Top 5 Scents

[southern.scents]

Of course at first i would not be any competition, i am just starting up my business. I am tired of trying to satisfy you trish, i tried giving you the info you wanted but that was not satisfactory and all you could do was come back and trash me more.

[CareBear]

SS - first no one here said don't do, they just recommended you slow down. We cannot gauge much from your posts, but writing styles differ so sometimes what we read is not what you thought you wrote. I don't think you need to "satisfy" anyone, but we are kinda an "outreach" group that will intercede if we think it's important enough (as in "speak up"). That's a sign of a group of people who actually care about the craft and the members. Take it as a compliment that everyone is taking time to try to work with you here. IMHO.

One thing that concerns me (newbie that I be) is that you haven't tested the particular FOs that you are interested in. You need to make sure those work for you - they can respond differently and may require some fine tuning. I would say order small amounts and test them. What if you think you like one but it doesn't throw in the wax/wick combo you chose - which part will you change? And don't forget color!

As far as your choices of type, well I don't like fruity types (or bakery) so your selection wouldn't get me as a customer for example - I suggest you broaden your horizons.

Good luck and keep chugging along.

[Trish]

Of course at first i would not be any competition, i am just starting up my business. I am tired of trying to satisfy you trish, i tried giving you the info you wanted but that was not satisfactory and all you could do was come back and trash me more.

I don't need you to satisfy me, I'm trying to show you that even with your research (more than the majors you said) that you can't even tell me what size wick you are using.

I personally don't care what wick you are using. But you should.

[Bill]

LMAO!

[The_Dallas_Texas_Dean]

First post ever on any site....right away you have my heart. I sometimes wish there was an orientation that people could go through before they start posting so they wouldn't wind up feeling the way you are feeling after your post... with the responses you have received.

southern...people here are just concerned for the craft as a whole, public perception (we are all in this together believe it or not) and public safety etc.

There are many people here that know, from experience, what goes into making an excellent product...and those same people see some of the dangerous, poorly crafted candles that are being sold all over the country. It hurts us all...it really does.

I am sorry you were caught up into that your first post.. People are just a wee bit suspicious and cynical of people wanting to sell..until the important standards and criteria have been met.

I personally do not know you or your situation....whether you have a family to protect or property such as a home...bank accounts, cars etc.

As a member here (and I like to think, a nice guy) I will share with you this very important bit of advise. You can do with it as you will. DO NOT sell one single candle until you have purchased your Insurance. All it would take is one mishap, or one "sue happy" person to wipe you out. Seriously...before you sell one candle...even to "friends".

Figure it in as part of your start up costs. It is as important as the wax and wicks.

BTW....Trish is a well respected professional on our board. She is a wealth of knowledge. I think she was trying to be helpful to you.

Good luck to you and your new venture.

Do it right!:highfive:

[Angie W]

Some of these post do sound a little harsh but true. Don't let this thread scare you off this is a fantastic place to get advice and info. I wish I would have found it when I first started.

As for your scents unless you have already ordered them and know what they smell like just order samples. Just because you like the discription of them does not mean you will like the smell believe me I have made that big mistake. You should also order a variety. If your ordering five order from five different catagories not just one. When you do decide your ready to sell it will give your customers more of a choice and it will give you a better idea of what sells better in your area.

I also suggest that if you feel you are ready to sell befor you do pass them out to friends and family first get their opinions and exprience with your candle befor you sell to strangers. Their going to tell you if there is something wrong with it a customer just wont come back unless their house burns down. I know it probly sound like a big waste of money to just give a large amount of your candles away but it is a huge part of your testing process.

Good luck with whatevery you decide to do.

[harley1231]

First post ever on any site....right away you have my heart. I sometimes wish there was an orientation that people could go through before they start posting so they wouldn't wind up feeling the way you are feeling after your post... with the responses you have received.

southern...people here are just concerned for the craft as a whole, public perception (we are all in this together believe it or not) and public safety etc.

There are many people here that know, from experience, what goes into making an excellent product...and those same people see some of the dangerous, poorly crafted candles that are being sold all over the country. It hurts us all...it really does.

I am sorry you were caught up into that your first post.. People are just a wee bit suspicious and cynical of people wanting to sell..until the important standards and criteria have been met.

I personally do not know you or your situation....whether you have a family to protect or property such as a home...bank accounts, cars etc.

As a member here (and I like to think, a nice guy) I will share with you this very important bit of advise. You can do with it as you will. DO NOT sell one single candle until you have purchased your Insurance. All it would take is one mishap, or one "sue happy" person to wipe you out. Seriously...before you sell one candle...even to "friends".

