Maple Drake Studios - Eco-Friendly Candles and Crafts

[Liatai]

So hey -- I made an Etsy store to sell my candles, and any other crafty things I happen to make. :3 Special thanks to Beelzeboob for sprucing up my logo!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MapleDrakeStudios





I've been having a lot of fun staging photos, as you can see. x3 I'm only selling my soy candles for now, but I'm leaving the door open for other crafts and pieces of art as well in the future.

I'm also borrowing a page from Dunn Jewellery's book and offering a ballp.it discount if you're interested! Using coupon code YAYVICTOR will earn you 15% off your order.

[Victor Laszlo]

[Liatai]

I'll be adding tea lights to the shop soon -- I just want to build up my stock a little more. In the meantime, though... I made lip balm! :D

https://www.etsy.com/listing/659258173/cherry-lip-balm-made-with-coconut-oil

I'll be adding blackberry and maple flavors of lip balm to my stock once I get them made. Cherry seemed to be the big favorite when I polled people on what to make first, though. :3

[Liatai]

Been hard at work lately sprucing up my shop stock. :3 I now offer tea lights in various scents, and blackberry lip balm in addition to the cherry!

[Sauce]

Got my order today and in case there was any doubt these are fantastic!

[Liatai]

New product up for sale! Scaly Paw Salve -- a lanolin-beeswax skin and hand cream made to moisturize dry, chapped skin. I made it especially to give to nurse relatives, and it got great reviews, so I figured I'd offer it to the general public, too. :3

[Liatai]

It's a new year, so I've added some new scents to my lineup and have a few more on deck. I just added Lemon Shortbread, Grape Candy, Orange Pound Cake, and Spiced Plum Cider to the roster. I also tweaked the ratios of the salve recipe a little bit, to help it absorb faster into skin and give it a little more frequent-hand-washing-resistant moisturizing power. :3

And that's today's update, I suppose. See you when my resupply order comes in so I can add more scents!

[beelzeboob]

I'm super interested in that scaly paw salve for my EMT boyfriend. May take you up on that at some point when I'm not reeling from holiday costs, lol.

[Liatai]

Got some new scents up in the shop, some old scents made into new forms, AND added the option for custom orders of eight-ounce candles. They use about two-and-a-half times more wax than my smaller glass container candles, so I'm not going to add them to my standard stock until I get a good supply of the littler ones made and ready, but if folks turn out to REALLY like a scent, then at least they have the option to get a longer-lasting candle made of it. :3

[beelzeboob]

FYI guys, my boyfriend and I live in a desert. He washes and disinfects his hands all the time because he is an EMT. His hands have been scaly since he got this job ages ago.... Scaly Paw Salve has saved him. He says it's the best lotion he's ever used, and he's used a LOT trying to fix this problem. It's oil based so it doesnt evaporate and take the moisture out of your skin. Also, it smells amazing. Please get this stuff if you're looking for a good moisturizing hand cream. 10/10

[Liatai]

I know I've said this, but it's still wonderful to hear that, Beezelboob! :D eeeeee I'm so glad it worked out so well for you guys!

I've been kind of quiet lately because I've been preparing for a food-and-craft festival my town's holding as part of their maple-sugar-season festivities -- apparently stopping by the town commerce offices with some business cards and asking for advice was a good move! One of their workers forwarded the application to me because they remembered me and my "cute maple dragon" logo on the cards. x3 (Other local business members I've approached for rapport and advice also pointed me toward the craft fair, though they had no idea how to apply.)

It's the first biggish in-person event I'll be selling at -- I'm pretty nervous, but very hopeful. I'll have someone with me to help cover the table if I end up having a panic attack or anything, and I'll have a dose of my panic meds at the ready.

I'll be premiering some new products at the show -- namely, bath bombs, soaps, and scented wax melts -- and they'll be up on the Etsy shop after the 25th of March too if all goes well. :D I managed to get my hands on some large maple-leaf molds for the bath bombs and soap (plus some smaller leaves and miscellaneous shapes), and they've been coming out super well!

Wish me luck!

[Liatai]

The show went really well! Even though the weather sucked and  I ran out of table space (not pictured -- the stack of boxes, barely covered by the painters'-drop-cloth tablecloth, on the viewer's left I used to display my soap basket -- next time, bring two tables, self! XP), I still made a profit, developed rapport with my fellow crafters in the region, and made a lot of folks smile.

All in all? Not a bad first show! I'm already hyped for the next opportunity to attend one that comes my way.

But first? Gotta photograph all the soap and bath bombs and new candles and wax melts I made to debut at the show so I can put them in my regular shop... x3;;;

[Liatai]

I DID IT \o/  

Finally, I have all the stuff I made for the show up on my Etsy shop!

With this, I now have all of my candle scents available in tea light AND jar form. I've made wax melts, and added a few new types of salve (lavender) and lip balm (maple) to the roster... And I've added soap and bath bombs to the shop, too!

While I work on getting every scent ready in soap and wax melts, I should start thinking about putting together some bundles of stuff for people to grab instead of having to go through and pick things a la carte. :. What do you guys, gals, and nonbinary pals think would go well together? I'm already planning on a tea light scent sampler (all scents currently available in a bundle), a few unscented tea light palettes (rainbow, cool, warm, pride?)... probably some kind of product mystery bag with a mix of various types of wares... 

As thanks for sticking with me through all this craziness, have some feline mischief. x3




Time to take a breather, then tackle the next projects! The weather warming up might cut into my profits a bit... but that just means it'll be a good time to build up inventory to prepare for the next rush and/or show, aye?

[Bobguinary Novel]

I just purchased a few things, including the Trail Rider candle for my DM who really, really loves candles. They're going to burn it during one of our sessions for the COMPLETE IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE.