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A question about your candle making


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I am curious as to what your involvement in candle making is. I'd love to hear what got you into candle making, and your evolution, i.e.: how many candles you make at a time, what got you selling them, what types do you make, what types of FO's do YOU burn (fruits, perfumes, bakery, etc), and whatever else you'd like to share. If you don't wish to share oyur deal, just use the poll :).

Just a bit of a bio on your candle making I suppose.

I make about 4-8 containers at a time. I haven't had a lot of smells in my FO library but do tend to like spicey, fruits, and woody/outdoor smells. I started making canldes because of the cost of buying the pre-mades as well as I can make them the way I want them.

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I started making candles because you don't have to dust them!

True story. :D

When my daughter went to college they advised me to get a hobby - ceramics, you have to dust; floral arranging, you have to dust; candles, they burn up and you don't have to dust them!

I did find that candlemaking was expensive and I better get good enough to sell if I was going to keep this up. I make containers and pillars, but love pillars. You can be so creative and you never know what will come out of the mold!

I'm partial to floral and bakery but carry a variety of scents. I pour 3 at a time or a case at a time...just depends on what I need.

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I started making candles because I like having several pillars burning every night. (nice ambiance) Unfortunately, the nice-looking pillars are always scented and I'm sensitive to chemical vapors. So I learned to make them myself without the fragrance oil.

Sometimes I make scented ones for my friends, though, cuz the first thing anybody does when you give them a candle is sniff it! :tongue2:

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What got me started: I have a dog that needed $4,000. worth of rear knee surgeries & it became my 'fundraising' project. Little did I know how much $ I would need to get started & how much time was required for testing, but after 5+ yrs I think I've probably paid off my debt to this big galoot of a dog that I love so dearly. I named my business after my love for my pets & use Gabby's pawprint as my logo. I was the average yahoo remelting old candles in my kitchen & after months of research I started doing things right. I started on a very small scale & it just kinda took over as a passionate money-making hobby ... it also took over my kitchen!

I pour all kinds of fo's & certainly not based on what I like. I follow the current trends people are asking for & always keep my personal favs on hand. If an fo sells I keep ordering it, but get rid of anything that sits around too long. Since I'm always testing, it's rather rare that too many candles are my true favs, but I will only burn my favorites in the bedroom!

I've recently made the decision to put a lot more effort into what I do & plan to finally 'get serious' in 2007. I have all my combos of wax, additives, fo's & wicks down, so I'm ready to get busy -- plus, my husband thinks I make the best candles in the world. I guess after 22 yrs I'll finally listen to something he has to say! <g>

Susan.

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My wife started as a hobby that turned into a business which is good because it was getting to be an expensive hobby. Also, it gave us something to do together because I do the web design, all the labels and other printed materials, as well as keep track of the financial end of things. I also help her make candles.

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Great thread Ragna----you rock! (hehehe)

Like many folks, got tired of paying for candles that (for the most part) were disappointing and/or too expensive. I'm new, too, so at this point it's a hobby. Hope to have enough candles that have passed testing to sell to close friends and family in a year or so. I use Comfort Blend wax, HTP wicks (thinking about adding another type of wick for a couple of candles that I think need an 'in-between' size..?) . As for containers, I'm testing 4 oz tins, 8 oz glass jars, and 16 oz WM canning jars. I also bought a case of those 18 oz Victorian keepsake jars--cuz they're so pretty-- but not having alot of luck with those (they're expensive, too:()--so they'll probably be a no-go, at least for now.

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