Where do you make your candles? HELP PLEASE!

[simplescentsbykeisha]

Ok, people .. I need some serious help. I'll start by introducing myself since I am pretty new to this board. I'm 22 and studying Music Education. I'm graduating in May. I started making candles about a year ago. This fall my candles have SERIOUSLY taken off. I can't keep them on my shelves. I guess this is a really good thing! So anyway, as a college student I'm still very poor and don't have a lot of money to deal with. I have been making candles in my parents house which is a half hour away. This fall I have been spending a lot of time and money driving back and forth. I'm basically taking over my mom's kitchen because I have to make candles so often. They don't mind the smell at home but they finally kicked me out because it's just getting to be too much and I don't blame them. Luckily my parents own a business which is 15 minutes away from where I live (MUCH more conveinent for me).. About a week ago they gave me the ok to move into the 2nd floor of the business. (It's a huge building with two floors. The first floor is occupied and the 2nd floor is only "half-occupied." It's an orthotic and prosthetic clinic, so there are constantly people here. Anyway, I moved all my stuff here (it took HOURS and lots of lifting up a giant staircase all by myself).. I finally got all settled in yesterday (and then also sold 109 candles yesterday online so I need to make more like RIGHT NOW) and then my dad calls me: "Our employees are complaining about the smell. We're going to have to move you back home." I just about cried. I haven't even made candles in there yet! All of my stuff is just sitting there and the employees are claiming that the smell is making them sick. It's a GIANT building.. I just don't understand. All of that work for nothing! Now what am I going to do? ??????

So, my question is do you have any suggestions on how to get rid of the smell? Apparently the giant room that I'm in has the furnace in it. Would it be enough to cover the vents with plastic and then open the window and have fans blowing? Or to keep my FO's in a sealed bin or cabinet? (Right now they're just sitting in an open box on the floor. Any suggestions would be so GREATLY appreciated. I really don't want to lose this awesome workspace.. it's so perfect for me. :/ Or if you have any other suggestions on where I should set up my shop? Could I rent out a storage space or something? It would have to be heated since I live in MN...

Yikes. I just don't know what to do!

[nursenancy]

I would think the only solution would be an exhaust fan. You won't get rid of the smell. If you haven't even made any candles yet, the smell will get much stronger when you do.

[CaftCandles]

Ultimatly if you wish to continue with your buisness I would think that you would want a dedicated location of your own. I'm assuming that you are using the income from your candles to cover your education and living expenses. I have to say that I have seen more people struggle and most of them fail for that same reason. If you must use the income from your buisness, try to limit yourself and save all of the money you can to help you get a ligitamate office or shop (shed in some cases) and to help your buisness grow. It sounds like you are doing really well with your buisness and that is awesome for a young entrepreneur like yourself, congrats! I know things get exciting at times handling and controlling cash flow in a buisness but incoming money is not always "free" or "available" money, you always have to set aside for more supplies and yes even for expanision. In my opinion it would be better for you to get a rental property (something small and economical) to keep your supplies secure and to mantain a constant temperature to keep your products from freaking out due to temp swings. This will give you more flexibility and a fixed location that your customers will feel more comfortable with and take away your worries of having to move at the last minute in the future. A storage unit I believe will give you a multitude of problems with power requirements and temperature swings. I don't know about in your area but I've seen some that will not allow anyone to have anything plugged in other than the provided light (bulb) in the storage unit and others that will not allow anyone to run a buisness out of them.

You're young and doing well already in buisness and who knows you may be the next of the big companies (I wont say the names) that we all stive to be better than. Make sacrifices and grow your buisness now and it will assuredly take care of you in the future. HTH

[coconut]

Think this thing through. Is there any way you can build a room inside the giant space and separate yourself from it? 2x4s and drywall are not terribly expensive. You will need to separate the climate control and get a huge exhaust fan to use when you pour. Since heat is your priority that will be easier than if you needed A/C but be very careful with all forms of space heat. Stick with electric. Make sure you only make candles when the medical facility is closed. I keep my FO in my living room, which would overwhelm us, so I keep the bottles inside sealed plastic containers, and the containers are in a huge metal filing cabinet. You can find these secondhand if you search. It does a surprisingly good job of keeping the fragrances separated from the living space. You can tell when you open the cabinet. Also search this forum and find the right kinds of plastic containers which block FO transmission. Good luck to you!

