sockmonkey

NG fragrances are just middle of the road to me, but then again so is their pricing. I've bought about 3-4 dozen different samples from them but have probably only purchased about 10 scents after sampling them. Juniper Breeze is a favorite among theirs that I use and would recommend if you're looking for a fresh, clean type of scent. You might also want to sample Aztec's fragrances. I think they are a lot stronger than NG's.

Why should a person pay you (not you personally) for the "honor" of reviewing your product so that you can get free advertising and potentially multiple sales as a result? If someone has to pay for a product to review, you can believe they are likely to be more critical of the product than if it were free. On the other hand, why shouldn't they pay you for it? Afterall, they can potentially make money from any ads that appear on their site and the number of clicks they get. Without your product, what have they got? If you don't trust a site, why not ask how many visits to their site they get, or ask for references. If they can't supply that info, then I wouldn't trust them either.

Camden Grey also carries it.

You'd be better off transferring the lotion to a bucket which would allow you to freely mix it with a spoon or a blender. If the bucket has a lid you can cut a hole, slip the pump down in it, tape the part that normally screws down over the mouth of a jug, and pump it out that way. Even doing that, unless your lotion is real runny, you'd probably get your bottles filled a lot faster using the good old zip lock bag method instead of a pump.

Just wondering if they ever got back with you.

If you two want to continue this argument, how about doing it via PM to each other? This thread has disintegrated into personal bickering. One think I have learned by watching threads like this is that the more someone attacks the person with a complaint and tries to defend the other party, the more negative attention it draws to the other party. You may think you're helping the other party's reputation, but usually all it accomplishes is extending the negative publicity they receive.

You might as well. That's what every other business does!

F.Y.I., posts in this thread are being edited or removed if they are unrelated to service you personally have received.

Crazy, I don't know that it would be such a good idea from a profit standpoint to do the market. Is it the friend's sister who wants to charge you 50%, or the market itself that collects 50%? If a potter charges $200 for a vase and has to turn over $100, they still take home a nice chunk of change; but you sell your tarts 2/$1, so that means at this market you would only make $.25 each. If you doubled your price you'd still only make $.50 after they got their cut. On top of that, you're thinking about different ways to package them, which will surely cost more than what you're currently doing. Consider how many tarts you'd have to make just to clear $100 there. One way of looking at their fee is, if you don't sell anything, you aren't out any money, unlike other fairs where you pay a fee up front regardless if you sell anything, or even show up. I would suggest you make a visit to this market for yourself and checkout the type of vendors they have there and what kind of prices they're charging. Notice how busy the market is. If it seems viable, go for it. I would definitely raise my prices substantially. Handcrafted pottery usually commands high prices at art fairs, so people are probably expecting to fork over more than a few bucks for things.

Clearly not. Nothing is stopping anyone from purchasing anything at any time; but if it's ever reported or questioned by the person who owns the actual copyright (not just the person who bought the license), they better be able to provide proof of purchase, and it better pre-date the receipt of their disgruntled customer. People who get caught using illegal copies can be hit pretty hard financially, especially if they profit from its use in a commercial manner. I worked at a printing company where it happened. An employee quit, and promptly reported the company for having unlicensed software installed on their computers (which included unlicensed fonts). All of the computers were audited and they got busted. They faced hefty fines but were able to negotiate them to a lesser amount. I'm speaking in generic terms here, offering warnings to anyone who considers doing it. I'm not suggesting that anything of the kind has taken place here or not.

Not taking sides here either, but looking at it from a legal business perspective. I guess a good question to ask any designer up front is if they have a particular font. If the answer is no and then you buy it, you should stipulate that only you hold the license to it, and therefore they are not allowed to use it for any purpose other than the job you have contracted for. If they will not agree, find another designer.

Are you talking about candle crocks?

The issue is who had the actual LICENSE to use the font? If someone buys a font, they don't own the copyright to it, but they are granted a license to use it. Some fonts are public domain and anyone is entitled to use them, but even then, the owner can put restrictions it them, such as whether or not they can be used commercially. A different situation exists when you purchase a font. Only the buyer is granted the license to use the font. The buyer may work with a designer or a print shop to create a product using that font, but does not transferred the license of that font to either one of them. They are not allowed to make a copy of the font for their own library and then use it again and again for subsequent projects that do not belong to the owner. To do so is illegal. Is it done all the time? Sure. It's kind of like a music cd. You buy one and loan it to a friend. Legally, your friend can't make a copy and then give copies of their copy to all of their friends. When that happens the music industry and artists lose money. It's not any different when it comes to fonts. You get caught doing it and fines can be involved.

My advice--steer clear of her. There are too many red flags here. The most problematic one is that she doesn't have a license to do business. If she's serious, she would have one. Otherwise, she's nothing but a tax cheat, which robs everyone. The second concern is that she is "unsatisfied" with the other candle mfg. That may be code for, "they wouldn't sell to me anymore", and you can bet there's a reason why, which she isn't about to tell. I would contact the other company and see what they have to say about her. Ask her some questions, like why she doesn't have a tax ID. Ask her what kind of volume she did with the other company. How long has she been acting as a distributor? How much is she prepared to invest in your candles if she's willing to be your distributor?

