Sara Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 What would you say you do more of? Is your candle/soap/craftmaking all for business, all for pleasure or a lopsided combination?I'm especially curious of those who are running a business - do you ever "play" anymore? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flightoffancy Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 I'd have to say that mine has been a lopsided combination for the past year. Before then it was strictly business but my priorities have changed a lot over the past year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrubzz Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 All play here - I still has the purtiest smelling garbage in town Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgirl Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 All biz here... Started out playing in 2000, then part-time, now full time for about 4 years.It is a love~hate relationship sometimes... LOL Do I play.. Nope.. It is all biz.. The only testing I will do is if I think it will sell and bring in some $$l!!It's all about the Money!!!! Seriously!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissMary Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Lopsided like crazy towards play. I'm still making batches of soap for randomness, figure the more I get out, the less time it will take for me to see just which recipe I like. I don't play too much with candles anymore, you can't get too insanely creative with tins. But I've made fun little additions to my incense, play with mixing scents, and am loving playing with soap, if only I could get a recipe that makes a bar I like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SliverOfWax Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Both. I wouldn't do it if I didn't truly love it. I also couldn't afford to do it if I didn't make money at it.I keep saying that I'm going to quit because of the increasing costs, but I can't. I'm too addicted to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jurnalynn Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 mostly pleasure some businessLaura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leisa2003 Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 More on the play side. I still sell (just the cost of products) to family and friends. I enjoy being able to be a full-time mommy at home and not having to raise the kids in my shop anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Scent Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Lopsided....way more on the biz side. I rarely get to play anymore. When I do I find myself wanting to play all the time and not concentrate on orders or restocking. DH has to drag me back to reality Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 What would you say you do more of? Is your candle/soap/craftmaking all for business, all for pleasure or a lopsided combination?I'm especially curious of those who are running a business - do you ever "play" anymore? I play all the time lol. I need to have play time so I don't get in a rut, but need to find other tools to play with maybe. So I'm still in the lopsided combination part I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 All biz here... It is a love~hate relationship sometimes... LOL Now there is so much truth to that LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VerticallyEnhanced Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 All for business here. It used to be for my own "play" money but now, it goes for tuition expense with some left over for play. I don't get to "play" with it as much as I would like to...I really would like to try out new things and still want to get into soaping; alas, I just don't have the time. It seems like it is crunch time all the time in my world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara Posted November 6, 2008 Author Share Posted November 6, 2008 Interesting. It is a rather expensive hobby, if it is all for play, that's for sure. As long as costs are covered, all is well (for me), but if costs weren't even covered, I couldn't justify the expense to our family budget.There's a couple of you who say it is all business and no play. Does that mean it isn't fun, either? I wonder how many would continue, for business, even if it were not pleasurable at all. Not to say people don't work every day without enjoying it - they do it for the money. But making candles/crafting for pay is different than busing tables, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Yes, but play is expression of creativity, I guess is the word, for me. From my end of the business, I have to have something that separates me from the rest and that's the ability to play to have different looks. Keep in mind, candle wise, it can always be remelted (which is going on now lol) and soap wise it can always be cut up into chunks or something. This would just be my approach. The other half is all business and often tells the production half to stop playing around lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceGirl Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Edging more towards the biz side all the time. Especially since I really hit into production mode this past weekend.My playtime is still there, but is mostly lmited to the bath and body stuff and through swaps where I feel like I can experiment some. My "play" with candles right now is testing new scents so I can flesh out my kind of scattered line. *sigh* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trish Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 All business here too. I haven't "played" with pillars in years, unless it was a swap on here that I joined to do something new.I mostly still love it. I've been working 12-14hr days the past 2 weeks and that's when I don't love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southernsoy Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 I would have to say play. The only reason I sell the ones I make is to fund the habit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgirl Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Interesting. There's a couple of you who say it is all business and no play. Does that mean it isn't fun, either? I am strictly container candles, so I don't have much to play with except my ladle..It's fun when I pour in my PJ's, get to watch TV or listen to my music while pouring. It's fun meeting new people and doing new shows.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Right now, it is all business here. I do have a passion for it. If I didn't, I could not do this. Right now it is a love-hate situation....too many hours. I can't live a normal life right now! But, I am thankful I am busy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faye_SC Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 mostly pleasure some businessLauraSame as Laura.Sell to family and friends only so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindym Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 I love to soap. Candles have become a drag for me. Eventually I will be phasing them out. When the wax is gone, it's gone. Biz here is RI has been very slow this holiday season. I am doing very well with private orders but the reatailers a afraid to stock.Last Year I poured everyday for about 12 hours from end of Sept. to First week of December. I remember so well, when I poured my last case, Amish Harvest, I couldn't smell a thing, I was covered from head to toe in wax, scent, color, I peeled my clothes off took a shower and jumped into the hot tub and balled my eyes out I was so exhausted. Not a good memory LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgia Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 I work full time and go to school part time. I have enough biz to afford my play. I don't want to be so big that it becomes work. That really scares me because I just have enough going on right now that I don't need more. I think some of my best pillars came out of my frustration at trigonometry! It's an outlet for me. I enjoy doing craft shows. I enjoy pouring pillars and seeing what comes out of the mold. Jars are bread and butter. Right now, it is just a perfect mix and still tons of fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candlelady Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 The first 7 years was LOVE and business only, this year it's been HATE and business only....I closed my website, told all my customers I was closing, then saw the sadness in my retailers eyes...sooooo I decided to keep two large local retailers only, with scheduled order times in 2009....they are happy and I'm happy too! NOW I can play! I think I'm going to try some soap for fun! LOLI'm happy again! LOLAnd I also work a full time job to boot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debscent Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Totally for business, but I still enjoy it a lot. I wish I could do it at my leisure, but that's not the case. If I was married and had insurance with a hubby, I'd consider doing it full time, as opposed to part time/weekends. This year my "season" ends on Nov. 22 due to medical reasons, and I'm not happy about it. But I will re-start in January. Thinking of going to plain paraffin given the inconsistency I've experienced with the 50/50 waxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mizbizzyb Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 All bizness here. I normally enjoy it all but 3 months of the year. Oct - Dec....but I do enjoy the cash! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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