Figure it in as part of your start up costs. It is as important as the wax and wicks.

BTW....Trish is a well respected professional on our board. She is a wealth of knowledge. I think she was trying to be helpful to you.

Good luck to you and your new venture.

Do it right!:highfive:

What he said!

After a year and several mistakes, I still only make candles for myself, family, & friends as I find I'm still not ready for selling a Quality candle worthy of selling with my name on it. You will find after repeated testing with each FO (fragrance Oil) and different %'s , as well as the wicks, each candle will burn and scent differently. which is why the wicks and the amount of FO may need to be adjusted from candle to candle. One of the most important things I've found in making safe, consistent, and great smelling candles is to get a good set of digital scales for measuring every ingredient that you plan to use and keep NOTES. Start with a well known wax manufacturer, quality FO, and a sample pack of different size wicks, then test, test, test each and every candle from beginning to end. Keep Notes, but also label each jar with the name & manufacturer of each FO , percentage, and what size wick! You will want to do this to be sure you have a 'safe' and well scented candle where the flame doesn't smoke or get too high or extinguish its self when it is half way down the jar. Different wicks and their sizes work differently in different types of waxes and fragrance oil. Even then you will need insurance to protect yourself when selling to the public. Everyone is concerned that you test,test, test because there are soo many variables with jars, wax, wicks, and each and every FO as well as from supplier to supplier. An example would be if I make a candle with blueberry pie FO I may need to use an LX 14 Wick(6 inch) and one with an apple pie FO will only need an LX 12 Wick(6 inch). After testing I've discovered with some fragance oils the hot throw (the scent while burning) will be too weak or too strong and I have't to adjust the amount of Fragrance Oil and or the size of the wick and then re-test again. If you are ordering a new batch of wax for making the 100 candles you will likely want to re-test with the new batch of wax as it too can vary from batch to batch. I learned that the hard way! I always test each scented candle first to make sure they are burning safely, cleanly, and completely..,.Then I let my friends and family pick one scent to take home provided they let me know what they honestly think of the 'scent throw' and how well it burns. Please dont be put off by some of the remarks. Everyone just wants to make sure your candles are going to burn safely for your benefit as well as others. And you just may find that your quality scented tested candles will exceed anything your competition is trying to sell. Different waxes perform differntly and so you may want to do a search here on the brand of paraffin, parasoy, or soy (which ever you plan to use) and see what others testing results were to give a starting point with differnt FO's and wicks. Good Luck!

[mauimom]

Wow! I cannot believe that anybody would think that anybody on this site was trying to do anything but be helpful. I am just a beginner. Everybody has been so helpful and informative. I would not be this far without these threads.

But I can tell you that all the candles that I have made in the last six weeks are being used only by me. I did not even like them enough to give to family and friends for Christmas. :embarasse (Now I did give them soap that I made.)

And, If you are an expert already, please tell me more about what wicks to use with what size and what mold and what FO, etc., etc. These wicks are really bugging the hell out of me!

I can only think that you are having a bad day. We are all with you and want the best for you and your fledging business. Insurance!!

[waxwench]

good luck is all I can say.

[Fire and Ice]

Well many of us have been testing for over a year and we never stop learning for testing. Don't take it the wrong way but your still way too quick thinking you're going to make quick money making candles. But you can learn the hard way too. It takes year to make money in this business and every area of the country is different. Sounds like you need to do a great deal more test and research.

Fire:cool2:

[cindym]

You also need to research your market area and see what scents sell.

[Jane42]

We were anxious ourselves to start selling...just to get an idea of what people liked and disliked. Now, after alot more testing and finally getting a candle we are truly satisfied with, I CRINGE everytime I think of the fact that we sold at one show before we were ready. Luckily, it was at a church in a small town and we didn't end up selling much. We gave several to family members for Christmas last year and, unless they marathon burned them (MY SISTER!), most of those babies couldn't get a full melt pool to save their lives! That is NOT the reputation we were going for, and we are so glad we listened to people on this board and held off until we were truly satisfied. If I thought we had 50 or 100 of those candles out there, I would be mortified...and probably unable to resell to those people because of their first experience with our product.

The fruity ones, in my experience, tend to give off a fuel smell if the FO is not exactly right or it is not wicked correctly....I am still not sure which is causing it, but it definitely needs more testing on our part.... You may want to test a vanilla, a spicy scent, a fruity scent, etc. We have found that one size wick works with MOST of our scents, but we have run across several that needed to be wicked up, so testing each scent is imperative.

Do not want to burst your bubble at all...I know EXACTLY how you feel...and if you are 100% satisfied with your product, good luck to you! And I truly mean that...

Jane