Josh Travels to China II Volume 2

April 27, 2007

We just finished our third and final day of the fair. We walked the show for a combined 30 plus hours over the last three days. We are very happy with the progress we have made throughout the last three days. Becky said this is the most productive China trip she has had out of her 12 career visits so far. We ordered mostly home décor stuff that will fill our store, website, and Home Party catalogs. We ordered a lot of rod iron home décor, Christmas goods, spring/Easter decorations, and plenty in between.

We visited a few factory show rooms during the last few days. Visiting the showrooms is a lot more productive. It’s quite, we get more attention from the factory rep’s, and it is a lot easier to concentrate on trends and our needs. Walking the fair can sometimes be overwhelming because there is so much to see. I could go without seeing another home décor item for about six months. I have definitely seen my fair share over the last three days.

After our day at the fair was over today, we decided to go to a street called Beijing Lu. This is where all the street vendors and main shopping is in downtown Guangzhou. We took the subway again to get there. There are normal shopping stores, but then there are the street vendors. I like shopping at the street vendors.

By the way, if anyone wants a watch, purse, computer, or suit.... I know where you can get one! While at Beijing Lu, we honestly had 50 people come up to us with little papers they pulled out of their pocket with pictures of watches, purses, etc. This is my second time to China now. I should be considered a local.

Josh’s Chinese Lesson of the Day:

Ni Hao (Knee How) - Hello
Ni Hoa Ma (Knee How Ma) – How are you?
Wei (Way) – Hi
Tai Gui (Tie Gway) – Too Expensive
Mei Nv (May New) – Beautiful Girl


We leave tomorrow morning for Beijing. I will keep you updated!

Josh Travels China II Volume 1

April 26, 2007

The flight from SLC to LAX was pretty easy going. It only had about 30 people on it. My ears were really giving me some trouble on the flight from the pressure. I never have trouble with my ears on planes. It seriously felt like my right ear drum wanted to explode. I was willing to let it do so if the pain would just go away. Of course this all happens before I switch planes at LAX for my 16 hour flight half way around the world. I was thinking this could really be a terrible trip if this doesn’t go away.

The majority of the pain went away when we touched down at LAX. My ears were still hadn’t popped even after getting off the plane. After getting into the terminal, Ashley and I walked up to the flight board to see which gate we need to go to for our connecting flight. We were headed to Taipei, Taiwan from LAX. For our flight, the board read TBT. We looked at each other and wondered why the board said our gate was “To Be Determined.” We had three hours till our flight departed, so we decided to get some food. Yes, I know… TBT is not the acronym for “To Be Determined”…. But more about that later.

We sat down at a Mexican Restaurant in the terminal. We finished eating, and the board still said TBT. Since the flight left in about two hours, we thought they would have decided the gate by then. We sat around probably another 15 minutes before we came to the conclusion that TBT didn’t mean “To Be Determined.” In fact, it meant Tom Bradley Terminal. We were in the totally wrong building waiting for the gate to be posted.

We finally made it on the plane. It was a pretty smooth ride. Our plane was late landing into Taipei. We had to walk straight off of the plane and right on to our connecting plane to Hong Kong.

The flight from Taipei to Hong Kong was just under two hours. We took the train from the Hong Kong Airport to meet up with Scott, Becky, and Paul. We arrived at the hotel around 11:30am. Ashley and I were jet lagged pretty badly this time. So, we rested while the rest finished up some meetings. We met up for dinner at Dan Ryan’s Chicago Grill. It seems to be a tradition while in Hong Kong.

The next morning, we left for Shenzhen. Shenzhen is in China, just outside the Hong Kong Border. We visited a couple candle factories and their showrooms. The showrooms are always impressive. However, I love to see how the factories operate. I've heard stories about factories in China, but have never been able to see it for myself. So, now I had my chance.

I was amazed on how many people work in the factory. People are everywhere. Almost everything is done by hand one piece at a time. It was amazing to see the factory operate. Everyone had their own job.

After our factory visits, we headed to Guangzhou by car. When we left Shenzhen to head to Guangzhou, it started to rain. This wasn’t the normal type of rain. I am talking serious “buckets at a time” type of rain. This took the “when it rains it pours” saying to a whole new level.

So, our trip from Shenzhen to Guangzhou was supposed to be an hour by car, but it was four instead. After the journey, we finally arrived in Guangzhou. Guangzhou is where the huge China Export Fair is located. At this fair, you see anything and everything you can possibly think of to buy. I am not kidding. They have everything you could possibly imagine. This fair is located in huge expo halls in many different locations around the city. We use the METRO (subway) to get around the city to see the different halls.

We have walked the show the last two days and have one more day to go. There will be more to come I am sure!

New Candles and Candle Tips

Good morning!

It is another freezing day in Utah! It is so cold here. The high the other day was 10 degrees Fahrenheit. I can't remember it being this cold!

Anyway, it has been busy at For Every Body. A group of us went to the AmericaSmart trade show in Atlanta, Georgia last week. We have a permanent showroom there. About 75 percent of our showroom was new. It was a great show! Our most popular lines were our Tea line, our cupcake line (Tiny Tempations), our chocolate line (Divine Chocolates), and our Wickless line. We were surprised. We thought our floral line would be more popular.

I received a comment yesterday about some of our new lines that are not available on our website. They will be available by the end of this month. Our lines are so new that we don't have a supply of everything it. If you would like to order something that is not on our website before the end of the month, please call 888-377-2494 to talk to one of our customer service representatives.

Here are a few candle tips to help you enjoy your candles longer. Let me know if you have any others!

1- Trim the wick before lighting each candle to about 1/4 inch in length.
2- Keep the wick trimmed to 1/4 inch each time the candle is relit to reduce possibility of smoking or sooting.
3- Do not burn in a draft or near a vent.
4- Keep the wick centered. Do not burn the candle if the wick is not centered.
5- Do not allow the flame to touch the side of the jar.
6- If flame smokes, extinguish and trim wick before relighting.
7- Do not pick up or touch during or shortly after burning.
8- Never burn a candle on or near anything flammable.
9- Do not burn the candle more than 2-3 hours at a time.
10- Place the candle on a flat, dry, fire- and heat-resistant surface, away from any drafts or flammable materials.

Have a wonderful day!