Dance of The Lights

One of our Retail Partners is staging a light show named 'Dance of The Light'. It is brought to you each evening courtesy of Canal Towne Emporium & Wurtsboro Electric Service. If you can take time to be on location, you will be glad you are there. When the show is over, you probably want to visit the store. Of course, if you get there before the show starts, you might have a great time looking over the vast variety of gifts and products they carry. You can even find our candles on display. If you do not find them or if there is a scent/fragrance you are looking for, ask for help from the store associates. They will be happy to help you. By the way, the candles we make are under Canal Towne Emporium's private brand name.

Here are some information about the show you might be interested.

o Approximately 150 hours of programming was required to synchronize the lights with the music and songs selected for the show.

o More than 200 man hours were expended to string the lights around the building. Lights were hung starting in October.

o In order to enhance the show's effect, it was necessary to re-wire many of the lights inside the store so that the computer could shut them down automatically before the show begins each evening. Wurtsboro Electric employees worked from August to October to complete this behind-the-scenes task.

o Total power consumption of the more than 7,000 lights used in the show is 3,360 watts. However, Canal Towne Emporium doesn't anticipate a high electric bill since all of the lights are rarely on at the same time.

o A quadrophonic sound system was installed on the building to project the music loud enough for visitors to enjoy, but not so loud as to distrub the neighborhood.

o Each string of lights used in the show must be individually controlled by the computer. To accomplish this, over 4,600 feet of extension cord was required to connect the light strings to three separate lighting controllers.

o During the show, the computer 'talks' to the lighting controllers via a high-speed network to coordinate the music with the 48 separate lighting circuits that comprise the show.

Canal Towne Emporium is located at
107 Sullivan Street,
Wurtsboro, NY 12790

Hope you enjoy the show.






Visit our site at vegi.ws

A Day at the Valley Shepherd Creamery

We did a show at the Valley Shepherd Creamery, Long Valley, NJ. We were asked to perform heritage craft making demo. So we were there to show guests how candles are made. All the little children were very interested to find out. In addition, we also demo how to make chain mail jewelry. All in all it was a great day.

During the course of the day, we were able to see some of the attraction provided by the owner in the farm. We were placed in front of a half cylindrical barn that housed the baby sheep. The baby sheep was force fed by using a bottle and they made a lot of noise all day long. After a while you got so used to it you don’t even hear them anymore. We also visited the shearing site. What a sight to see. A completely furred sheep end up being naked. But that’s what this event is all about. We also find out during the late afternoon that we were setup where there is a fenced trail at the back of our tent that is used as a route for sheep to travel from their barn to the grazing area. There were over 100 sheep that passed along this route ‘going home’ in the late afternoon. I took a video so you can experience what we saw.

Going Home


Visit our site at vegi.ws

About Fragrances for candles

First, different manufacturers may have the same fragrance products. However, they don’t necessary have the same scent characteristics. Usually they have a slight variation if not the same. In addition, there are also plant varieties. For example, the term Jasmine could be used for several different type of Jasmine flower extracts. For simplicity sake, the general term is being used.

Second, as can be seen in the above example that the name Jasmine can be used to represent several different varieties of the Jasmine family, the scant/fragrance name is just a label to identify a product. We have customers looking for White Tea, but when you really try to analyze the scent, it has a shade of Jasmine in it. So, should it be called Jasmine White Tea or something else? That really does not matter. The difficulty is that later if a customer tries to find that fragrance, it will be hard to find unless he or she goes back to the initial place where it is acquired. Maybe by chance, another retailer happens to have the same fragrance one has to probably find something else. This is not so bad because it allows you to try something else. You might find a new passion.

Third, I love those that advertise with “double or triple scented” products. What does that mean? If it is a candle that has two or three different layers of scents, then that’s fine. If it is a colored candle, we can see it. If it is a clear candle than we will have to rely on the seller to explain to the customer. If it is not a layered candle, does the candle that has double or triple scent is twice or three times more scent put in it than all other manufacturers? How do they know how much scent the other manufacturers put in their candles? The only consumer friendly terminology is if someone, or anyone, would tell you the percentage of scent being used. If that is the case, yes, 30% is triple to 10%. But than again, there is no standard and no one will tell you the percentage of fragrance is mix into the candle. This so-call double or triple scent can only be measured against the person who is advertising it. As far as I am concern, one either has enough fragrance put into the candle to make the customers like it or you don’t. The best thing to do, of course is to have the customer smell the candles and let them decide.

Fourth, Not all fragrances have the same strength and intensity. Some fragrances are light and clear scent but very intense. Others are Strong and intense. Some people like very strong fragrance, others like lighter scent. Lighter scent does not mean you vaguely smell the scent. It is just not heavy but it still carries its scent within reasonable area where it is designed for. We have an Almond fragrance that is somewhat obnoxious and an Ocean Mist scent that is nice and light and clean. However, if we put less Almond fragrance, it will become a lighter scent candle. Now we are talking about custom made candles rather than general production candles.

Bottom line – be a wise consumer. It is perfectly fine to visit the retailers or crafters and sample all the scents, especially for any fragrance products. Visit them do not obligate you to buy anything. You are comparing and judging the right product you want to purchase from different sellers. You are gathering information about different products. Even if you are not in the market, you will be able to find someone whose products you like. Ask for their contact information so you can reach them for future purchase. – Ask the right questions and you will be a happy consumer.

Next we will discuss how to find good candles.



Visit our site at vegi.ws

Comments for Blog

At present, I have left the Comment Section for each blog to let anyone author his or her thoughts. This is a privilege. Please use it wisely and be constructive. However, I will remove comments that do not fit. If you use your good judgment, I will reciprocate.

