companies to buy from would probably be-Natures Gardens (they have a lot of good FO's and are very reasonably priced), Peaks (great FO's but quite a bit higher than most), Candle Science, (I don't use a lot of their FO's but many on here do and have great results with them) Candlewic (Great FO's and fairly reasonable) The Candle Source (Great FO's and good prices) Indiana Candle Supply (great FO's and very good prices). That's 6 and I don't you'll be disappointed with any of them. There are others like Lonestar, Tyler Starville too.

I use a Presto pot from Walmart. It's like a deep fryer and it has a control on it for temperature. I don't make enough to use anything bigger.

I think it's worth doing melts. I use molds and also clamshells. I think it depends on the area that you live in as to which are the most popular. A lot of people prefer them over candles.

I get some of my silicone molds off of ebay from Mold making man, but most from www.flexiblemolds.com. There are also several silicone cake and cupcake molds that make cute tarts. Wilton has some like gingerbread men and snowflakes and they are pretty cheap. They're actually much cheaper than the silicone candle molds.

I don't think the rose is wax. It looks like the petals are to thin to be wax but I could be wrong. but it looks like an artificial rose to me. I don't use all soy but the times I have whipped wax I've done it with a hand mixer in a bowl like you would when making a cake.

For my shaped tarts I like to use the brown kraft bakery bags or cello bags and tie a piece of homespun material around the top and then put a label on the bag. I display them by putting them on a plate (like they're real cookies etc) and then have them on a shelf that has steps. But I've only done a few craft shows and there is probably a better way.

Hmmmm, best Christmas FO's for tropical weather. I would think something like pear berry or a citrus scent like Satsuma maybe. Or any of the "Christmas" berry scents. Maybe Butt Naked (which I rename birthday suit LOL!) It's a tropical, fruity scent. Nature's Gardens has a good one and so does the candle source. Even Mrs. Claus cookies or Vanilla Bean Noel might work. They are both a vanilla FO and smell really good! Or maybe peppermint or candy cane too? I think NG has one called tropical Christmas and one called hippie Christmas. I haven't tried either one but I think they get good reviews. I personally like bakery!

I work a full time job as a teacher's aide with special needs kids so this is something I do part time. I haven't made a dime as far as profit when I figure what I've spent, but I'm still in the learning phase and hopefully by the time I retire (Lord willing, 2 1/2 more years) I will have it down to where I can supplement my income. There are those that are very successful at this and do it as their full time job.

I don't have any contact information for Golden Wax. I don't use them. I'm still experimenting and go back and forth between 4625/4630 or 4625/6006 or KY's para/soy tart blend mixed with 4794! I have such a hard time making up my mind! LOL! But for tarts in molds I prefer straight 4625 or 4794. I know that one for sure!

I haven't mailed much out yet (except a few samples and a tart swap box) but I used boxes I got from USPS. I've never mailed a candle so I'm not sure how you would do that except maybe go to a packaging website and get boxes for that particular size, but I know there are many on here that will be able to tell you how to do that. I personally would like to know that one myself!

I'm sorry I couldn't be more help.

Good to have you on the board!

[EvyStar]

Thank-you so much Belinda for your time and invaluable advice!! I know my first post is a tad long but thought it best just to brain dump all the questions I have in one thread )

Have you happened to hear along your travels or reading if plastic (mainly bubble wrap) - can extract the fragrance from a soy candle? Some of my containers are open - without a lid - mostly the mosaic ones and I wrap them in bubble wrap when in storage and transferring between markets and home. I have noticed that these particular candles have almost lost all their scent compared to the french metro jar candles I also sell but have lids on them.

Also - regarding the wax you use 4625/4620 and 4794. What brand is this and are they soy wax?

Thanks again for your time.

Kind regards, Evy xx

[Belinda]

You are so welcome! I hope I've been able to help you.

I'm not sure about bubble wrap sucking scent out of candles. That could be possible since some plastics will suck scent. I know tarts need to be stored in polypropylene bags and not polyethylene. From what I understand and have read, polyethylene will suck scent out of any type of wax. I guess if bubble wrap is made of a type of plastic that will do that then I'm sure that's possible. Maybe you could wrap with tons of tissue paper? I haven't shipped anything but a few tarts and I think I had them wrapped in bubble wrap but they were bagged in polypropylene bags. Maybe when you take the lid off the jarred candles they seem stronger because the scent has been closed up with a lid. I'm really just guessing at that one! LOL! I know to me when I make tarts in a mold and have them sealed in a bakery or poly bag, they smell stronger to me than one that's just laying around, if that makes any sense. They also smell stronger to me than the same scent in a clamshell, but if I take the whole wax clamshell out of the clam and smell the bottom of it, it smells stronger than the top. I'm sure there's a reason for that but I don't know why.

The 4625, 4794 and 4630 are all paraffin waxes from IGI. I've never used pure soy but have used a para/soy blend from Rustic Escentuals and also IGI's 6006 container wax which is a para/soy blend. I really like 6006. It's a one pour wax and even though I don't have much experience in candle making, it has a really good hot and cold throw with most FO's, in my opinion. if you do a search on here for 6006, you'll find some good reviews. I've also used 4630 and 4633 for a couple of containers. These are both IGI waxes as well and are straight paraffin. They're one pour waxes also with good ht/ct.

4625 and 4794 are harder waxes. If I use them for clams, I mix them with a container wax, either 4630,4633 or 6006. I honestly can't tell a difference in any of those blends for strength, duration of the clamshells made that way. You can also use 4794 for containers (I believe) but I've never done that.

I hope you find all the answers you need. This board is so full of good information. I'll be happy to help you in any way I can!

Hope this helps you!