I love candles.. they can be so aromatic, therapeutic and romantic. The light they produce is so awesome. I have bought hundreds and hundreds of  them...inexpensive and expensive ones. Its the same old disappointment, no matter the price...they dont smell strong all the way down, or they dont burn the wax all the way down.....Grrrr. I hate to waste money on a purchase, don't you?

So, I watched, and helped my sister make candles in her kitchen..she sold them for extra spending money. When she retired, i took over.I am sole proprietor and the only employee in my company. Noone makes my candles except me. I have tested waxes, scents and wicks for the best.I dont want to sell a candle to anyone else that I myself wouldn't buy and be totally pleased with. My goal is to produce and sell the finest Soy container candles at the lowest price possible. Between driving a school bus and making candles, i stay quite busy. I hope to retire from driving a bus soon, so i can just concentrate on my candle company.

I quit making paraffin candles a couple of years ago...and only make soy candles now. Soy candles burn cleaner...burn longer...have a better(no petroleum smell) and stronger scent throw (you can open a soy candle...set the candle on a table unlit and smell it all over the room)...and are earth friendly...soy cleans up with warm soapy water if spilled. Soy is a vegetable product, so it helps our farmers...paraffin is a petroleum by-product.. it leaves a black soot residue... is difficult to clean up and burns up very quickly....i also believe that we should all try to quit using so much fossil fuels products or by-products if we can. Soy is less expensive for me to buy...making my prices lower to my customers. I pass along my savings to my customers.

I dont't have to pre-heat jars in oven before pouring soy( a savings passed along to the customer...electricity is expensive)....i use braided cotton wicks (they self-trim while burning) and they burn hotter, which is needed for Soy. You have to use larger wicks for Soy candles as it takes a larger flame to melt soy, but cotton, braided wicks are same price as zinc-core wicks....and i use glue dots instead of a glue gun( a savings passed along to the customer) glue guns and glue sticks arent cheap and glue guns dont last long... glue dots are much better. I use large craft sticks and clothespins for wick centering. I bought several boxes of sticks at a time and i drilled a tiny hole in the center of them for the wick to go through ...this is a cheaper way for wick centering, especially if you are doing a large pour( a savings passed along to the customer). I use smooth-sided 8 oz. and 16  oz. mason jars with solid gold lids. They are purchased much cheaper than decorative jars and as i have found out,  most people dont care about the jar...they just want a good smelling candle. (another savings passed along to the customer). I sell individual candles, but i encourage case lot sales because I'll discount for them(A savings passed along to the customer). I buy standard white mailing labels (1/2 by 1 3/4) and print my scents on my printer. I bought my company labels from a vendor...they are on a roll, are self-sticking . I buy blank business cards and print them on my printer. I buy candle warning labels by the roll...self-sticking, from a candle vendor. I use a 30 qt. stainless pot to melt my wax in. I use my smooth-top stove as it is easier to clean up any spilled wax. I buy Soy wax flakes as they melt quickly and i can turn off the stove(A savings passed along to the customer). Paraffin must be kept at a regulated temp thusly using stove constantly while pouring and on top of it...the oven must stay on for heating jars. This is unbearable in hot months...and I live in SE Texas where it is always warm or hot.

Soy wax is easier to pour... cold jars....no 2-3 minute scent blending time at 170 degrees ( i always hated that)...blend scent and dye at  approx.120 degrees(if you watch wax-- when nearly all of flakes are melted and wax is still milky-looking, immediately remove from stove, it will continue to melt the wax...it should be close to 120 degrees by the time the wax turns clear....soy wax has a yellowish color when melted...add scent and dye(also, if you use a pyrex measuring cup for a single jar pour...the coolness of the measuring cup cools the wax more) . I have found that more dye has to be used in soy(test for yourself)...blend well (I use large craft sticks for blending)... pour at approx.100 degrees or(when wax gets thick and slushy). So easy.... you can eyeball it after a few tries. Soy is so easy to clean up after pouring is done....paper towels to wipe out excess from pouring pot, etc.( Soy is a wax product...please dont pour wax down drain...it can still clog them)... then  warm soapy water to clean up....thats it.

Let candles set for about 5 hours before removing stick and wick clips...remember!!...pour soy when thick and slushy...you wont get any craters around wick then. Soy doesn't shrink that i have seen, so there wont be a need for second pour. Sometime certain scents will cause soy wax to crinkle on surface top(looks like shattered glass)....this has never bothered my customers. You can use a heat gun for holes or to smooth surface is so desired...you can use embeds and candle glitter with soy wax. Above all things, remember to put a candle warning label on any candle for re-sell.

I believe that Soy makes the best candles. If there is a drawback to soy candles it's that the surface has a tendency to crinkle with certain scents, it takes more dye to color the wax and the wax has a tendency to whiten around jar edges at surface after  few days...i guess dyes dont hold to soy wax as well as paraffin....maybe the dye market will perfect dyes for soy wax in the near future.

I hope i have helped any of you that are thinking about  purchasing soy candles as opposed to paraffin candles.

I hope i have helped convince any  paraffin candlemakers out there that are thinking about transferring to soy candlemaking .

Any question i can help you with...please contact me through EBAY

Sincerely

lveternity