Yep, that’s right! I’ve lost my mojo. I’ve been sort of stuck in a rut with everything at the moment. Not too sure why I’ve lost a bit of heart. Maybe it’s because at this time of year candle sales tend to be very low. I know that I’ve been kept busy by my hubby’s business. well, after all he is the one who finances my candles. But my blog has also gone the way of the dodo.

So it’s kick up the bum time! As it is quiet candle wise I’ve decided to have a rethink on my website. I’m going to be revamping the shopping cart area. The new cart will have rewards point capability. Much like supermarket loyalty schemes. With your newly accumulated points you will be able to redeem them against future purchases. I will also be selling my candles worldwide rather than UK and Europe.

I’m trying to think of ways to lure some of my eBay customers to purchase directly from my site rather than eBay. Will have to have a good brainstorming session for that I think. A new shopping cart will also mean new products to add to the existing range. What will they be? Well, there will be new fragrances, new candles and accessories. Maybe even new waxes (if I can get through the testing stage quickly).

So that’s the challenge I’ve set myself. That should keep me busy during the quiet summer months. If I can keep myself on target I should have everything ready for start of the busy season.

Tags: candles, eBay, new site

It’s just come to light that candles are going to have to conform to BSI Standards for candle safety, warning labels and sooting.

There are quite a few of us discussing this on the forum. We all feel that regulation IS a good thing as there are many people out there who are selling candles without any safety testing whatsoever. Unfortunately, there are people who have purchased a beginner’s kit and then think that they are experienced enough to start selling to the public. They give us, the genuine candlemakers, a bad reputation. We spend countless time and resources in ensuring that our products burn safely.

The downside to the proposed new legislation is that it could drive the small independent candlemaker out of business. What would the charge be for testing our candles for safety and sooting? Bearing in mind that every single combination of container, colour and fragrance we offer would be subject to testing.

This is a subject that I will be monitoring closely. If and when these regulations come into force it could mean a complete rethink for many of my fellow small candlemakers.

Tags: candle legislation, candle safety, candle sooting, candle warnings, candles

I received a phone call from one of the members of the Laindon Townswomen Guild last week.  She bought some of my candles at the Pamper Evening and was really impressed with them.  Needless to say she placed an order with me for several candles.  They are all going to her friends who all commented on my strong smelling candles.  She had one burning one evening when they were all round and they just couldn’t believe how much better they were than others they had bought in the High Street.  One even said they were better than Yankee Candles!!

Well of course I’ve always known that.  It’s just getting that message across to others.  Many people tend to be a bit sceptical of handmade candles.  I don’t know why.  They would much rather buy some mucho cheapo candle from the pound shop and then be thoroughly disappointed with it.  I know some people who will never try a decently made candle because they compare every candle to their bad experience.  So sad.

I’m hoping that this will be a good start as one of the recipients of my candles is a mobile hairdresser who loves candles.  Fingers crossed that she will be suitably impressed and pass on my details.

Tags: scented candles

Well, last night was quite a success. We weren’t too sure how well it would go but we were pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t a busy event as I think the only people who turned up were members of the Townswomen Guild and some of their friends.

It was, however, an extremely pleasant evening. We were given a warm welcome by the members. Everybody came over to our table and had a good sniff around. We were asked lots of questions about our candles. Most people asked about our melts. They wondered how they were used as of course they have no wicks. Once we explained how to use them they thought they were a great idea.

During the course of the evening many business cards were handed out. I left a good wad of them with the lovely Carol. I have a feeling that we will be asked to return again for another of their Ladies’ evenings. In addition there are other Townswomen Guilds within Basildon and also the WI, so I’m hoping that our details will get passed on.

As to the amount of sales made. I was very pleased with the takings, considering the amount of attendees. Needless to say, I covered the hire of my table and more. All in all a very pleasant evening’s work.

Tags: ladies pamper evening

Last time I wrote I was up to my eyeballs in wax. Today I’m surrounded by shrink wrap.  Tonight is my very first Ladies Pamper Evening.  All my display stock has now been made up.  If it wasn’t for my 16 year old daughter LJ I wouldn’t have been ready in time.  Luckily all my supplies got to me in time but it meant I had to pull my finger out to get everything done in time for today.

