~IT’S ALL IN THE PACKAGING~ Candle Transformation TUTORIAL PART I~

CANDLE TRANSFORMATION TUTORIAL
Turning a Simple Candle into a Wonderful Gift
Coming Tuesday - November 10th

I’ve shared with you before that in the mid 1990’s I owned a brick and mortar store. Back then I made many trips to Market and I was constantly amazed by the fabulous new offerings I discovered year after year. I learned a great deal about retail marketing during those early days of business and out of necessity learned to pinch my share of pennies along the way.

Because my Shoppe was small I quickly realized some of the wonderful items I longed to carry were impossible for me to afford. In general, if I paid $10.00 for something wholesale, then USUALLY it retailed for approximately $20.00. This wasn’t always the rule mind you, but a 100% mark-up in the retail industry is fairly standard.

One year I purchased from an Importer some fabulous vanilla scented candles which smelled truly divine. They were about 6” tall and the outside shell was decorated with cinnamon sticks. If my mind serves me correctly the wholesale cost of each candle was $4.00. At Market they were displayed with all the bells and whistles and as a promotion the Showroom was giving huge discounts on case-lots. If I purchased 10 cases of 24 (that would be 240 candles) I could get them for $2.00 each. I was on cloud nine and quickly signed the order form on the dotted line. My nearly $500 investment SHOULD parlay into a tidy profit for my tiny business if everything went right…

When my candles came a couple of weeks later I couldn’t wait to tear open that first box! What I found stunned me! I honestly thought there had been a mistake! Inside the boxes were my candles alright, and they still smelled absolutely sinful. But, the packaging was dreadful! Worse than dreadful, even! The cello bags they were housed in were dingy and gray which made the candles look like they’d been on a thrift store shelf for a decade or more. I was terribly disappointed and even a bit afraid. I so needed the profit from those candles. That money alone would pay ALL my Shoppe’s expenses for the month and give me a little cash to reinvest.

Because I’m a very determined, hard-headed kind of gal (ask my Mr. AGPMan~ He calls me HM…that stands for High Maintenance!), I had to figure out SOMETHING to do! So, after thinking for two solid days and after investing $50 in an array of Christmas garlands, decorative berries and holiday paraphernalia, I set my mind in the direction of transforming each and every candle I had purchased. By the end of the week the candles were ready for sale. The transformation was complete and the cash register was beginning to sing!

Not only did I go on to sell every single candle in the lot, but I ended up learning an invaluable lesson about how a product is packaged and then subsequently marketed to the public. I don’t care how wonderful something is, if the box an item comes in is ugly, well then chances are most women (and even some men!) aren’t going to buy it!

On Tuesday I will be giving you a fairly short (and easy!) TUTORIAL on how you can transform even an inexpensive candle into something truly lovely. If your budget is tight this Christmas, then stay tuned!

Blessings as you let you try and avoid burning your candle at both ends while continuing to 'Let Your Little Light Shine'…Rebecca