The Maker's Codex
A five-act guide on how to make candles at home, test them honestly, sell them without losing the margin, grow the basket, and scale past the hobby stage. Read every chapter free on the web. A purchasable PDF with worksheets and QR deep-links is on the way.
What this guide is (and isn't). Covers pouring, testing, costing, compliance, packaging, three sales channels, the first-sale checklist, and how to lift average order value with add-ons. Does not cover paid ads, TikTok or Instagram growth, SEO, or brand identity design.
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Operations and compliance. Not a marketing course.
PDF renders in metric, USD. Change here to preview a different market. Operational and compliance. Not a marketing course.
- 01The BenchThe workspace a candle deserves, before the wax comes out.
- 02The PourOne candle, measured not guessed, from cold wax to cooled tin.
- 03Reading the CandleWhat the top of a cooled candle is trying to tell you.
- 04The CureWhy the same candle smells different on day one and day fourteen.
- 05ParaffinThe wax the industry quietly still relies on, and where it belongs.
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- 01The Burn TestThe four-burn protocol, formalised.
- 02The WickHow a cotton braid decides everything downstream.
- 03The VesselGlass, ceramic, tin, concrete, on one table.
- 04DiagnosticsWhen a candle burns wrong, this is the tree.
- 05The LoadIFRA 51 caps, family by family, without the marketing.
- 06The Batch RecordThe one habit that separates a hobby from a business.
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- 01The Real CostEverything the raw-material spreadsheet forgets.
- 02The PriceThe margin math nobody teaches you.
- 03ComplianceEvery mark that has to be on the tin, and why.
- 04The FAQThe legal questions makers keep asking, answered plainly.
- 05The First SaleFrom candle-on-the-shelf to money-in-the-account, without shortcuts.
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- Act 4More Than One Candle
Where the second unit in the basket comes from, and what it's worth.
10 sections- 01The Second UnitWhy the profit lives in the second thing in the basket.
- 02Wax MeltsThe lowest-friction second unit in a candle shop.
- 03Discovery SetsThe trial that pays for itself.
- 04The Care CardThe card in the box that pays for the next order.
- 05BundlesThe maths behind two-for and three-for that still pays you.
- 06Shipping BandsThe threshold that quietly moves the basket size.
- 07Refill and SubscriptionRepeat orders, without pretending every customer wants a subscription.
- 08The FeeThe offer that quietly claws the marketplace fee back.
- 09The Vessel BackRefill-in-store and the closed-loop offer that keeps them local.
- 10What Not to UpsellThe additions that lose the next order.
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- Act 5Scaling and Direct
When one pot stops being enough, and the numbers that decide the next step.
4 sections