The Union of Craftsmen is a de facto association, which means that it has not (yet) filed for statutes, it does not ask for any membership fees. The goal is to bring together the artisans of the vape, and any actor who creates equipment or consumables, the shops not being its radius of action. The Facebook group " The vault stand In cooperation with Vapoteurs.net went to meet Sébastien, the president of the association to ask him some questions. Here is the first part of this interview with the questions from the forum.
- Hello Sébastien, as president of this union, can you introduce us to your collective ?
Hello, "president" is a big word, in the association, it just designates the person who is responsible for gathering information, proposing actions, and proposing votes. The president did not proclaim himself, there was a collective vote. All actions and decisions of the union are voted by majority. All members are aware of and participate in everything that is happening at the Union, transparent functioning is essential, nothing is hidden. The union is currently made up of 15 artisan members, including 9 French and Swiss founders. The list is available on the Union des artisans Facebook page, as well as on the site. On it, a presentation area is dedicated to each member: Visit the ARVA reporting website
- How was born the idea of the project ?
The project was born quite simply from a group of discussions between modders, we concluded that the image of modders needed a new lease of life, a new energy in the defense of vaping and the promotion of our professions. . The idea of a Union of Craftsmen therefore germinated, we then (hastily and a little late) asked for a stand at Vapexpo, which accelerated its creation.
- What are his missions ?
Inform consumers, we are already working on the subject. Bring together the moderators and actors (producers of consumables), share the costs of stands and other events in order to promote Craftsmanship in the vape, Mutual aid and support within the union, Very soon, join Fivape and support certain associations and why not walk hand in hand with them.
-Should we be "Artisan" to join the Union ?
Yes of course as its name suggests, a shop will not be able to join the union, a moder who has his mods manufactured on a production line in China either, we try to verify as much information as possible on the future member. , there are also nuances to be taken into account, a moderator who creates his prototypes by hand, and has them made at a local craftsman will be accepted; thus, some members create some of their parts in CNC, and finish the work by hand, we try to respect a quota of 50% minimum craftsmanship.
-To the whole team : The profession and the legal notion of artisan of the vape does not exist at the moment and thus remains to create. What do you plan to do ?
We have already contacted the chamber of trades and crafts, we are still waiting for a response, we will repeat our request of course.
-To the whole team : What were your motivations for joining this Union in particular ?
To answer this question, we have sent it to all members and here is the summary of the answers. It would seem that the presence of certain people among the founding members encouraged the will to join our Union. The answers also include the fact that decisions, discussions, and votes are shared, the fact that everyone participates in all the debates, I quote "there is no back door" and "the association benefits everyone. world, not to one person ”and above all,“ now our members have been able to make a choice ”.
-To the whole team : There are already other groups of professionals such as FIVAPE and CMF, how do you position themselves in relation to them? ?
Everyone has their ideas, each their direction, in our opinion the Fivape is intended for "big companies" of the vape, the Union is a gathering of craftsmen, people who work most of the time in a workshop at the bottom of the garden , we have low production, once together we have more weight, which will allow us, why not, to unite alongside Fivape, as the CMF did moreover a long time ago ... The world of vaping is vast, there is room for everyone, we will eventually walk hand in hand with Fivape and Aiduce.
-To the whole team : The Vape is under fire now, everyone is calling to the rally, so some would say "why create an umpteenth collective of professionals what divides rather than anything else, what would you answer them? ? "
Precisely, a call for people to come together is what we have just launched for the Vapexpo, and then don't small rivers make the oceans?
-To the whole team : How do you prepare for the arrival of the TPD as an association and as craftsmen ?
Most of the members of the Union continue to work in the hope that the texts will be modified, or even aborted. After the application of the directive, if the text is too restrictive, we will of course try to keep our work by trying to adapt as much as possible. The export could prove to be our lifeline, as well as the diversion of the object, a mod could thus be sold as a flashlight with an 510 connector, "the customer would then only have to screw in an atomizer ”.
Some of our members will prefer to quit altogether instead of, I quote "prostituting for Big Tobacco". France would thus lose a good part of its artisans in the profession, to the benefit of tobacco lobbies, but above all it would lose a fabulous tool for reducing the risks associated with smoking… It does not seem to be aware of it. The associations are back on the front line: Aiduce, Fivape for France and Helvetic Vape for Switzerland, the Union des Artisans supports these associations to save vaping. Finally, there is no question of turning to the tobacco markets. As we could read recently . We will continue to fight so that the amalgam vape and tobacco is not maintained.
-To the whole team "Do you intend to join FIVAPE one day?"
Fivape has already contacted us, if we decide to join we will have to (I think) change the status of the association, Fivape is already inquiring about this, and we are already working on this project.
How to join the union ?
Nothing could be simpler, just contact us by email or via facebook, adhere to the principles of the charter which is available on the facebook page and on the site, just download it, sign it, the application will then be examined and voted by all the members of the union. All information is available on Site.
