Nita Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 Good to hear that your first craft show went well. Hope there are more to come.I am glad to hear that the soy kit worked for you. I want to do soy but with pillars. Has soy worked well for you with pillars?Are you at a point where you are making a profit from selling?I hope candle making candle be something that is fun and makes me relax as well. How long does it take you to make an average candle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NattyCat Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Hi Nita and welcome.I've noticed that you often asking about how soon you can make a profit from selling candles and I hate to tell you - if you're serious about offering a quality product that is safe and burns correctly - you'll spend a whole lot more than you make for the first couple of years. I made candles for a long time and only decided to sell about 20 months ago. Having just done my accounts for last year, I spent over $20,000 on supplies, and my profits added up to less than a quarter of that. It takes a long time and a huge amount of money to make and test candles as you need to make sure every single variety of candle you offer is fully tested in every scent you wish to offer - and tons of the stuff you buy goes to waste in testing. I've gone through hundreds of pounds of wax just testing wick/fragrance/style combinations.I don't want to put you off, but having read your posts - you say that you've never made a single candle, but have asked on several occasions about how soon you can make a profit from selling your candles, so it looks like making money is quite important to you. I'm afraid candle-making is NOT the craft to make money fast - it takes time, patience and a LOT of cash to get anywhere.All I can suggest is that you take things slowly, play around with a few candle styles and fragrances and see if you can perfect one style - perhaps then you may be able to sell one or two to family members or friends. If you get good reviews you could try to take it a little further.Best wishes, and very best of luck.Nat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nita Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 Thanks. I will see where i get.I just wanted to try something that would make a little extra money on the side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NattyCat Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 me too...i've got $20,000 worth of loans to pay off!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nita Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 well good luck with paying those loans off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindanelson Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Nita;It does take alot of money to get serious about a candle business. I haven't put anything on credit cards. I figure out to buy something out of my paychecks from the convience store that I manage. I try to buy a little something every two weeks. Some of the places that I buy from give sample fragrance with orders. That is really nice of them. It's a way for them to have people try new fragrances.Also...I bought 1 or 2 oz bottles when I started. Usually, I would buy the sampler pack if they offered one. Most places do. I'm not even thinking about making a profit for 2 to 3 years. I'm having fun and still testing. Not only new fragrances, but packaging and tags/labels also.Hopefully what I just started will work. Take a look at my avitar. That is how I package my 3 x 3 pillars. The picture does it no justice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nita Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 Linda,Thanks for the encoraging words. Your avitar looks really nice. I like how you put them together.can you pelase tell me what all goes into testing so that when i do decide to start making candles i will know a little more. Thanks for all your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindanelson Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Hi Nita;Testing has to be done on all candles. You have to know if the wick is too small or too big. Your melt pool will determine alot of this. Rule of thumb is: 1 hour for each inch in diameter. So if you have a 3" diameter, then in 3 hours you should reach full melt pool. In a container, that means to all the edges of the container. On pillars, I like about 1/4" left all the way around.Each fragrance oil can burn different. Have you read all the information on this board? There's a lot of it. Read all the posts that you can. I know it is time consumming, but it's worth it. I don't know where I would be at without this board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nita Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 Thank you so much Linda. you REALLY have been a big help to me. I am still finding time in between my daily job to get on the board and read around. i am learning stuff here and there. thanks again for everything you have told me. if you feel there are more things for me to know please tell me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.