Candlemaking Best Practices

To be a successful Village Chandler, you will need to be accomplished at both the art of candlemaking and the art of doing business. In this section of The Village Chandler Handbook Guild members and masters will capture and share the techniques that produce the finest quality soy wax candles.

National Candle Industry Experts at August Guild Congress

There are many excellent reasons to attend the First Annual Chandler Guild Congress. We can now announce one reason why you will not want to miss this groundbreaking event: Five of the foremost candle industry experts will be at the Guild Congress in Cedar Rapids on August 23 and 24. It would be hard to find access to this much knowledge anywhere for a $45 conference fee. This body of industry knowledge would be hard to place a value on. If you are ready to advance your candle business to a new level you can now register for this exceptional event. These well known national experts are traveling in from all over the United States to work directly with Village Chandlers at the Guild Congress in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in August. 1. The Science of Wick/Heinz Verhaegh Company Choosing the proper size and type of wick is one of the most important technical aspects of achieving excellece in candle production. At the Guild Congress, you can work directly with the "wickmeister" himself. Few people anywhere in the world have more technical expertise about wick in general. No one has been more active with working with sources for the best cotton wick from Germany for the emerging soy wax industry than Mr. Verhaegh. 2. Candle Safety Standards/Evelyn Bicknese, ASTM National Board Evelyn Bicknese has been a leader in the candle industry for more than twenty years. Her company Bicknese and Bicknese of St. Louis is known throughout the candle and gift industry for high quality candle products. Eveylyn will share her knowledge and expertise in candle safety and labeling as a leading member of the Natiional ASTM Board. 3. The Art and Science of Candle Color and Aroma/Jeff Charyak-French Color and Chemical/USA French Color and Chemical has been a pioneer in working with soy wax candle manufacturers all over North America. If you want to achieve technical proficiency in the candle making industry you will want to come to Cedar Rapids, Iowa in August to work directly with French Color and Chemical. 4. Fact and Myth of Aromatherapy and Essential Oils/ The Aura Cacia Technical Team Many Village Chandlers are producing aromatherapy candle products. Aura Cacia of Weaverville, California can be credited with launching the modern aromatherapy market more than twenty years ago. Separate fact from fiction with this team of essential oil industry experts. 5. State of the Art Candle Manufacturing/Scott Cooper of Cooger Industries. If you are ready to move beyond pitchers and pails to launch high volume candle production with low cost equipment you will want to see the exciting demonstrations of these appropriate technology systems. Cooger Industries has designed systems for candle production all over the world. Now you can see this amazing equipment and test it yourself with the equipment inventor at the Chandler Congress in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on August 23, 2003. Sign up now to participate in the First Annual Chandler Guild Congress and take advantage of this rare opportuntity to work in person with these noted industry experts. The First Annual Chandler Congress is an historic event to move the soy wax industry for a quantum leap forward. Do not miss this opportunity. You can register at: www.soyawax.com click on catalog

Display your Masterworks at The Chandler Guild Congress!

Bring your very best work to display for all to see at the Chandler Guild's Congress in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A table will be provided for every Chandler to display their candles for the entire two day Congress. Bring what will fit in one rolling suitcase and that will fit on a 3 foot x 2 foot table top. With the Chandler Guild we are building a modern model of the meidieval craft guild. In the guild model, the experienced artisans are the quality craft role models for the apprentices. At the Chandler Guild Congress on August 23 and 24, 2003 this innovative model will finally take form. Traditions of the past take on a modern meaning at the Chandler Guild. Bring your masterpiece candles to inspire the standard of quality candlemaking that will set The Village Chandler name apart in the international candle industry. We all share the goal of making the best quality soy wax products available to the global marketplace. As the Chandler Guild grows it will not be necessary for all Chandlers to make every type of candle product. We expect people to establish their special areas of candle artistry and expertise. You can then market as a joint effort or wholesale to each other to expand the product range that all Chandlers can offer to their local and regional markets. At the Chandler Congress on August 23 and 24, soy wax candle products from all participants will be on display in our very first internal trade show. This time this will be for our own interaction and sharing of "best practice" to set a quality benchmark for all to achieve. At every Annual Chandler Congress in the future we will then invite the national press, key professional buyers in from major retail chains, major mail order catalogs and other key candle customers to view the work of the best natural wax candle producers available. The international candle market will then have the opportunity to see the very best soy candles in one place at one time to make their buying decisions for each retail trade season. This first year the Congress trade show will have the purpose of setting a shared quality standard. Some of the best interaction at the Congress will take place at the trade show tables as Chandlers from all over the United States and Canada share their knowledge and experience about how to produce the very best soy candles. We will have five experts from the candle industry to present key technical information and knowledge, ---but some of the very best knowledge and candle making techniques will be shared from Chandler to Chandler. Don't miss this exceptional opportunity for networking and skill building. This is your Guild. You will get out of it an equal measure of what you put into it. Chandler Guild is synergy in action. Together, we are much greater than the sum of the parts. See you at the Congress on August 23 and 24, 2003! Let's make candle history together. You can register for this groundbreaking event now by going to: www.soyawax.com and click on Catalog to register for the Congress.

*** New Soy Series CD Wicks ***

Tired of the blotchy white “stuff” that permeates through your beautiful soy candles when they finally cool. I am sure you have heard a litany of reason that this stuff appears. Well, Sara and I have “had it” with the blotchy stuff and we did something about it. Techno talk. That white stuff just so happens to be “paraffin” wax coating, that’s right, paraffin, so those of us touting 100% Soy Wax candles are actually buying wicks from our suppliers thinking we are getting a great deal, only to find we are trying to mix two incompatible waxes. One of our vendors solutions was to pour our candles at temps below 160 degrees F, that is the melt point of the wax that coats the wicks. Still does not solve the problem. Well, Sara and I have the solution. We have a CD Soy series wick. The stiffener coating of wax is a natural vegetable wax that is fully compatible with soy, and also protects the wick from the natural acids of soy wax. The result is a excellent finished product with no mottling. You get the same wonderful CD wick performance and clean burn and self trimming features. We currently are offering CDS-18, 20, & 22. I will have my production of CDS-12's arriving this week and we are soon going to offer CDS-3 all the way up to 22. Here are the specs: CDS-12 Pool size: 3.5 - 4" Length 6" Price /100 $9.00 CDS-12 Pool size: 3.5 - 4" Length 9" Price /100 $14.00 CDS-18 Pool size: 4-5" Length 6" Price /100 $9.00 CDS-18 Pool size: 4-5" Length 9" Expect by May 30 CDS-20 Pool size: 4.5 - 5.5" Length 6" Price /100 $9.00 CDS-20 Pool size: 4.5 - 5.5" Length 9" Price /100 $14.00 CDS-22 Pool size: 5 - 6" Length 6" Price /100 $9.00 CDS-22 Pool size: 5 - 6" Length 9" Price /100 $15.00 Wicks are available in minimum quantities of 100 per package. Discounts will be applied for purchase of 1000 or more of each type of wick. Take advantage of this offer, we are going to open the wholesale side of our website soon and general public prices for these wicks are 2 cents per wick higher. Enjoy the same high quality performance without the contamination. It makes a world of difference. Visit us soon at SoyClassicCandle.com for all your soy candle needs, or email us at Ewerwooly@aol.com. Thank you. Sara and Scott Helping light the way home for our troops.

Tarts, container/votive wax?

Does anyone have experience making tarts? If so, which wax should be used, container or votive? I wish everyone out there the best of luck in their business ventures!!!! Nicole Davis Blue Ridge Mercantile blueridgemercantile@yahoo.com