How did you get started?

[FireStarter]

Hi everyone! Happy 2009

I thought it would be fun to hear your stories on how you all got started. I am new to candlemaking, and also would like to eventually make B&B products.. and someday I want to sell products like most of the rest of you...... so I am curious.. if you dont mind my asking..

1. What made you want to start making candles/soaps/etc in the first place? What birthed your love for this craft?

2. For those who sell your items, how long did you spend perfecting/testing/making them before you started selling them?

3. Once you began selling, where did you start? Craft shows? Ebay? Etsy stores? Did you go straight to building your own website? Wholesale? Selling to local stores?

I started making candles in November. I have always loved wax, since I was a kid. One day back in August while looking at candles online, I found a site describing the basics of candlemaking, and that's when it hit me.. "I can do this!" Since I was young I had always wanted to know how to make them, so I started reading as much as I could about making candles, the different types of wax, wicks, etc, and the different methods of making them. Then one late evening in November I ordered my first shipment of supplies. A love (and addiction) was born that weekend when my supplies arrived!

So what about the rest of you?

[FireStarter]

Was my question intrusive? If so I apologize..

I just thought it would be neat to learn how some of you started out and what drew you into the craft.

[SliverOfWax]

I don't find your question intrusive at all.

I made my first candle early 1992 when I "inherited" a huge slab of wax. Didn't have a clue what I was doing.

I made candles here and there just for myself. One day a friend asked for one. Then I took one to work and a coworker wanted to buy it. That was probably 5 years after I made my first one.

About that same time I started doing a couple of craft shows with hand sewn Christmas ornaments and that same coworker encouraged me to make and sell a few candles, which I did. She even helped me with my booth, and blabbed to everyone who walked by about my candles.

The next year I took more candles than ornaments, and ultimately stopped selling ornaments altogether.

My real breakthrough was roughly 1997 or so when I got my first computer and discovered online suppliers and a host of new options. I was like a kid in a candy store with different waxes, zillions of wicks, and more fragrances than I dreamed possible.

And that, as they say, was that.

I find people's stories interesting.

[CareBear]

Didn't seem intrusive to me - people can respond or not as they choose...

I started because I LOVE Lush butter bars and figured I could make my own (I can). Started with a craft store bath bomb kit (which sucked) and figured I could do better (I could). Found this forum and a few others, discovered suppliers have a LOT of information on their sites and never looked back.

Soon left B&B for soap, but still dabble in it - and occasionally dip my toes into the candles pool...

I worked 2+ years till I thought I was ready to start my own business, but life is crazy so it's been about a year of setting things up - still not selling. Plus my OCD prevents me from being perfectly happy with my stuff and that holds me back too...

Starting the business is WAY more challenging than learning my craft, and not half as much fun.

[adillenal]

It all started with a goat, way back in 1981. My first dairy goat. I had always wanted to learn to make soap and tried a few times but that was when you had to buy a book or go to the library and those weren't the best references if I recall. Fast forward to a couple of years ago. Decided to make goat milk soap (still have dairy goats) and I researched enough to be able to make a decent first batch. I made a lot of soap and it was cured and ready to give away at the end of school. I work with 6 school districts and I gifted a LOT of soap that spring. About July, I started getting phone calls wanting to buy more soap and my business was born.

I work fulltime and this is a hobby that has taken over. The goats are now self-sufficient through their goat milk soap and lotions sales. They hire me to make it and go sell it. THen I buy them feed and alfalfa and more supplies to make more soap.

I started with a few small craft shows in the fall of 2007 and was successful so I now do about 20 shows a year which includes a monthly market 9 months out of the year. Also have a booth in a craft mall.

I started with a do it yourself website at Godaddy but I could never get the shopping carts to work for me so I threw in the towel and hired somene to build and host a website for me. Cookie cutter, yes, but I like it and I am getting repeat business from craft show customers so I feel it was worth it.

Just started making candles last summer and I started selling in October. Now I am learning to make votives and pillars. No one else in my area is doing votives and I have people asking about them plus I love votives.

Goat Milk lotion and liquid goat milk soap has turned out to be my biggest sellers. I used to hate making lotion but I have streamlined it and it isn't so bad anymore. In fact I need to logoff and go bottle some lotion for a phone order I received today. People are now tracking me down and how on earth she ended up with my cell phone number I have no clue. I only use it to call my office and DH. Very resourceful lady.

[DaisyChain]

I was burning so many tarts, that I stupidly thought I could save money if I made them myself. lol That's how I got started.

Years later and having to try every new thing and FO that I see, I don't think I've saved a penny. lol

[Jooniper]

When my daughter was about 11-12 years old and in that age where EVERYTHING I did was stupid....I ordered a soy candle kit online and thought we could make Christmas gifts together...I also thought of course it would be a mom and daughter moment...I became quickly addicted even though we made really crappy candles. I devoted every hour I could into researching and then testing....testing and more testing. I can't even tell you how many hours went into testing. I am so darn particular that I spent rediculous amounts of time testing...but this has given me baselines to start testing with a new product or container. I started making the almost natural progression into making body products and this became an addiciton as well. I eventually started giving good candles to friends...then selling at work........I worked in a 12000 employee hospital as an RN. I had quite a good business just selling there and had alot of word of mouth business. Then....I chose to go to grad school to become a Nurse Pracitioner. In my third semester, I stopped making candles and lotions as I did not have time. A friend and I were walking in the hospital to go to lunch and about 4 people stopped me and asked when I was going to make candles again. She said..."You should open a candle shop!". Graduated from grad school, became a Family Nurse Practitioner....and opened a candle shop! Crazy I know. I work both jobs and love it!!! Business has been a challenge for sure. I am in the second year and May it will be three years. I cannot imagine my life without it but may be faced with the reality of closing if the economy does not improve. Did that answer all the questions? Alot of rambling!

[FireStarter]

Thank you all for replying! I really love hearing stories about how others got started, and their progress!

My testing phase is still ongoing as I too am a bit of a perfectionist and want to make sure everything is just right... with every test, I have a new idea, and I think I will probably be testing for a long while. :rolleyes2

Keep the stories coming! This is wonderful!

[MissMary]

I was burning so many tarts, that I stupidly thought I could save money if I made them myself. lol That's how I got started.

Years later and having to try every new thing and FO that I see, I don't think I've saved a penny. lol

Same here except it started with candles. Found this board - branched into B&B, wickless... and never get around to even 10% of what I want to.

[coconut]

I was looking for a second income and something to do when I if/when I retire. My step mother made candles when I was a kid so I knew the basics. DH gave me a book on candle making for Christmas a few years ago. Picked up supplies at Michael's. I made some really crappy candles too. With the help of Candletech and my friends at work who test and critique my candles, I have managed to make some good candles. I only sell to friends, family, and co-workers right now. I don't think testing ever ends! Good luck to you and welcome to the addiction.

[nursenancy]

I think alot of people love to share their own story, and if someone actually asks for it, so much the better!

I was watching a DIY program in 2001, and a lady was talking about "veggie candles". I had been looking for a craft that was new, that I could "mass produce", and that I could maybe make a little money. It's mostly been a creative outlet for me, though. I could make more money if I put all my spare time in it, but I work full-time nights as a nurse, have 14 yr old twin boys and a 5 yr old grandson that I care for. So I don't have alot of spare time. I do love to make and burn candles, though. AND I LOVE TO BUY SUPPLIES!!!

Anyway, after seeing that show on TV, I promptly went online looking for supplies. I started out with container wax, some FO (Amish Friendship Bread was the first candle I poured) and a wick sampler. DH and I went off to the local Christmas Tree Shoppe (my ongoing addiction) and bought some beautiful ceramic flower pots, and I was off....testing,testing,testing. I'm a little OCD so there was alot of testing. I wanted them perfect. I gave them away as gifts, got feedback - Everyone loved them!!

We came up w/ a name (Eco-Lite) and a slogan - "Keep it clean, burn the bean" and sold a bunch at a local carnival. We've done alot of craft shows, farmers markets, etc, but now I've got my own shop. I hope that works out because it's a cool little space, pretty cheap. So far I've been able to break even w/ the rent. But that was the holiday season, and we all know about the economy....I'll still do my shows, maybe ebay, and I'm thinking about fundraisers.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Good luck to you. You will find so much great info on this board, it has saved me so much time and money and sanity. I search this board whenever I have a question and always find an answer. I'm grateful to everyone who takes the time to shares their knowledge. THANKS!!

Nancy

[Trish]

5 years ago, I was buying my candles from a lady on the other side of the country who hand poured them. They were fabulous!! I had never even burned a votive until I bought some of hers.

I bought some adorable votive holders to decorate with then I the lady decided to stop making votives and tealights. I was so dissapointed because I just got these new holders, lol. I decided "how hard can it be?" and went to Michael's for a kit.

Okay, so the kit was crap (like everyone else mentioned) and I went online and ordered a votive kit from Cierrra Candles. I was working on a batch when I realized I put too much vybar in. I had no idea what would happen to the votives, so I went to the internet to search for answers and found CT!!

It didn't take long for the addiction to spread to other candles, plus my other candle lady quit making candles altogether. Eventually, I was inspired to do jars and then pillars (Thanks Scented and Tanya!)

I started selling about a year later when my sister was working in a furniture store and took some of my pillars in. One of the furniture reps was in that day and wanted to know where to get some because he knew he could sell them. He took several to his trade shows, got a lot of orders then handed them to me and said good luck in my new wholesale adventure! I was not even close to prepared for that.

I still do wholesale, but that has really tapered off this year (economy I'm hoping...) but I do a lot of fundraisers with my jars and that has kept me super busy this past fall.

Oh! And I discontinued votives and tealights too...now I understand why my candle lady did too. What a PITA they are! LOL