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We use high-quality, skin-safe ingredients. Here’s a breakdown: Candles & Wax Melts: Made with natural soy wax, phthalate-free fragrance oils, and cotton wicks. Soaps: Crafted with glycerin or goat’s milk bases, along with natural dyes and fragrance oils. Lotions: Formulated with a gentle, moisturizing base that is free from parabens and harmful chemicals. All our oils are rated for topical use, distilled to premium scent. If you have specific allergies or sensitivities, let us know so we can help you create a safe product.

Pricing varies depending on the product you choose to make: Candles: $20 for a standard 8 oz candle, but we have larger jars as well! Soaps: $20 gets you 2 4oz bars, or a multitude of smaller decorative bars with our seasonal silicone molds! Lotions: $20 per 8 oz jar. Pulse-Point Oil: $12.50 for a bottle of custom fragrance blend. Custom blends and add-ons may cost extra. Ask us for details!

Our 8 oz candles have an approximate burn time of 40-50 hours when burned properly, according to the instructions we will send along with your candle. Be sure to trim the wick to ¼ inch before each use for the best results.

Absolutely! We encourage you to keep a tally of your creation recipe and ratio at your appointment. We keep that record of your custom blends so you can recreate your favorite scents during your next visit.

Yes! If you have a special container you’d like to use for your candle or fragrance product, bring it in. Just ensure it’s heat-resistant and holds at least 8 oz. We will check it over for cleanliness, size, and make sure there aren't any potential issues like cracks or material reactions that might occur with your project. We may have to veto a container, but we have great ones in store!

Walk-ins are welcome, but not guaranteed. Appointments are recommended, especially for groups or during busy times. Call us at 616-419-9918 or make your appointment on our booking calendar!

Yes! The fragrance bar is perfect for birthdays, bridal showers, or team-building events. We are happy to welcome your group, with a deposit as low as $20 for groups over 5 people. You can book your group on our calendar, or contact us to discuss group availability outside our scheduled times.

We do! We love having groups in store that need a place to meet. If your group meets during our regular hours, the only restriction is our space availability. If your group wants to meet outside our regular business hours, a fee may apply. To inquire about availability, email us: booknerd@bluestockingbookshop.com

Yes, we offer gift certificates for books AND for the Art As A Lifestyle fragrance bar. They make great gifts for creative friends and family! Our minimum amount is $5.00, so you can tailor the gift certificate to your budget!

We're a used bookshop - you can purchase books here that have been read previously for prices that are drastically reduced from the original retail. If you have books at home you're done with, you can make an appointment to trade them in for store credit, which further discounts the books you purchase with us.

In most scenarios, the answer is yes. Our booksellers are regularly checking in over 5,000 books per month, so we require appointments to ensure we can complete the check in process for your books in a timely manner. If you have over 10 books (or more than a small grocery bag), then an appointment is required for your books to be dropped off to us. If you have 10 books or fewer, you can bring your books in for drop off anytime during our open hours.

Your credit works like Discount Dollars on everything in store. On every price label - found on the back of the book - has a book condition listed that will tell you how credit applies: - 100% on Bargain & General inventory - 75% on Favorite titles - 50% on Must-Have items - 25% on Discount, never-been-red books - 10% on books and gifts that are New, Special Order, or Collectible

This question doesn't have a simple, straightforward answer. We won't know until we inventory them, because we price books according to several factors, including (not limited to): Age Physical condition Popularity & Demand Whether we have a copy in store already If there's a movie coming out Author's life changes (are they in the news lately?) Bookseller recommendations - if we love it, we'll convince you to! Are the genre's shelves too full/not full enough? How soon is our next sale? As long as your books are undamaged, readable, and BOOKS (not magazines, pamphlets, or other media), then your book will receive credit. Some may receive bargain level credit, but some may get up to 25% of original retail price as Must-Have credit.

No. We are dedicated to keeping our prices affordable and accessible, so we do not inflate the cost of goods by paying cash.

First, CONGRATULATIONS! Our owner has done the work of publishing and knows how exciting this moment is. We only accept self-published books from members of our local West Michigan community. We will gladly list your title on our "Local Love" list on Bookshop.org, which gives you an easy shopping link for folks who wish to purchase across the country! It is up to our owner/book buyer whether a book is stocked in store and to what quantity. If they choose to stock your title, they will purchase copies from you or from our distributor on wholesale terms. If your book shows a strong sales capability, we will restock by purchasing through Ingram Distribution only. We will not take books on consignment. Books that are traditionally published may be ordered from Ingram, but only if they are a fit for our business. For instance, as a used bookshop we aren't likely to stock a $50 photography coffee table book and we would likely recommend our area New Books bookstore, Reader's World as a better space for your title. The Bluestocking Bookshop will never purchase from nor sell on Amazon. Amazon's business model purposefully undercuts pricing and adopts business practices designed to shut independent businesses like ours out of the market. If your query letter only mentions your success on their platform, you reduce your likliehood of being marketable in independent bookstores.

Yes and no. We are happy to support our local authors with author events, but those events where an author comes in, sits behind a table stacked with their books, and waits for people to come to them are BORING! If you contact us to ask about a signing, we will likely steer you toward creating a different style of event: if you're a romance author, how about speaking at our Textual Healing book club instead? If you've published poetry, let's do a workshop or reading night. We've had authors even bring chickens to advertise their picture book! We want to support your book with something that excites people about your book! At your event, if you are a self-published author, you are responsible for providing books for purchase and signing. If your book is traditionally published, preorders will be taken in store.