[blacktieaffair]

I dont know that you can " get rid of the smell " even by putting them in plastic bins and such. Right now, because of space contraints, all of my FOs are in sealed bins and all I have to do is walk by the door and I smell them! Unfortunately, we work in a rather "smelly" line of work, and it can get overbearing for us. I have scents that I have to hold my nose to fix 1 lb and then I run out of the shop for a few hours lol ( Wildberry Zinger Tea ! ) CraftCandles had an excellent idea, IF you can afford it ( on renting a small apartment / mobile home, etc ). Since your parents know how much trouble you are having by having to move around repeatedly , even from their house , maybe they can find a way to help you pay for a space. Are you living in a dorm? If so, unless you have a scholarship that pays for it, it MIGHT be cheaper to rent a place off campus to live AND work in. Just throwing out suggestions since I dont know all the ins and outs of your situation.

As you will find out by reading the boards, I dont make candles, so a lot of people might say I dont have any business offering up this next piece of advice, but I hope you and they understand :

You sound extremelyyyyyyyyy busy , what with school, moving stuff here and there repeatedly, and trying to fill orders .. Even if you hadn't been making candles for only one year , I'd still say this :

Please, be careful of your quality and safety with the candles. They seem to be rather finicky anyway, but with everything you have going on, I dont want you to get in a rush to do something, and the quality or the safety suffer. Please take that in the vein it was intended. We all make goofs when we are in a hurry, and some people worked years on their candles before selling the first one.

Be safe, I hope you get a resolution to your "shop" problems soon and STUDY HARD !!!! The candles will be there when you graduate

[LadyJo]

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You didn't say but I'm assuming you are living in a dorm room now ?

Your parents kicked you out because "what" is getting too much ???

.

If taking over their kitchen is the "too much" then do they have an extra bedroom ? What about your old bedroom ? Any reason why you couldn't move your work station into there and then it would be out of your parents way. ?

[annie123]

If the smell is too much now wait until you start making candles. I work in a room downstairs with plenty of windows and a door but when I make candles the scent travels all the way to the top floor - I guess covering the vents with magnetic vent covers might help a little.

[deb426]

You'll never win this one. Even if you could completely contain the scent, which I doubt, people would still complain. They would be convinced they smell the candles even if they didn't. But I don't think you can contain the scent anyway. When I am in production in my basement, my neighbors tell me that my house smells good - from the sidewalk!

[blacktieaffair]

You'll never win this one. Even if you could completely contain the scent, which I doubt, people would still complain. When I am in production in my basement, my neighbors tell me that my house smells good - from the sidewalk!

:laugh2:

Dont I know that to be the truth ! It really gets fun when they come from across a 100 acre field talking about it because the wind was blowing that direction ! Can't complain, they'd always end up buying at least one of whatever drew them over there !

[simplescentsbykeisha]

I live in a tiny little one bedroom studio apartment. I have absolutely no room - even to live. So making candles is definitely not an option there.. Plus, there's one kitchen that is shared by the entire apartment complex. It's dirty and disgusting and I wouldn't even think about making candles there!

I think my only option is to my home again. My parents have offered to move all of my stuff to our garage. It's heated, so I guess that's a good thing. As far as the temperature control.. is it ok to keep candles in the cold? Like while they're setting? I think I would definitely move them to my room when they're finished curing. I'd love to have my workshop in my room.. The only problem is my room is SUPER tiny and the bed practically takes up the whole room. Plus, it's a "guest bedroom" now.. so I don't know how keen my parents would be about letting me move in there. I'm thankful enough that they're letting me use the garage! But I'll still ask...

And as far as it "getting to be too much for them" .. When I make candles I don't make just a few at a time.. I make anywhere from 100-200 in a day. My mom can't stand the mess (I don't blame her).. and I think her OCD goes crazy when I take over her kitchen. Especially when it's every weekend.

My plan for the future (either May or August of 2012) is to move out of my apartment and into a small house that I could rent out.. maybe with a friend or two who would be ok with the smell. Personally (even though my nose is dead) I like the strong smell.. who doesn't like their house to smell good?! But I know people are sensitive so I will just have to be really careful when selecting roommates. Or if I can afford it I'll try to rent out a small space and an apartment on top of that. I just don't think it would be possible to make candles in an apartment setting.. Don't you think people would complain about the smell?

Thank you all for the great advice. I know this board is going to help me out A TON!

[coconut]

I swear by the metal file cabinets, it really helps. I would definitely take them up on the garage. If it is big enough you could make your candles in there too. Just get a hot plate, if you use the double boiler method. You don't want the candles to get too cold though, but you said the garage is heated? You can rest them inside foam coolers to help even out the temperature.

