Need help, we are learning

[Lil Wicks]

My kids and I just started our candle business. Really it's there way to earn money. We already have orders and stores that want to carry our candle line. But we are having the same problem that Sarah had. The scents smell great in the bottle, wonderful when you are making them and then when you go to burn them, nothing! This is what we are using and doing.

Cargil C-3 Soy

Wind Hill Candle Factory- Scents, 1/2 oz - 1oz

Lonestar Candle Supply - soy wicks

Lonestar Candle Supply- liquid color

The Jar Company-containers

mix it and then pour once it's to 170 or so. They pour beautiful, no bubbles most of the time I don't even have to pour a second time. No frosting or anything, just no scent!

We have orders we can't fill because we only want to put out a good product. Please pass on any information. We don't have money to throw into excessive trying of things. They are on a tight start up budget and have already spent almost $400.00 in supplies and sold nothing yet. so I am trying to help them out. What are we missing.

Thanks,

Tera

[Tess]

All I can really say is, Candlemaking is not a get rich quick, easy extra money making "project", ESPECIALLY for kids.

[whiffandsniff]

I'm going to have to agree with Tess. When I first started I thought I was going to make it rich and it's just not that way. You can't just start making candles and selling them when you've never made a candle before. It's takes much time and trial and error. You have to find a wick, jar, wax, and scent that works for YOU! I've been making candles for years and I still don't know all the secrets.

Good luck and perhaps reading the boards here will guide you.

[gerrie]

Sorry, but I have to agree with the other 2 posts. This is not a quick or a cheap way to make money. If you're into it 400.00 you can count youself lucky at this point. This is a never ending learning process. It takes a long time to get that "perfect" candle perfected. You just have to keep testing, cause honestly, what works for one may not work for another. Seems like everyone has their own idea of the "perfect" candle, and that's why we all have to do our own testing.

Good luck, and I hope you find what works best for you. Only thing I can add is make sure you have a safe candle before you put it out to the public.

[greenleaf]

Well - I love a good entrepreneurial spirit and happy to see that you are supporting your children's efforts. These replies are pretty much right but I'll jump in to see what I can do to help you. When you get it down - come buy from us

Check your private message box.

Thanks

(This was the thread I was looking for - rofl)

Well - you are not set up to receive Private Messages. Please email me at brenda@greenleafcandlesupply.com and I will try and work with you to help.

[Candlebuddy]

Lil Wicks,

You don't say what type of containers you're using, but I can tell you what works for me in 8oz jelly jars.

wax: 50/50 blend

wicks: CD10; for heavier fo's CD12

jars: 8oz jelly jar

fo: I use a few suppliers (Kentucky, Snowtop, Millcreek, ICS, JS, The Candle Source, and some others)

My 8oz jj actually only holds 6.25ozs. I use 8% fo in my candles. My formula is as follows:

6.25 X .08 = .50 (fo)

6.25 - .50 = 5.75 (wax)

I agree with the others as well. You really do have to test a lot. You have to test which fo's throw well in your wax, which wicks work best with your wax and fo's. I've only been doing this for a year or so, and I feel as though I'm just scratching the surface.

HTH.

[MaryinCary]

We have orders we can't fill because we only want to put out a good product. Please pass on any information. We don't have money to throw into excessive trying of things. They are on a tight start up budget and have already spent almost $400.00 in supplies and sold nothing yet. so I am trying to help them out. What are we missing.

Thanks,

Tera

Experience and a quality product. Without that you will never have repeat customers.

Tess All I can really say is, Candlemaking is not a get rich quick, easy extra money making "project", ESPECIALLY for kids

Ditto that!

[smart tart]

Welcome.....

Well since I had lots of extra money (but notice I said had....that was before I discovered fo's) and have already spent my money on testing, why reinvent the wheel?? :undecided I don't use the same wax you are using but testing would be about the same.

I have no idea what a soy wick is....have you tried different sizes/types of wicks and still not getting a good throw? Some times the wick is the culprit...but sometimes not. What size containers are you using? What is the diameter of the opening? The rule of thumb is to burn your container for an hour per inch.....this will help you achieve a full mp. Still not getting a good scent throw? Just because a scent smells great in the bottle, that is not necessarily how it will smell once it is in the wax. Some fo's do not throw well in soy. Are you getting a good cold throw? Are you curing your candles? And for how long? I would suggest buying fo samples from several different companies (do you need names and web site addy's? On the fragrance category at the top there is a sticky that lists many of the companies that sell fo's). When I first began I usually chose 10 or so (although last time it was 50 ) from each company. Some heavier fo's require you to wick up on them - so you really need to test each fragrance that you plan to sell. Fo's are/can be expensive but I have found I get what I pay for....I tried alot of cheapy fo's - found they didnt' work.....so now I pay a bit more but get a better product. Some companies test their fo's in soy - and will tell you how it throws - that should help save you some money....

How old are your children that are going into business? Set them up here on CT and have them read all the back posts - that could prove to be very helpful. I used to spend hours just reading.....It might still cost you some more money before you ever begin to make any money....

Not trying to discourage you because I don't believe you have to spend a million but you do need to buy quality products to produce a quality product. And you will need to test your product to be sure that it is something you want to sell - that is safe and smells good.

