How much do you charge the rest of the time?
Sorry, I'm in weekend mode already. Will go sit in the corner and think about what I've done.
hahaha. Truth be told, I'm a sucker for spending time with my kid. Saturday morning is her swimming lesson and she sleeps most of Saturday afternoon, which allows me to do stuff. I also only really rebuild my atomisers or mix my juices once my wife and kid are asleep so that I maximise my time with them.
As I have seen a lot of support for this initiative, I would like to start scheduling our first couple of meetups. My suggestion is once a month in order to make it possible for all involved to plan ahead and a missed meetup wont be a complete loss as the next one would not be that far away. I suggest something like the fist Friday / Saturday of the month with 3 hours planned for each meet eg.
Fridays 17:00 - 20:00 / 18:00 - 21:00
Saturdays 12:00 - 15:00 / 13:00 - 16:00 / 14:00 - 17:00
The current location will be at my place in Greenstone Hill in the East Rand. We will discuss possible centralized locations at the first meetup
I would love to hear some feedback regarding this as well as proposed times @spiv , @PsyCLown , @GregF , @darryn.britton , @craigb , @Dietz , @Mike , @alex1501 , @Andre , @Stosta , @DizZa . If I missed someone, please tag them or just reply if I missed you, this is an open discussion.
I would prefer a Saturday anywhere on east rand. I also agree on the snacks by everyone, Chips or stuff like that, unless you have something specific which you can bring along.
@PsyCLown actually made a good point that if we make it from 14:00, we eat beforehand and everyone brings a snack like a pack of chips or a soda. This way eating wont take any time away from the events and everyone can snack while mixing and socializing without breaking the bank for a lunch every time.
I think the best way to ensure the success of such meets is to try and cover as many needs and angles as possible. If you're going to have a "learn how to mix" class for beginners, that's great and a good inducement for those interested in DIY to attend. But then maybe schedule that first so that mixers who already know how to mix will only pitch up to the meet an hour later when the class finishes.
Some random ideas from my side:
1) Vendor guest. Each meet could have one guest vendor in attendance. I believe business is always better when vendor and customers have met each other. The vendor could give a brief talk on his business, where he is going with it, what niche he is trying to fill. DIYers could then put forward suggestions or ask questions. It will help vendors and mixers to understand each other's needs better. Naturally, the vendor could bring some stock and sell it on the day. I also think this will be helpful to vendors who sell their own lines of local concentrates. DIYers are reluctant to try these as there are few recipes available. I'm sure these vendors have their own recipes which use only their local concentrates. So they could maybe bring a few different juices along which mixers could sample on the day. This could encourage mixers to support local concentrates.
2) Pro classes. I love the idea of commercial mixers giving talks and sharing ideas. However, we should remember that, for those who have their own commercial juice lines, DIY is reducing their customer base. Mixers like @method1, @Mike and others do a huge amount for the DIY community as is. That is because they are great guys, not because it helps their business. We should be mindful of that when asking them to help out.
3) Concentrate sharing. This is a great idea. For a mixer who wants to try a recipe with Flv Cream, but isn't sure whether they'll like it and don't want to buy a whole bottle to find out, being able to "borrow" someone else's Flv Cream to make a recipe on the day is a huge help. The trick is to balance it so that the better-equipped mixers don't get their rare and expensive concentrates exhausted and offered some awful unusable cheapie concentrate in return. Maybe the group could contribute towards a group buy of concentrates? Take the new JF concentrates as an example. They have received good reviews but many mixers are still hesitant to get them. Maybe if everybody chipped in R20, we could buy several JF flavours. A single 10ml bottle will make quite a few juices. The bottles can be passed around on the day, mixers can whip up a recipe using that flavour, and then have the personal experience to know whether that flavour works for them.
4) The PIF thing. PIF juice is problematic and I can fully understand the reluctance to give out juices when it is unclear what hygiene conditions prevailed when those juices were mixed. However, if juices are mixed on the day and experienced/pro mixers are in attendance and see it being mixed, we can be reasonably sure that adequate hygiene was maintained. It won't be "clean room" mixing conditions but I'm not sure it needs to be. However, this would need to be examined further. Still, I think the idea of mixing up juices on the day, having people sample them, then giving the remainder of the juice to less well-off smokers who want to quit is a noble cause.
5) Focus groups. Maybe each meet could have one particular flavour profile which is discussed. Let's take Strawberries as an example. There are many on the market and most top mixers will mix two or more strawberries together to create their own 'complete' profile. Ripe and Cap Sweet is one popular combo. But which one is best for me? Sure, I can make a whole bunch of different combos. But let's say I mix up 10ml of Inw Shisha and JF Sweet and I don't like it, 8ml of it goes down the drain. However, if I mix up 30ml of it and take it to a meet, 15 DIYers can each try 2ml of it. I, in turn, can try 15 other strawberry mixes. So everybody brings only one mix but gets to try a whole bunch and then make up their own minds which one works best for them. It's a very efficient way to try different combos without the legwork of doing everything yourself.
Even for single flavours, it's a huge help. There are so many creams and tobaccos on the market, which ones should a new mixer buy? Will I prefer FA Latakia or Inw French Pipe? Will I prefer Cap Vanilla Whipped Cream or FW Bavarian Cream? If 15 mixers each bring a 30ml tester of a single cream or tobacco flavour, the group can sample all of them and decide which ones work for them.
