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Being a vendor in the summer.


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I'm not sure if I'm putting this in the right spot or not but I was wondering if anyone has a system of keeping their melts/candles from melting or otherwise being effected by the sun/heat while being a vendor at one of the community outdoor summer events. I am thinking of doing a street dance/kinda like a farmer's market but not really community event this summer. I will be purchasing a pop up canopy tent but wondered if anyone has ever had a problem with any of their product being compromised and how you combat this? Just don't want to put out a bunch of product and have it ruined but I do want to get some more exposure and thought this would be a good opportunity. Thank you in advance!!

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Little Light,

 

The shows that I used to do were pretty much early spring or late fall or Christmas so I really never had that problem but there are lots of people here who do them who will chime in here I know.  The only thing I can suggest for sure is to make sure you put the uv inhibitor in all your candles so they do not turn yellow from the sun or discolor if you are dying your products. I always use that for all my wholesale store accounts because of the flourescent lights.;)

 

Trappeur 

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Having a good tent is good. An Awning of some type is helpful. Candle and soap makers almost have to have a walk in booth. Even with UV protection the sun can still damage your candles. When you apply ask for a north facing booth if you can that is not always possible. At some events I did a lot of moving around to keep candles out of the sun. Get electricity if you can and have some small fans running. Air flow can go a long way to keep things from melting.

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Outdoor venues are really challenging. I learned the most by just testing. In weeks leading up to the event i put actual products outside to make sure my packaging, UV protection, displays etc worked.  Vicky is right about needing a good tent. I wish i had purchased one with that silver lining and a vent to help cut the heat build up inside. Changing out the side walls helped too. 

 

The way the sun moves throughout the day can be tricky. Be able to move displayed items around to protect from sun, wind, etc. you may need to rotate in and out products on display to keep things fresh looking.

 

If you're put onto concrete or paved surfaces the heat radiates upward beneath displays. 

 

No matter how well you plan you will have losses. Sun, wind, rain, humidity, kids touching everything.... You name it. 

 

Probably the most important thing about using your tent is weighing it down well. Those pop up things fly in high winds. I put a minimum of 50 lbs of solid weights per leg as low as possible. If windy, much, much more - or just don't go. I have forfeited many booth fees when the weather was just too dangerous. 

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Guest OldGlory

All good advice so far!

I have done outdoor venues many times, but Tennessee weather is way different than Montana weather.

High humidity can ruin labels. Temperatures of 85 F can cause soy wax to start sweating/melting. If the customer is going to leave a soy wax candle/melt in their car and it's hot in the car, they will have a container filled with liquid when the return to the car... and they will be displeased. (Ask me how I know.) I always warned my customers not to leave candles/melts in a hot car, that it's like leaving a chocolate bar in the sun.

A rug on the concrete/asphalt will help with the heat coming up from the ground.

I used gallon jugs of water on each leg of my canopy to weigh it down. That's 7 lbs per leg. And you can get water just about anywhere.

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You guys always come through ...thank you so much... I have been researching tents and even weights that are made to go on the posts...Great ideas! I love the ideas of fans Vicky... And great idea of leaving some outside ahead of time tall! Glory do you think that it dependant on the melt point of the wax? Say if I have a wax that's MP is 112 I should be good up to that point?? And do you guys STILL do any outdoor events or do you shy away from them now?

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I do outdoor shows all year round. So I have to deal with extreme temperature changes. Most of the best advice has already been given here. Get a good tent and one with UV protection if you can afford it. Use good weights to hold down your tent against gusty, windy days. Keep your product under the shade of the tent. Just be prepared to move it around during the day if need be so it will never be in direct sunlight.

 

For a long time I went without sides but was so glad when I finally got them. Summer storms can come in a flash and its good to have sides you can put up. Sometimes that rain comes in a slant and I can't tell you how many times I had to repackage product, table signs, and product labels and even those that were water proof. So having sides can help out a lot with rain and wind.

 

Sides also come in handy for shows that last more than a day. I do several 2 day and 3 day shows and close up my sides at night to protect everything. It also helps to bring extra tarps to cover your tables overnight especially if the night is gonna be rainy or dewy.

 

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Guest OldGlory

The soy wax I use has a high melt point (probably 110-115) - I use 464. At 85 F it starts to sweat, forming little wet beads on the surface.It's a big turn off for customers. It doesn't have to completely melt to be a nuisance. Fans help, but it's a battle. If I could go back and start over, I would add some paraffin pillar wax to my 464, just enough to keep it from melting in the heat. In the winter I would go back to all soy since heat isn't a problem. That's for candles. And I would tell my customers that the wax I use is 90% (or whatever % it is) soy wax, and that the other wax is added to keep it from becoming a puddle in the heat.

As for melts, I have had more people tell me that they just don't like soy melts. Go figure! I suggest trying 4625 for melts because it has a high fragrance load.

You don't have to avoid outdoor events, but you do have to prepare for the elements.

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  • 2 years later...

This past Faire summer it was in the 100 range for several weeks with oppressive humidity. There was no escaping soy sweat. Candles with longer cures survived much more effectively than “fresher” candles. Some fragrances fared worse than others.

 

 I had to change up a display that got some afternoon sun using shades. Several layers of burlap pinned strategically throughout the day saved most of the candles. Turning displays out of the sun’ s path helped a bit too.

 

Only having a few things out is not an option. Like lush and ikea you gotta pile them high to watch them fly,  so crates of back stock with long ice packs made from food vacuum sealer rolls minimized damage. We rotated periodically keeping the damaged candles segregated for repair later.

 

knowing this is always a problem, we took time to test different waxes for next year in that environment. Glass containers are the absolute worst in my environment. The sun rays and shaded UV rays collect energy in the jars and begin melting quickly. They retain the heat and prolong the problem. Ceramic did well. And the tins always do ok if kept shaded.

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