BTW - have you already gotten prices on product liability insurance or gotten coverage? Maybe something you hadn't considered? Have you made your warning labels? And product labels?

Hopefully Brenda will be able to help you.....Let us know how you are doing.

Debbie

[ChrisR]

Never heard of Windy Hill, but you may want to try other companies for higher quality FO's. Also, this is not a sell quick business, especially if you are taking orders already and don't have a good scent throw for your candle. You cannot gaurantee using the same wick in the same jar for all your scents. Some heavier scents will more than likely need to be wicked up and some others may need smaller wicks. Some scents may not even throw good in your particular wax, you just never know till you've tested all the different variations.

Also, you definately should have insurance if you plan to sell. Before I even started making candles, I had my insurance in place. All it takes is one idiot customer to sue you and without insurance you could lose everything.

According to your post, it sounds like you need to step back from selling just yet, unless I misread your post and you've been at this for several months. Candles can be very rewarding, but VERY frustrating at the same time!!

[Gypsyjen]

We don't have money to throw into excessive trying of things. They are on a tight start up budget and have already spent almost $400.00 in supplies and sold nothing yet. so I am trying to help them out. What are we missing.

Thanks,

Tera

I think you answered your own question. You will need to try many different fragrance oil suppliers, and fragrance oils, to achieve the results you want in your wax/wick/container combination. Not all fragrances, or fragrance oil suppliers, will work for everyone. I've never heard of your FO supplier, so I can't vouch for their oils. As a side note, C-3 takes at least a week to cure before burning to get the best results.

I've spent probably $3000-$4000 since October on candle supplies, and expect to spend at least twice that before I consider myself truly "open for business". This is not a good venture for someone who has limited disposable income. There are just too many variables to test for, and all testing of course costs $$$. Something to consider before expecting to turn a profit.

Good luck in whatever course of action you decide to take.

[mizbizzyb]

Hmmmm, $400 I wish. I spend more than that in a month trying things out.

I took our entire income tax refund (first one we got in 9 years) $4000 last year and got supplies, and hubby gives me $500 a month to get stuff to test and pay for odds and ends (website, supplies, etc). So up to this date I have probably spent $10,000 on stuff. I had already done gel candles prior to wanting to add wax. And it takes a lot of testing. A lot.

Not trying to discourage you. One bad candle can ruin your reputation.

[celicagtca]

I wish I had all the answers given to me when I started 51/2 years ago as I probably would have been a millionaire today with everybody's elses expertise. Candlemaking is an art and a science all in one. First is the science than the art. What works for one, doesn't neccessarily work for another. 50% of our time is spent testing to achieve a better, cleaner, highly aromatic burning candle. You should take some time and read "General Candlemaking" on this board and sift through the archives for particular information pertaining to your queries. Reading is the best source of information, and of course asking questions also. Fortunately, there are quite a few "highly experienced" chandlers on this board that are more than happy to give info to help another chandler out, but you will find that more than 90% in this trade "will not" give out their trade secrets. When you invest hours, days, months and years of testing to achieve the perfect product, you definately don't want your next door neighbor reaping all the rewards off your time and $$$ spent. Bill Gates never became a billionaire overnight by having all the answers given to him. This is something that you and your children are going to have to spend some time on before you sell your products. If you are serious about building a business in this field, take baby steps before racing againest the clock. You wouldn't want all your products coming back because of some trivial thing. Check out the "Fragrance" section for the best oil suppliers based on your needs and always order samples first. Don't dive in head first before getting your feet wet! Try giving samples to your friends and family and let them be the judge. Friends and family are your best critics as they will tell you the truth. Even though the truth hurts sometimes, it's better to start with their opinions than never having a repeat customer again.

[lbtddr]

i have ordered about 3 hundred samples from different company's. most are to light. or some no one likes.i have about ten scents i use all the time.i use comfort blend wax.scents is the one thing i think of that makes making candles hard.after testing you can get wicks wright but scents are hard to find.

[Crafty1_AJ]

I don't have experience with that particular wax, but I do know it often takes 1.5 oz. of a good strong fragrance oil in soy wax to get good scent throw. And soy can be a bit picky at times -- some fragrances won't throw at all no matter how much you use!

HTH, and good luck on your new venture!

[sockmonkey]

I am not a candle maker, but what I've picked up on various forums is that some people claim that soy just does not, and will never have the ability to produce a throw as strong as paraffin.

Combine that with an inferior fragrance oil, and you've basically got an unscented candle on your hands.

As I said, I do not do candles, but I have purchased fragrance oil samples from Longwick's, and I was not pleased with any of them. Maybe you should try fragrances from a couple of different suppliers. Scent-works.com and tonysfragranceoils.com usually get praise from everyone. For more budget conscious supplies, naturesgardencandles.com and candlesupplys.us also seem favored here.

[hewells]

I would try other wicks and maybe using 1oz to 1.5 oz fragrance per pound. Also if you could supply what type of jar you are using that might help narrow down your problem and people will have better answers as to what might be happening. Not to sure how long you and your kids have been making candles but please heed the advice of the posters you will want to test every combination you create to make sure that you are supplying a safe candle. I know you are trying to teach your kids good habits so that later in life they will support themselves and prosper please don't let it start with a trip to the court room with all the sue happy people out there now 1 faulty candle can cost you everything you have.