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Personally, I don't care for fragrance so strong that it steals all the oxygen in the room. A candle should be a background fragrance that kind of steals up on you and makes you realize theirs something good in the air. A Votivo red currant 7 oz candle will fill up an entire house while it burns but at some time you have to blow the dang thing out to get a break and then the fragrance lingers for a good long while. I like to test candles at work and someone comes in and inquires about the fragrance and nobody in the office complains or asks me to blow it out. I feel good about a product that has a wonderful ct and a subtle ht but there are customers who tell me up front that they want "the stronger the better". Maybe that have multiple cat boxes or their noses are completely dead but that's what I give them. Steve

TN is still in business and will take requests for fos; their vbn is exceptionally good too. HTH Steve

Has anyone tried these colorants in cp? TIA Steve

I have a couple pounds of TCS (Tennessee Candle Supply) Pumpkin Souffle' and the old JBN Gingered Pumpkin for mixers with Vanilla Voodoo or KY Maple Walnut and dread the day when they are gone. I love Gingered Pumpkin cause it has that zing to it and the pumpkin isn't too sweet. Steve

Once you give a break on price you are stuck. You might tell them that this is your wholesale price but a one time only agreement. If someone buys one of your candles for $3.00 and they find out someone else got them for $2.50; well they might say bad things about you. HTH Steve

I have been in business (side line) for about 4 years now. I have a seasonal wholesale account and the rest is word of mouth and occasional special orders. I'm behind in orders for soap cupcakes, soap cake slices, bar soaps, container candles and melts; because summer makes me lazy. If I retire anytime soon, this would be a full-time job and I would acquire more wholesale accounts. I did not like shows, festivals or flea markets. Its much simpler when the account orders 10 cases of this and 10 cases of that and with this color or no color. I haven't done fund raisers but understand its a good way to make money and tear out most of your hair. The cost of license(s), insurance, bank account fees ect. makes it a real hassle to do do business but otherwise it can be very rewarding all the way around. I always wish for a business partner but know that would be a major mistake; so its all me from the ground up and that is a lot of work. HTH Steve

Congrats Holly! You are using 3022 for melts? Steve

Hot wax shrinks as it cools. Most blends are formulated to shrink less (single pour wax) and maintain adherance to the jar wall. Slow cooling is one way to avoid wet spots but some wax formulations don't require anything (6006) and can cool on the open counter. Some fos are heavy on vanilla, cinnamon or other ingredients that effect the adherance and result in pulled away areas that look like wet spots. Changes in temps, humidity and other variables will eventually interefere with adhearance over time but I have some really old candles that have never developed wet spots. Containers are the last item to consider as square jars are difficult for wax to make a full bond with the wall or jars with hour glass shapes can be difficult. I think most of us embrace the wet spots because most customers never even notice wet spots (they only care if it smells good all over the house and part of the neighborhood). HTH Steve

That looks like an 8 oz Crisa tumbler? Those are great jars but they don't have lids. Tumblers are a great design for an efficient wick system but I prefer jars that are almost as wide as they are tall for the easiest wicking. I use a 12 oz salsa jar with a gold lid (they come in other colors) and they are so easy to wick and they look upscale enought for people to burn them in any room IMHO. I find that most customers prefer a single wick candle that they can easily light and trim even toward the end burn and this jar makes that possible. You can get some great bulk deals on these jars (I pay less than 70 cents for jar and lid and no shipping). HTH Steve

This is the wax you need to order from Clarus (warehouse is in Dallas): CSB Stasis 3022 a high veggie blend container wax, 70% soy and 30% paraffin. Use cdn or cd wicks and start at 6% fo load. Heat your wax to about 185 degrees add fo and color and pour into warm, clean jars at 180 degrees and place in a covered box to slowly cool. That's it. Request a sample slab and see what you think. This is the fabled Greenleaf wax that was so hot several years back and its just as good as it ever was then. They also have their own version of 6006 which is pretty good too but I have used the other wax for about 6 years now and have never found anything else to take its place. Just driver over and pick up a slab, I promise you will like this product. HTH Steve †

Great soaps! Blue Skies is an awesome scent but moves pretty quick for me. I like to mix that 50-50 with Amber Musk (Blue Amber) and it almost seizes but it sticks so good.

