What kind of safety instructions do you include?

[TallTayl]

When you sell your candles, what do you include for candle safety instructions? 
 

Just  got a heart sinking message from a customer that they were burning a taper in a decorative candle ring made with flammable materials yesterday. The ring caught fire and set their table cloth on fire. Thankfully they were able to put it out before serious damage occurred. 
 

I include the standard warnings like “do not burn near anything flammable…” but alas they did.  
 

then I see my candles in photos displayed on Pinterest-style wood slices drilled with a hole and surrounded with pine branches 😬. 

digging into Pinterest people drill lines of holes into a 2x4 and plop a dozen or more lit candles together 😬😬😬

I am in process now developing a new insert for shipments to NOT DO THAT. 
 

have you come across  anything ready made to start with? Or made your own?

[SRez]

Could you include before and after shots of the aftermath (in a professional/classy way) to show what will happen if you choose to burn irresponsibly?  

[TallTayl]

17 minutes ago, SRez said:

Could you include before and after shots of the aftermath (in a professional/classy way) to show what will happen if you choose to burn irresponsibly?  

That’s definitely on my mind. If another published document is available it takes a lot of pressure off of us. I need to buy the newest ASTM for the legally defensible warnings. Sigh. 
 

 

[NightLight]

For tapers, pillars, shaped candles - prominent candle safety about what to burn on and around. I also add note about customer responsibility about burning candles. It’s at their own risk and they need to read the labels and any information regarding use is their responsibility. Candles burned with in sight. No tossing matches into meltpool.

I have seen so many people toss matches into candle. No idea why, it’s ugly and flammable. I do add a sticker to jar candles to trim wick - another thing people do not do and they have wicks 3/4 inch long in jars.

[RichardLOZ]

We include all of the standard warnings and disclaimers on the warning label, however we also give an information sheet with each candle.  this has information about us, as well as specific instructions for burning and candle maintenance.

 

We do this specifically as many people have not burnt Palm candles before, so might be freaked out when they perform differently to "standard" candles.  Our tins always have a pretty large flame on the first burn, which then settles for the second and subsequent, but if people don't know this they can panic. Palm pillars should NOT be lit and left to burn all day, etc etc

 

We are not just in the candle business, but also the education business.

 

Ultimately no matter what you say or recommend, customers will do what they do, and unfortunately we do not have any influence or control once they take it home with them.

[TallTayl]

I hear you on the “they will do what they do…” Even when I make a picture book someone will not look at it 🤷🏻‍♀️ Do your warnings just have the standard blurbs, or do you have a graphic do/don’t? 

 

I have always included the standard ASTM written warnings for the many different candles I send out into the wild, knowing people don’t/won’t read.  In their minds, it’s just a candle. Light it and it should just do a candle thing.
 

So I test in as many abusive ways I can think of.  For the tapers I went so far as to test burn them tilted completely  sideways. Buggers burned perfectly 😂😂. It is ALWAYS  a simple draft in someone’s home that causes drama. Tapers + drafts = disaster. 
 

my heart hurts thinking I have overlooked something and someone may be harmed by my candles. it’s the tapers I worry most about.  The tins are pretty self-sufficient safetywise. The ceramic are also pretty much light and walk away. my stoneware ceramic fires at >2,000 *F, so a candle is pretty much a non issue. Glass I underwick understanding that  most people do not trim, no matter how much they claim they do. A while back I began to use a hard-to-burn wax at the bottom of containers to slow the final temp rise on the last bit. There’s not a whole lot more we can do. 🙁
 

 

[RichardLOZ]

5 hours ago, TallTayl said:

I hear you on the “they will do what they do…” Even when I make a picture book someone will not look at it 🤷🏻‍♀️ Do your warnings just have the standard blurbs, or do you have a graphic do/don’t? 

We just use a standard text blurbs. I don't think people here would look at graphics

5 hours ago, TallTayl said:

So I test in as many abusive ways I can think of.  For the tapers I went so far as to test burn them tilted completely  sideways. Buggers burned perfectly 😂😂. It is ALWAYS  a simple draft in someone’s home that causes drama. Tapers + drafts = disaster.

 

As we are now only doing tins (although I am looking into concrete containers - just cannot help myself.... LOL) so they are not really an issue.  When we used to do a lot of jars, I used to test under all conditions, including power burns of 10+ hours just to ensure that the glass was not going to shatter.  Happy to say - so far no issues, but thats' why we also have pubic and product liability insurance to protect ourselves against the idiots
 

my heart hurts thinking I have overlooked something and someone may be harmed by my candles. it’s the tapers I worry most about.  The tins are pretty self-sufficient safetywise. The ceramic are also pretty much light and walk away. my stoneware ceramic fires at >2,000 *F, so a candle is pretty much a non issue. Glass I underwick understanding that  most people do not trim, no matter how much they claim they do. A while back I began to use a hard-to-burn wax at the bottom of containers to slow the final temp rise on the last bit. There’s not a whole lot more we can do. 🙁

 

Wow you go to great lengths to cover the lowest common denominator
 

 

 

[SRez]

How about a qr code that links to a YouTube video that shows the do this / don't do that basics as well as the "this is what happens when you do this" shock value video. Sometimes visuals speak louder than words and more likely to share with others. Make YouTube and TikTok your conduit to the masses. 

[TallTayl]

4 hours ago, SRez said:

How about a qr code that links to a YouTube video that shows the do this / don't do that basics as well as the "this is what happens when you do this" shock value video. Sometimes visuals speak louder than words and more likely to share with others. Make YouTube and TikTok your conduit to the masses. 

In love with this idea. 
seems like it belongs on the future CraftServer channel! 

[TallTayl]

@Laura C a while back we talked about the customer not always being right.  Do you remember that thread? 
I have a new entry or two.

 

1) do not light a taper candle (for luck) on your dining room table in front of a forced air heating vent,  leave the house for the day, then complain that the candle didn’t work as it left massive wax drips on your table. I’d say it DID work! You didn’t manage to burn your house down. 
 

2) don’t burn any candles on your favorite heirloom tablecloth then get upset if wax spills on it when moving the candle… 

[Laura C]

On 12/28/2021 at 5:09 PM, TallTayl said:

@Laura C a while back we talked about the customer not always being right.  Do you remember that thread?

 

Hi @TallTayl. Yes, I remember that post and I found it along with a few other related ones.  I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and enjoys a Safe & Happy New Year! 

 

 

 

 

[TallTayl]

10 minutes ago, Laura C said:

 

Hi @TallTayl. Yes, I remember that post and I found it along with a few other related ones.  I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and enjoys a Safe & Happy New Year! 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking those up. The Amazon link looks like it was cleaned up.  No more photos of tins on fire. Wonder how they did that? 
anywho, please exercise care when making and burning candles, no matter where the candle was made. 

[TallTayl]

This is where I landed with the project. 
 

All candles have the standard wording on the labels. This post card size page also goes with every candle order. It will likely be improved upon many times, but it is a start. 

 

considering taking a hint from a popular candle seller to include a line that states the candle manufacturer is not responsible for misuse of the product.