LJ,  who is also my helper-come-partner in Cosy Candles, saved my bacon by doing all my tarts, whilst I got on with labelling and wrapping the finished stock.  I’ve still got some more wrapping to do today and I’ve got to get my literature printed off but it’s no biggie.  Must remember to take my camera so I can take some snapshots of my table.  Fingers crossed, I’ll make some sales, even if it’s only the cost of the table and petrol.  Well, petrol won’t be much as Laindon is only 3 miles away from my home.

Tomorrow’s post will contain a full run down of how it all went.  Was it a success or a complete disaster?  Tune in to the next episode of Cosy Candles’ Ramblings.

Tags: candles, ladies pamper evening, laindon, laindon community centre, soy candles

Well, maybe it’s a slight exaggeration, but I’ve been busy preparing for the forthcoming Ladies’ Pamper Evening on Tuesday, 22 April.  With only just over a week to go I thought I’d better make a start on making up some stock.

I don’t keep stock as a rule, as I make all my products to order.  That way customers will always be assured of a freshly made candle or melt.  Nothing worse than sending out something that’s been gathering dust on the shelf.  However, as I am going to have a display table I thought it better to make small selection to take with me.

Today, I’ve been busy making container candles.  My very chic looking tumblers.

Just making 2 of each scent that I carry.  I’ve ground to a halt though, as I’ve just run out of wax!!  Not to worry.  Just placed an order with my supplier and I should have it by Tuesday.  Isn’t the Internet wonderful?  Once they’re set up I’ll be busy wrapping them up ready for the night.

So, I’ve still got votives and melts to make.  Just hoping that my oils turn up from the US quickly as otherwise everything is going to be done in a huge rush right at the last minute.  Ah well, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Tags: basildon, container candles, ladies pamper evening, laindon community centre, tumbler candles, votives

Yes folks, it’s that time of the year when Royal Mail put up their postage prices up yet again!! Unfortunately, the price goes up but the level of service does not.

Don’t know about your part of the country but in my neck of the woods, our post is awful. We have a regular postie but he’s only on our route 3 days a week. when he’s delivering you can set your watch by what time he drops our post through our letterbox. He’s absolutely brill is Sean. The other days, well, we’re lucky if any turns up and sometimes that can be around 1in the afternoon.

So I’ve been busy sorting out all the new postage charges on all my eBay listings, my main website and my DaWanda shop.

I’m sure there are people who are going to complain about it. Then again, I’m not one of those that makes money out of excessive p&p. I charge an extra 10p on top and I can tell you that that doesn’t even cover the cost of the box, let alone my time and petrol to the Post Office. Maybe I should charge more? Mmm maybe I could put up the price of my candles by a couple of quid and then not charge for p&p for UK customers. Not too sure about that. I’ll have to ask around and see what my friends think. Or maybe if anyone reads this they could leave some useful comments.

What would you, as an online shopper prefer. Pay a little bit more for your product and get free postage or pay extra for it? Answers on the back of a postcard to ……

Tags: DaWanda, eBay, royal mail

I’ve just finished publishing a new lens on Squidoo.  It’s all about making soy wax candles.  I thought it would be a handy guide for anyone who is thinking of taking it up as a new hobby.  I will, of course, be adding more to it over the course of time.  For anyone interested you can view it by visiting Make Soy Candles

Any feedback, good or bad, would be appreciated.

Tags: how to make soy candles, make soy candles

OK, continuing from my last post regarding the move away from Blogger I am so pleased that my blog is finally being indexed.  Over the weekend I was checking the stats for my website, www.cosycandles.com and lo and behold there was a link from this blog showing up.  All the previous months I was with Blogger not a single hit went to my website.

So, if any of you out there use Blogger to drive traffic to your website, check your stats to see if it is working.  If it is then fine and dandy but if not then I would recommend that you go with Wordpress.  I don’t know why Blogger didn’t work for me, maybe it was something I didn’t configure in the settings.  Who knows.  What I do know is that after only a few days with Wordpress I am being listed.

Tags: blogger, wordpress

Well, I’ve decided to move my blog away from Blogger. Why? Quite simply it wasn’t being indexed by the search engines. When I signed up for Blogger I was under the impression that because it is owned by Google, it would be indexed quicker. Not so.

Despite having my blog link on the same sites as my main website, I’ve received no traffic so it’s bye bye Blogger and hello Wordpress. I purchased a new domain name (www.rubymole.com) and just transferred all my old posts. There is so much that you can do with Wordpress that you can’t with Blogger. And if you have it on your own domain name, the possibilities are endless.

So fingers crossed this desicion will pay off and my blogs will get picked up.

Tags: blogger, wordpress