Indiana Candle Supply has fantastic coffee fos. Their plain coffe smells like fresh brewed and very strong. I never put botanicals in my bath soaps but that's just me. HTH Steve

Melt and Pour or mp soaps are fun and very creative. I couldn't sell that bar for nearly $7.00 though. I use m&p for imbeds in my cp soaps and guest size soaps. Go to wally world and buy silicone Wilton molds(leaves, pumpkins, gingerbread men ect) buy small sizes of crystal clear and white base and a set of 1 oz mp colors and a spritz bottle for your alcohol (gets rid of bubbles) and a microwave to get started. Read the mp forum and have fun. HTH Steve

Sometimes I rename a fragrance to fit a season or the name didn't sell and a different one will click. I like easy to remove labels (not permanent) .

You might be able to co-op with other hand crafters in your area. Each year our local soapers make a Columbus run and everyone makes their order and drives to pick it up from whomever is in charge of the co-op. Buying in bulk gives you the security of knowing that you are ready for any possible large order that might come up during the holidays and can also be reported for income tax purposes as on hand inventory. Don't be afraid to order cases of wax or cases of jars, you'll use them up one way or another. http://www.sks-bottle.com/ is a great place to order. HTH Steve

I couldn't use it in my turkey fryer, because the lowest setting is 200 degrees. Some ingredient(s) must be easily degraded by heat and would leave me to believe that the wax is not real stable. I would be interested to see a spec sheet on this stuff. Steve

I buy my jars from a wholesale company that offers free shipping if you buy over $250.00 worth of jars and lids. That brings the cost of my jars (12 oz salsa) to about .63 cents apiece for lid and jar. I look for fragrance oils that offer shipping deals and do not require more than 6-7% per pound of wax. I buy long wicks and wicking assemblies that triple the number of wicks from each 100. I print up my jar labels using mostly black and white with just a little color so that my ink costs are lower. HTH Steve

I mix 50/50 peppermint and pom and call it "Sparkling Pomegranate". Peppermint and vanilla is candy cane. Peppermint and Mac Apple for Cidermint. HTH Steve

I watched a Youtube tutorial where a lady began by swishing her soap with a spoon. She then took the barely emulsified soap and poured into her color bottles. The rest of the batter was whitened with td and she mixed the heck out of it with her sb. She then shook her barely emulsified color bottles up to incorporate the color and began swirling. So she had light to medium trace on the main batter and very light trace on her color. It's just so hard for me not to be the devil out of the batter and worry that maybe it might separate if I don't. HTH Steve

Don't use the dishwasher for re-purposed containers either. I use a heat gun and pour any residual wax into my little garbage can lined with a wally world bag and toss it in the garbage. Some people save the left overs and make dipped pine cones or fire starters. HTH Steve

My retail customers prefer no color, so that the candle will match any decor. My Christmas tree farm wholesale account orders specific colors for each fragrance. Steve

I received a case where UPS had torn the box and the plastic cover had been ripped. There was an oily substance on the wax, so I called the distributor and complained. They had me to email them photos of the damage and filed a damage claim against UPS. I got another case of wax (2 for 1) and an apology. There is no excuse for that kind of poor customer service for the price we are paying for product and shipping. Steve

I triple wick the heart shape containers and they are beautiful but that's an easy wick placement with plenty of oxygen. I have double wicked wide containers but not tall ones but that's not to say it couldn't be done with the Stasis. The wicks would have to be centered closely together IMHO to draft oxygen down into the container for the last half of the burn but I just go with those jumbo wicks when possible. HTH There are some fos that require more than 6% and some (Candle Coccoon) that require less than 6% for great ht/ct. I figure my wax at 15 oz and my fo at 1 oz and get no waste (about 6.5%) and have been satisfied with the results. HTH Steve

I want to say that essentially, in an educated guess, most dyes are going to be close but the pigments are never going to be identical in their colorations. Some red dyes blend easily and by adding more drops or fewer gives you the degree of red you desire and others can be a pain. I've had some that resulted in little red dots or smears in the finished product and others that gave a great uniform red with no morphs or clumps. Some stay fluid and others tend to dry out quickly or need to be shaken violently to remove any clumping and yet some I put in the microwave to slightly heat and then shake them. Just buy one oz of a color and then test. HTH Steve

Thanks for the heads up, just ordered a couple pounds of vbn and a poune of spiced cranberry. Dang, where to get vbn after they close?