Containers and Retail

[xxxAlpha71xxx]

Hi all.  My wife and I are looking at starting a small side candle business which is probably going to end up just paying for the hobby (hopefully). I have a lot of time on my hands these days and I have to find something to do or go stir crazy.   My wife owned her own business (Celtic Jewelry and related items) for 20 years and would like to get back to being involved in some sort of retail business, even if it's only part time.  I plan on making them and, as she has 20 years of festival type events, the wife will handle sales,  I'm very green and realize that this is going to require a considerable investment in time (I'm hoping that we can be ready to move forward at some point in 2020) and resources but I've already ran into a problem.  Glass vs tin.  I believe we should have both.  Wife believes there's no market for tin.  I know she's wrong   but it would help if I had some retailers-large or small-to back me up on this.

 

I want to start off with both tin and glass, something like 6 and 8 oz tins, then 8 and 12 ounce status jars, possibly moving on to something like a 16 oz apothecary  past that point.   I think it's important to have a variety of products and as I'm barely breaking into small/medium containers I'm not ready to even consider attempting larger or some type of specialty container.  Having both tin and glass adds some variety.

 

Thanks for the help.

[TallTayl]

Tins have a place. My summer faire shop goes through a couple thousand in 9 weeks 😊. It could be very market or brand specific though some farmers market friends in Cali sell 1,000 lbs of wax tin candles a month, year round, so success is all up to the seller. 

 

reluctantly adding glass this year to intro coconut wax. If coconut did as well in tins I’d just do tins for all. Shipping is easier and much cheaper for tins. 

 

I only offer one size of each. Tried multiple sizes and it took too long (and cost tooo much)  to test and merchandise everything. 

[Sebleo]

That is something that’s been on my mind. When shipping tins, do you ship in a padded envelope or bag?  

[TallTayl]

51 minutes ago, Sebleo said:

That is something that’s been on my mind. When shipping tins, do you ship in a padded envelope or bag?  

Candles are always shipped in boxes with plenty of dunnage to prevent damage.

 

for items that are eligible for padded envelopes, inner boxes keep things safe and tidy for almost everything. The video size box from usps fits inside a padded flat rate mailer perfectly. 

[Sebleo]

I’ve actually never seen or felt a tin candle in real life. So, I wasn’t sure if they were heavy duty enough to ship in a padded bag. 

 

Even in a box it’s got to save some shipping money. 

[xxxAlpha71xxx]

I'm going to tell her she would let me make tin candles....if she only had a heart.  Think that will work?

[CaptnKush]

2 hours ago, TallTayl said:

 

 

reluctantly adding glass this year to intro coconut wax. If coconut did as well in tins I’d just do tins for all. Shipping is easier and much cheaper for tins. 

 

I only offer one size of each. Tried multiple sizes and it took too long (and cost tooo much)  to test and merchandise everything. 

Which coconut wax did you find to be the best?

[TallTayl]

34 minutes ago, CaptnKush said:

Which coconut wax did you find to be the best?

Lol none of them lol.  Making the best of my easybeads that I foolishly bought 10 cases of last year..  Having to blend heavily with other waxes 🙄

 

i hope on one hand they sell like hotcakes. Then on the other hand I’m dreading finding out if the newer easybeads are different when it’s time to restock.  I’ve had to test and retest easybeads 3 stinking times already.  

[xxxAlpha71xxx]

On a tangent,  I was looking for examples of tin candles to show my wife and one of the sites that popped up was Hillhouse Naturals.  They are from a little-population 700- town in Western Kentucky where I grew up.  I went to elementary and high school with the owners two kids and I remember when they started the business they were doing nothing but essential oils.  This was 40 years ago in a small town in Western Kentucky.  Making a living growing flowers was something that was a pretty foreign concept.  The only flowers we thought you could make money from were tobacco flowers.   I don't believe anyone expected them to succeed but  looking at their website and some of their prices it appears they are doing very well.  Guess there's a bunch of us that need to eat some crow flavored humble pie while I'm taking a basket weaving class.  Apparently, I should have chosen a career in making 21 ounce 3 wick candles wrapped in a woven basket.

 

And yes, they had tin candles that I was able to show my wife.

[Sarah S]

I think tins absolutely can have a place in your lineup, assuming as TT stated, that they align with your brand and image.

I have just started testing tins myself, mostly out of curiosity, but also because I like the idea of a shatter proof candle. I do travel, and I like to take a candle with me sometimes. And having a shatterproof candle in the bathroom is a good idea!

So, right there, a couple good reasons to include them in your line. Something to think about though, the more variety you have in terms of vessels and materials, the longer and more complicated your testing will be. At a certain point you run out of flat surface area to hold your test candles! 😂

[Laura C]

12 hours ago, TallTayl said:

I’ve had to test and retest easybeads 3 stinking times already.  

 

I hear ya, I had been doing the same thing with basically any coconut wax I tried to use, mainly because of the wicking issues. That was last year, I got feed up and have only been making wax melts since Jan. 2019. I plan on making candles sometime again soon and hopefully the waxes will be better and I'll have a better perspective of what to do. For some crazy reason I'm partial it coconut wax, maybe because I live in Florida, but after playing with lots of different waxes making melts, I've realized I like all kinds of waxes and the possibilities are endless. 