Let's have fun.

Thanks.

Visit our site at vegi.ws

Candle burn time vs Candle weight

Many customers ask me about the weight of each type of candles I make. (We only make Soy Candles.) So I tell them instead the burn time of each type of candles. Why did I not answer their question as they directed? Well, with candle, weight does not mean much. The type of wax used to make candles has specific weight. Even in just the soy candles, not all soy wax has the some weight due to composition. Even soy wax from the some company has different weight depending on the blend used. (And you think there is only one kind of soy wax?) So what is all that boils down to? I use the burn time as a true gauge. After all, you want to know the true usage. One would not measure number of miles per pounds of gasoline but measure by the volume in gallon. Here, we would be better to use time to measure the usage of candle. We know that soy candle burns longer than paraffin candle. So it would be more sensible to compare cost of burn time against cost of weight for different type of wax (Beeswax, Soy wax, Vegetable wax, paraffin, etc).

Another thing of interest, by knowing the burn time is to know what the manufacturers knows about their candles. It is easy to weight the candle and give consumer a number to compare with. However, knowing the burn time, the manufacturer has to test each type of candle for its characteristic. This takes a lot of time and energy at development time. However, once the correct testing is done, the manufacturer would know their candle well. I have also found lack of testing leave a center-burning tunnel in a candle and created a lot of waste. What is a consumer to do with the leftover un-consumed wax? If you as a consumer have to melt the candle to save the wax, you might as well make your own candles. The only exception is the pillar candles.

Next time we will address the fragrances used in the candles.


Visit our site at vegi.ws

1st Weekend of May

The weatherman keeps us guessing. Last time when I check with them, Saturday, May 3rd, suppose to be sunny. Well, now it’s PM Shower. I think if everyone comes in the morning when the weather holds up, we should still have a lot of fun. What the hack, just a little rain should not deter the die-hard visitors. I love the weatherman’s work. They don’t have their own information created by them and yet, they report what the weather stations give them. They can make mistakes and still get paid well. What a job. Try that anywhere else and see how long the job will last.

So Saturday we will be at Long Valley, NJ off 80/206 and we will try to get a glimpse at the sheep-shearing event. I have never seen that because all my life I have been living in large metropolis. There is no sheep in those large cities. If you see anything like it, they are in the grocery store. If time allows, we will also visit the cheese shop. At one point, I was thinking of making cheese but could not get myself up to do it. Maybe someday I will give it a try. I understand Valley Shepherd has a cheese making class. That might be an incentive to get started.

Sunday we will be at the Olde Lafayette Village at the northwest intersection of Rt. 15 and Rt. 94 in NJ. Unfortunately, there is still rain in the forecast. But it does not sound as bad because it is in the early morning and by 10am, it should clear away. For those of you think that my forecast is any more accurate than the weatherman, forget about it. I am using the same information they are using. So don’t blame me if the forecast is wrong. After all, I don't even get paid for telling this. This is a very nice little village with a lot of small shops. I am sure you will enjoy the day there.

Well, hope to see you at either place and let’s not worry about the rain after all. It’s much better than sit at home doing nothing. (I know, I know, everyone is busy. It that ever going to change?) So why not give yourself and your family a break and come out to mingle.

Nyack Springfest (past) and beyond (future)

The Nyack Springfest finally is over. We saw some of our regular customers and everyone is in great spirit. I guess the income tax due date is over and now we can all relax. Some of us will probably get a refund while others may have to contribute some to Uncle Sam. But anyway it's water under the bridge. Time to enjoy again.

Talking about enjoying and having fun, this Saturday we will be at Long Valley's Valley Shepherd Creamery. We will be showing how to make basic candles and basic chain mail jewelry. It should be a fun day because this is the only sunny day during the weekend. Valley Shepherd has a creamery shop. They sell many different variety of cheeses. In fact, if you like, they even has classes to teach you how to make cheese. You just have to get onto their website and get more information. Come to think of it, go there (the real place or the website) and you can get everything you want to know about the creamery. Better than I can tell you for what I know.

Of course for those of you at Pearson, I will be there on Tuesday, April 28. After that, my next date will be July 9th. So, come say Hello and get some gift for your mother on Mother's Day.

We now have a new package for the 5oz Reeds Diffuser. It is prettier than the old one and has the same stable base and last as long as the older package. I think you will agree that this is a smaller and better package.






The Old (5oz Beige Square Box)

The Small (3oz Tall Box)

The New (5oz Red Tall Box)



The product will be there beginning of May and ready for you to place order.

Here is our website address. vegi.ws

Initiation for VEGI, LLC

We finally got this Blog started. Hopefully it can provide information to many of our customers and friends regarding the work we are doing.

First of all, many of our customers look for us at the Art and Craft shows, the best way to find us is to look for our schedule via the show dates page at our website. Starting in May, we will roll out a new packaging for our private fragrance diffusers. Come see and you will like it.

The soy wax price has been going up. We are holding on to the 2007 price at this point to see what will happen this summer. It's hard to tell what this commodity will do but let's wait and see.

Our next show is at the Nyack Street Fair, rain or shine. Weatherman projects 30% precipitation. Bring an umbrella or stay in our booth and sniff the nice fragrances from our candles and diffusers. We have added some new items, noticeably a line of quality jewelries for you ladies. However, we have something for men also. Look for something for you hubby or boyfriend; although Mother's day is coming soon so you can't forget 'Mommy Dearest'.

If you can't make it to the show, make sure you click the show dates link to find out where we will be after Nyack.

We will see you at the show.