Summer Blog
Well, yesterday was the final Summer Makers’ Market, and whilst the sun didn’t shine, it didn’t stop people from coming and for that, I’m eternally grateful.
I do take note of what people say – every single comment is logged somewhere in my brain. What did arise a couple of times, is that I don’t have a Sweet Orange type of fragrance. I used to. I used to do Sweet Orange and Chilli Pepper, infact, this was my longest serving fragrance, but, as with all things, it had to come to an end.
It’s late in the day for me to be looking at the fragrances I offer when I have so much Christmas prep to do, but I’m not happy with a couple of the fragrances I’ve chosen, and others would come to a natural close as the cooler weather comes in.
So, stupidly maybe on my part as it’s a shedload more work in an already busy season, but the following is happening:
Sandalwood, Patchouli and Vanilla. Popular(ish) but a nightmare to make. These have pieces of dried Vanilla pods on them and time and time again, they “leak” into the wax. It annoys the hell out of me and it’s time to cull it! I will be replacing this with AUTUMN, a woodsy smell, also with Sandalwood and these will be topped with Acorns (assuming I can find small enough ones). Hopefully these will launch at the end of September.
Orange & Tiare – I loath this. I don’t think I’ve ever disliked a fragrance so much – well, maybe Winter, but I have to put up with that one. I was swayed on this by Trends – and I should know better. This will be discontinued with immediate effect and will be replaced with a simple Sweet Orange, citrus fragrance. Perfect in the Spring when we want those clean smells, but also, an excellent addition for Christmas, for those (like me) that dislike the Cinnamon style fragrance.
Fresh Grass – well, this has actually been a surprisingly popular choice, but it’s a Summer scent and I will be withdrawing it. It will be replaced with an old favourite of my candlemaking days – White Rose & Sheer Lily. These will be topped with cerise petals and add to the floral section of my fragrances.
As for Christmas, well, unbeknown to me, the details of these were actually printed on a sign I had done so I’ve actually let the cat out of the bag anyway!
Christmas 25 will include:
- Winter
- Christmas Spice
- Frankincense & Cherry
- Cinnamon & Apple
- Oh Christmas Tree
- Frosted Berries
I will also be adding Warm Woods and Cashmere, but this will ONLY be available within the Festive gift pack, which will also include the above, By The Fire, Duvet Day and Winter’s Walk.
On the subject of pre packed sets, the price of these will be increasing by £2.00. These will now be £15 and provide you with between 150 and 200 hours. These take a lot of my time to pack and package and I wasn’t charging for that. This was fine as I launched, but time really IS money and I need to increase these accordingly, particularly as I look to pay people to do this for me. The normal Pick N Mix will remain at £13, but I do expect a very slight increase later this year as my wax and packaging have both gone up since I launched 18 months ago.
I’ve today had to place a further box order and this is hard. It’s a massive expenditure and complete guesswork as to what I will/won’t require. I’ve tried to work out what I expect to take financially at each event and divide it by the box price, hence a number that I THINK I’ll sell. I could be completely overcooking numbers, or I could have fallen short. Without historic figures, it’s impossible to tell. What is certain though, is if I run out of boxes during Q4, there will be insufficient time to have them remade as they work to 6 week lead in times and I would simply have to pull out of events/stop trading on line. I really hope this doesn’t happen, but I’m putting it out there just incase. In real terms, I have 1500 boxes, so am hopeful I’ve ordered well.
So, that’s probably it from me for a month or two. I will pop odd pics on IG as I carry on with making, and give a few intros into the xmas collection.
I really am grateful for the love you’ve shown of my product and your wonderful comments. At some point, I WILL get around to getting a Trust Pilot review link set up and I’d be very, very grateful for some comments.
Thank you
Jo x
