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Technically any wax should float given the specific gravity of candle wax is usually 90-92% that of water. (Oil floats on water).

 

but, I would lean toward a hard paraffin since soy and other veg waxes are more prone to larger wax crystals and crystal changes over time, which means they would be likely  to allow water molecules to seep between the wax grains. 

 

I’ve seen colors and scented floaters. Sounds like fun. 

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When I first started out I made floating candles with a paraffin pillar wax. I both colored and scented them. I enjoyed them a lot and love the look of floating candles but they just didn't sell period so I gave them up. I had this beautiful pic of my floating candles in a water bowl with flowers floating but unfortunately lost it when my old computer crashed on me last year.

 

I think there is still a market niche for floating candles for the pool for weddings and special occasions for added outdoor lighting ambiance. You could market them that way if you are trying to sell them. Just make sure you take some really good quality pictures of the floating candles in the scenario you are marketing for because they are a hard sell.

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5 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Technically any wax should float given the specific gravity of candle wax is usually 90-92% that of water. (Oil floats on water).

 

but, I would lean toward a hard paraffin since soy and other veg waxes are more prone to larger wax crystals and crystal changes over time, which means they would be likely  to allow water molecules to seep between the wax grains. 

 

I’ve seen colors and scented floaters. Sounds like fun. 

A hard paraffin. So I could use 4625, since I have several cases that I ordered by mistake and need to get rid of the stuff.:lol:

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Well Quentin, if you decide that you don't want to do floating candles being they are a hard sell, you can do any other type of candle with your matches so they won't go to waste.   I think that is a beautiful touch myself to get a custom match whether they are short or long.

 

Trappeur

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1 hour ago, Trappeur said:

Well Quentin, if you decide that you don't want to do floating candles being they are a hard sell, you can do any other type of candle with your matches so they won't go to waste.   I think that is a beautiful touch myself to get a custom match whether they are short or long.

 

Trappeur

Ignorance is bliss. I would never have known that floating candles were a hard sell had I not started this topic. When I first went on the road as a traveling salesman for Ben Rickert in the mid-1980s, the guy that hired me never told me that our company's products (soap and candles) were a "hard sell." So with the confidence that comes with ignorance, I went on the road. I opened up new accounts across a gigantic territory. I got appointments with buyers from major department stores that no one in our company had ever been able to see. When I was asked at my first sales meeting how I was able to get into see those buyers when no one else had before, I gave them my answer; I called them on the phone and asked for an appointment. That was all I did. I have an idea of how to sell floating candles and make it a repeat business, too. I'll enter that area of the industry with the same happy-go-lucky attitude that I always seem to have.:yay:

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I’d probably call on wedding planners, caterers, restaurants, local pubs, home decor shops, etc. and get on Instagram and start following home decor people. Potentially huuuuuuge markets if you get to the right people. 

 

The trick will be to help people visualize how your candles will look on their tables.  Dollar store, for instance, has wide, tall vases that are marketed as Madison jars elsewhere.  Fill those with seasonal things, and float your candles on top.  Take pretty pictures. 

 

The suggestion above with the pool or a pond sound magical. 

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16 hours ago, Candybee said:

When I first started out I made floating candles with a paraffin pillar wax. I both colored and scented them. I enjoyed them a lot and love the look of floating candles but they just didn't sell period so I gave them up. I had this beautiful pic of my floating candles in a water bowl with flowers floating but unfortunately lost it when my old computer crashed on me last year.

 

I think there is still a market niche for floating candles for the pool for weddings and special occasions for added outdoor lighting ambiance. You could market them that way if you are trying to sell them. Just make sure you take some really good quality pictures of the floating candles in the scenario you are marketing for because they are a hard sell.

 

Off topic but just a tip if you want it. Next time you go to Walmart or anyplace that has an electronic section, look at getting a usb drive. They are relatively cheap these days and have a ton of storage. Just keep it plugged into your usb drive on your desktop computer and any file that is of any importance make a copy onto that usb drive. I save all of my .ai files on one incase my computer crashes, this way my files stay intact even if the computer itself is dead

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Quentin I would love to see you get a good market for floating candles. I always believed it can be done. Floating candles are just so darn pretty. That's why I started making them in the first place. 

 

Just another idea, buy a tall round glass cylinder type vase to use as a table center piece for your floating candles. Put an evergreen wreath around the bottom of the vase and your lit floating candle(s) inside the vase for a marketing picture. This would make a great table centerpiece for the holidays. For different holidays use different themes. But I think if people see a pic of how beautiful the centerpiece with the floating candles looks they can imagine it on their own holiday or special occasion table setting. Same goes for pool candles. Throw some flowers in with the floating candles for the marketing pics.

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5 hours ago, Candybee said:

Just another idea, buy a tall round glass cylinder type vase to use as a table center piece for your floating candles. Put an evergreen wreath around the bottom of the vase and your lit floating candle(s) inside the vase for a marketing picture. This would make a great table centerpiece for the holidays. For different holidays use different themes. But I think if people see a pic of how beautiful the centerpiece with the floating candles looks they can imagine it on their own holiday or special occasion table setting. Same goes for pool candles. Throw some flowers in with the floating candles for the marketing pics.

Thanks for these ideas. All of them good.

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On 3/11/2019 at 9:56 AM, TallTayl said:

I’d probably call on wedding planners, caterers, restaurants, local pubs, home decor shops, etc. and get on Instagram and start following home decor people. Potentially huuuuuuge markets if you get to the right people. 

 

The trick will be to help people visualize how your candles will look on their tables.  Dollar store, for instance, has wide, tall vases that are marketed as Madison jars elsewhere.  Fill those with seasonal things, and float your candles on top.  Take pretty pictures. 

 

The suggestion above with the pool or a pond sound magical. 

All of these are good ideas. I'll cut and paste these and those from the others on a Product Profile sheet. That's another project I'm working on now. Floaters may be a "hard sell", but it can't be harder than selling life insurance!:lol:

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