[jeanie353]

You'll never win this one. Even if you could completely contain the scent, which I doubt, people would still complain. They would be convinced they smell the candles even if they didn't. But I don't think you can contain the scent anyway. When I am in production in my basement, my neighbors tell me that my house smells good - from the sidewalk!

Was just going to reply that my neighbors tell me they smell good stuff from outside....

[blacktieaffair]

I cant tell you about candles, but I know if my work environment isn't around 71 for my wax melts, using para 4794, all h e l l breaks loose with them. And I really dont have to worry too awful hard about how they look in the pack ( well I do but not like yall do with candles ).

I promise you Im not trying to be snotty but........... Im just a little confused on how if you make up to 200 candles at a time, you aren't familiar enough with the wax you use, to know the temp environment you need to not only work in, but store them in.

Yall dont "hate" on me, Im just confused so I asked

BTW, I've always worked in our garage. When it wasn't heated, I bought an AC/Heater combo. They are pricey but that 500.00 to 700.00 is a lot cheaper than moving. JMO

[TraciS]

Portable heat/ac unit here too. Plus in the winter I use an oscillating Lasko space heater and between the 2 I can keep my workspace 70+ easily. If I had enough room I would store candle there but I am in a double garage and once you start making candles that is not much space. I store tart warmers out there and bags and all the rest is just actual candlemaking stuff. Next year I am planning to make the move out of the garage and into a small non-retail bldg.

[CaftCandles]

I think my only option is to my home again. My parents have offered to move all of my stuff to our garage. It's heated, so I guess that's a good thing. As far as the temperature control.. is it ok to keep candles in the cold? Like while they're setting? I think I would definitely move them to my room when they're finished curing. I'd love to have my workshop in my room.. The only problem is my room is SUPER tiny and the bed practically takes up the whole room. Plus, it's a "guest bedroom" now.. so I don't know how keen my parents would be about letting me move in there. I'm thankful enough that they're letting me use the garage! But I'll still ask...

And as far as it "getting to be too much for them" .. When I make candles I don't make just a few at a time.. I make anywhere from 100-200 in a day. My mom can't stand the mess (I don't blame her).. and I think her OCD goes crazy when I take over her kitchen. Especially when it's every weekend.

I think moving in your parents garage will get you out of your immediate situation but will not allow much room for improvement. I unfortunatly didn't think about my future when I was young and how I've paid for it over the years. I on several occasions had to live with family and friends over the years to make ends meet and that never turned out well (for me at least). I've always been curtious and respectful to their home and life style and tried to stay out of their way and no matter what I did everything was always my fault, I was costing them extra money, Not! I lost several friends and some of my family and I still only talk when we have to. It's a loose, loose situation! That is why I suggested you start planning to get a place of your own, somewhere that you don't have to curtious, respectful or even nice if you don't want to. If you really want to get crazy you can make candles at midnight in the nude (I don't recommend that) without having to worry about waking or offending anyone. Like good fences make good neighbors, your own place keeps your family and friends, your family and friends.

BTW, throw that bed out of your room and store your candles in there, your young! you can sleep when you get to be my age! LOL

Good Luck!

[blacktieaffair]

Ok, since the OP hasn't answered my question, does no one else find it odd that someone who makes up to 200 candles a DAY when they make them.. doesn't know the optimal or even ballpark figure to keep the room temp in which they are working or storing their product ???

[adillenal]

I find someone that makes that many candles in a day would have to sell that many and could afford a place to rent to make said candles. 200 each weekend is 800 candles a month at $10.00 each according to her website. $8,000 gross per month. I could work with that.

[simplescentsbykeisha]

Hey guys, sorry for the confusion and wait time. When I make candles I make large batches. Not 200 EVERY day...

And I have good news! My dad told me that I can have my spot back in the building. I guess he said "to hell" with the employees. Gotta keep studying.. I'll elaborate later!

[ChrisR]

And I have good news! My dad told me that I can have my spot back in the building. I guess he said "to hell" with the employees. Gotta keep studying.. I'll elaborate later!

I'm sure glad I'm not one of his employees, especially if I have an allergy to some of your scents. Maybe a good lawsuit would help him have a little more compassion for the people who work for him!!

[Beth]

I'm sure glad I'm not one of his employees, especially if I have an allergy to some of your scents. Maybe a good lawsuit would help him have a little more compassion for the people who work for him!!

Can't be worse than working in a hospital in the 90s when every other woman was wearing Eternity perfume..... that's when my headaches/migraines skyrocketed. But, in my experience, employers don't really care. If they want their job, they'll deal with it. There are plenty other worse smelling places, lol.