[Laura C]

11 hours ago, xxxAlpha71xxx said:

On a tangent,  I was looking for examples of tin candles to show my wife and one of the sites that popped up was Hillhouse Naturals.  They are from a little-population 700- town in Western Kentucky where I grew up.  I went to elementary and high school with the owners two kids and I remember when they started the business they were doing nothing but essential oils.  This was 40 years ago in a small town in Western Kentucky.  Making a living growing flowers was something that was a pretty foreign concept.  The only flowers we thought you could make money from were tobacco flowers.   I don't believe anyone expected them to succeed but  looking at their website and some of their prices it appears they are doing very well.  Guess there's a bunch of us that need to eat some crow flavored humble pie while I'm taking a basket weaving class.  Apparently, I should have chosen a career in making 21 ounce 3 wick candles wrapped in a woven basket.

 

And yes, they had tin candles that I was able to show my wife.

 

I checked out their website and wow, very impressive. Very nice website and lovely containers and packaging. Certainly looks like they've got it going on, good for them. And I saw the candles in the baskets, very cute and different.  https://www.hillhousenaturals.com/product-p/ctggl2.htm

Edited June 5, 2019 by Laura C

[xxxAlpha71xxx]

De-railing my own post here but wow.  I ran across these guys last night trying to see if there was a supplier near Nashville.  Just wow.  I'd eat them even knowing they were candles.

 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/CandlelitDesserts?fbclid=IwAR1R2kZB6hDYU0ZQp81hS7cyd5zV15nwBj6l51fQCdp1t9ypRd7oFqpwMvk

[Laura C]

1 hour ago, xxxAlpha71xxx said:

De-railing my own post here but wow.  I ran across these guys last night trying to see if there was a supplier near Nashville.  Just wow.  I'd eat them even knowing they were candles.

 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/CandlelitDesserts?fbclid=IwAR1R2kZB6hDYU0ZQp81hS7cyd5zV15nwBj6l51fQCdp1t9ypRd7oFqpwMvk

 

Oh yes, I agree, that is another Wow shop. She does an amazing job making her products look like real food, super cute. I see awesome products like that and successful people and it gets me pumped to create my own success story. Let's get busy and make products...! 🤩

[xxxAlpha71xxx]

Back to the subject of containers.  My wife and I go to quite a few farmer's markets and the like and without fail I end up seeing someone selling candles in one of those mason jar mugs.  You know the ones-looks like a canning jar but has a handle on the side.  Regular canning jars don't give me a lot of concern because they are designed for high heat while under pressure.  Looking around the web  there are many places that sell the mason jar mugs but, other than one site that said their jars were not suitable for canning, I haven't seen any information on temperature limitations or their suitability for use as a candle vessel.  "Dishwasher safe" is the best information I've ran across.

 

Any of you guys using these things?  Without manufacturer information what would it take for you to be comfortable using them from a safety perspective?  I grabbed a couple of empty jars to test.  They are fairly thick-as thick as a normal mason jar-and seem to burn with no issues yet I'm still a bit cautious.

[xxxAlpha71xxx]

11 hours ago, xxxAlpha71xxx said:

Back to the subject of containers.  My wife and I go to quite a few farmer's markets and the like and without fail I end up seeing someone selling candles in one of those mason jar mugs.  You know the ones-looks like a canning jar but has a handle on the side.  Regular canning jars don't give me a lot of concern because they are designed for high heat while under pressure.  Looking around the web  there are many places that sell the mason jar mugs but, other than one site that said their jars were not suitable for canning, I haven't seen any information on temperature limitations or their suitability for use as a candle vessel.  "Dishwasher safe" is the best information I've ran across.

 

Any of you guys using these things?  Without manufacturer information what would it take for you to be comfortable using them from a safety perspective?  I grabbed a couple of empty jars to test.  They are fairly thick-as thick as a normal mason jar-and seem to burn with no issues yet I'm still a bit cautious.

Google and I didn't sleep much last night and I eventually found a 16 oz Mason jar with handle that is "perfect for candle making".  Jar and lid 1.50 each delivered to my door.  I can live with that 

[Sarah S]

I've used mason jars, but never the mug style ones. I've just never liked that look. Any glass container can shatter under the right (or wrong as the case may be) circumstances. This is my opinion only, but I feel like something thicker than a drinking glass should be ok, and I have used beer glasses for my own personal candles before. That being said, when it comes to making candles for other people, I am a lot more cautious about containers and only use those intended for high heat situations. FWIW! 🙃

[CaptnKush]

On 6/4/2019 at 4:26 PM, TallTayl said:

Lol none of them lol.  Making the best of my easybeads that I foolishly bought 10 cases of last year..  Having to blend heavily with other waxes 🙄

 

i hope on one hand they sell like hotcakes. Then on the other hand I’m dreading finding out if the newer easybeads are different when it’s time to restock.  I’ve had to test and retest easybeads 3 stinking times already.  

Wanted an update from you. Did they sell like hotcakes and which wick worked best for you with that wax?