Have you smelled peach extract powder? I haven't, but I know with some extract powders the smell might not be anything like what you would expect it to be--meaning it might not have that delicious fruity scent of a fresh peach; however it may offer certain benefits to your skin. Of course, the easiest option is to mix a dry powder with another dry powder, but honestly, adding fragrance oil to a powder should not be much of a problem either. What has worked for me in the past is to put dry powder in a large zip lock baggie and spray the fragrance oil in using a mister, then seal the bag and shake it all up. It makes less clumps than pouring or dropping the oil in.

Are you actually talking about something like NesQuik strawberry flavored powder, or do you mean strawberry extract powder? http://www.newdirectionsaromatics.ca/strawberry-powder-fruit-extract-p-713.html Dried strawberry extract should be ok, but I would say no to using a flavored powder in your milk baths due to the sugar content they would contain, which is supposed to be a no-no for ladies soaking in a tub.

There are several different ways of looking at the situation. One is, that if the ordinary scents are what people buy, maybe you should just stick to that. It may be boring for you personally, but if that's what is making the most money, then it makes sense to stick with what works. Another thing possibly worth considering is the type of site you have may not be exactly conducive to selling exotic or designer scents. I have no idea what your site looks like, but suppose your site is all dark and prim (you know the kind--lots of gingham, angels, hearts, or crows, etc). People generally expect to find cinnamon, blueberry muffin, pine, and scents of that nature on a prim site. Finding a Britney Spears Curious dupe, a Chanel dupe, or Tuscan Rose may not appeal to that type of customer. Conversely, if you have a site with an upscale look, those clients may not be interested in banana-nut bread scented candles, but might prefer the designer dupes. How are the descriptions you use for the scents? Do you use word for word what the supplier uses to describe them? Maybe the description could be enhanced. Another thought is to sell vials of the oils. You could sell them individually, or a set of 10 (or however many new oils you're wanting to promote) for one low price. Once they smell them, hopefully they will return to place an order for the candles. The key will be to sell them inexpensively. I think most consumers would easily spend $.50 per vial (when sold individually) to make sure they're happy with what they buy.

She could make stretch bracelets--just string beads on an elastic cord and tie a knot. Anybody could do that. Maybe she would like to try her hand at drawing. A simple sketch book and pencils are all that is needed. If she expects to have a lengthy stay, she could even get started making a quilt.

She ought to be reported to the FDA for claiming that her candles can be used to HEAL cracks on elbows and heels, that it softens skin, that it's beneficial for arthritic hands, and that it can be used as a therapeutic body lotion. Claiming that it's safe to use on pets and kids is absolutely outrageous. If your kid has a skin condition or whatever, you really ought to be investing in medication, not candles to treat the condition. Putting wax on an animal is completely irresponsible. An animal can't tell you if it's burning their skin--either chemically or thermally. What's more, an animal is likely to lick at the site where it's applied and ingest chemicals contained in the fragrance oils. Reading through her list of "aromatherapy/fragrance descriptions" is ridiculous. A look at her "Cranberry" scent as example--"used as a diuretic and antiseptic." Does she think people are going to eat her candle or smear it on an open sore? Her "Eucalyptus" is no better--"Opens sinuses and assists breathing, calming, soothing, nurturing, eases anger and anxiety. Uplifting, fresh, crisp and clean. Keeps fleas off of Fido." Somebody better let the Hartz company know that their flea collars will no longer be needed. A casual shopper might fall for all the hype, but anyone in the biz can see that she isn't very well informed about aromatherapy. She's got a nice website and might have the world's best candles, but she needs to be schooled on some of those claims she makes--or be able to provide substantiation for them anyway, and just smearing melted candle wax on your own kid's skin doesn't count in the scientific world.

Here's just one thread related to the Primera. There are others if you would like to use the search feature. http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46361&highlight=primera

Nope, you're pretty much stuck with what they offer on their cartridges, however I've heard that they are currently working on plans to allow you to hook it up to your own computer so that you would be able to.

If you're dealing with arthritis and carpal tunnel, I don't know if this will help or not, but have you tried a rotary cutter? There isn't a lot of finger movement needed with that--just hold the handle and roll. You could also try to find a pair of electric shears. This isn't prim, but the other thing I can think of would be to visit the trim section in the fabric dept and see what they've got hanging off of ribbon. I know it's pretty easy to find crystals and beads, so all you would have to do is cut it to length and apply a dab of glue. Other than that, would it be too much trouble to take some of your prim ribbon, criss-cross it and glue a button in the center of it? There's plenty of stock ribbon you can buy that doesn't require anything but one snip of the scissors. Instead of the stretchy cord could you go with a natural jute? It's very inexpensive and comes in different thicknesses, and would probably go better with the look of your candles than the stretch cord. http://www.dickblick.com/zz652/01/

You many not have a deficient sniffer, maybe what you have is a super sensitive sniffer! It is quite possible that some of the same chemical components they use to make one floral scent may also be used to make another, so your nose may actually be picking up on that particular chemical. Then again, what one supplier calls French Market, another might call Bluebonnet, so who knows.

Aztec gives a free 1oz sample of your choice with the purchase of 1lb of fragrance. Even though you have to buy a lb to get it, at least with 1 oz you can do a little bit of experimenting ,compared to another place I know of where you have to BUY tiny sample vials.

A thread listing suppliers who actually gave free samples would have been far more beneficial for everyone.