Anyway, just my .02. And then some.
Some random ideas from my side:
1) Vendor guest. Each meet could have one guest vendor in attendance. I believe business is always better when vendor and customers have met each other. The vendor could give a brief talk on his business, where he is going with it, what niche he is trying to fill. DIYers could then put forward suggestions or ask questions. It will help vendors and mixers to understand each other's needs better. Naturally, the vendor could bring some stock and sell it on the day. I also think this will be helpful to vendors who sell their own lines of local concentrates. DIYers are reluctant to try these as there are few recipes available. I'm sure these vendors have their own recipes which use only their local concentrates. So they could maybe bring a few different juices along which mixers could sample on the day. This could encourage mixers to support local concentrates.
2) Pro classes. I love the idea of commercial mixers giving talks and sharing ideas. However, we should remember that, for those who have their own commercial juice lines, DIY is reducing their customer base. Mixers like @method1, @Mike and others do a huge amount for the DIY community as is. That is because they are great guys, not because it helps their business. We should be mindful of that when asking them to help out.
3) Concentrate sharing. This is a great idea. For a mixer who wants to try a recipe with Flv Cream, but isn't sure whether they'll like it and don't want to buy a whole bottle to find out, being able to "borrow" someone else's Flv Cream to make a recipe on the day is a huge help. The trick is to balance it so that the better-equipped mixers don't get their rare and expensive concentrates exhausted and offered some awful unusable cheapie concentrate in return. Maybe the group could contribute towards a group buy of concentrates? Take the new JF concentrates as an example. They have received good reviews but many mixers are still hesitant to get them. Maybe if everybody chipped in R20, we could buy several JF flavours. A single 10ml bottle will make quite a few juices. The bottles can be passed around on the day, mixers can whip up a recipe using that flavour, and then have the personal experience to know whether that flavour works for them.
4) The PIF thing. PIF juice is problematic and I can fully understand the reluctance to give out juices when it is unclear what hygiene conditions prevailed when those juices were mixed. However, if juices are mixed on the day and experienced/pro mixers are in attendance and see it being mixed, we can be reasonably sure that adequate hygiene was maintained. It won't be "clean room" mixing conditions but I'm not sure it needs to be. However, this would need to be examined further. Still, I think the idea of mixing up juices on the day, having people sample them, then giving the remainder of the juice to less well-off smokers who want to quit is a noble cause.
5) Focus groups. Maybe each meet could have one particular flavour profile which is discussed. Let's take Strawberries as an example. There are many on the market and most top mixers will mix two or more strawberries together to create their own 'complete' profile. Ripe and Cap Sweet is one popular combo. But which one is best for me? Sure, I can make a whole bunch of different combos. But let's say I mix up 10ml of Inw Shisha and JF Sweet and I don't like it, 8ml of it goes down the drain. However, if I mix up 30ml of it and take it to a meet, 15 DIYers can each try 2ml of it. I, in turn, can try 15 other strawberry mixes. So everybody brings only one mix but gets to try a whole bunch and then make up their own minds which one works best for them. It's a very efficient way to try different combos without the legwork of doing everything yourself.
Even for single flavours, it's a huge help. There are so many creams and tobaccos on the market, which ones should a new mixer buy? Will I prefer FA Latakia or Inw French Pipe? Will I prefer Cap Vanilla Whipped Cream or FW Bavarian Cream? If 15 mixers each bring a 30ml tester of a single cream or tobacco flavour, the group can sample all of them and decide which ones work for them.
Anyway, just my .02. And then some.
Hi RichJB, what an amazing collection of ideas! Ok here is where I am at an my thinking on your points.I think the best way to ensure the success of such meets is to try and cover as many needs and angles as possible. If you're going to have a "learn how to mix" class for beginners, that's great and a good inducement for those interested in DIY to attend. But then maybe schedule that first so that mixers who already know how to mix will only pitch up to the meet an hour later when the class finishes.
Some random ideas from my side:
1) Vendor guest. Each meet could have one guest vendor in attendance. I believe business is always better when vendor and customers have met each other. The vendor could give a brief talk on his business, where he is going with it, what niche he is trying to fill. DIYers could then put forward suggestions or ask questions. It will help vendors and mixers to understand each other's needs better. Naturally, the vendor could bring some stock and sell it on the day. I also think this will be helpful to vendors who sell their own lines of local concentrates. DIYers are reluctant to try these as there are few recipes available. I'm sure these vendors have their own recipes which use only their local concentrates. So they could maybe bring a few different juices along which mixers could sample on the day. This could encourage mixers to support local concentrates.
2) Pro classes. I love the idea of commercial mixers giving talks and sharing ideas. However, we should remember that, for those who have their own commercial juice lines, DIY is reducing their customer base. Mixers like @method1, @Mike and others do a huge amount for the DIY community as is. That is because they are great guys, not because it helps their business. We should be mindful of that when asking them to help out.
3) Concentrate sharing. This is a great idea. For a mixer who wants to try a recipe with Flv Cream, but isn't sure whether they'll like it and don't want to buy a whole bottle to find out, being able to "borrow" someone else's Flv Cream to make a recipe on the day is a huge help. The trick is to balance it so that the better-equipped mixers don't get their rare and expensive concentrates exhausted and offered some awful unusable cheapie concentrate in return. Maybe the group could contribute towards a group buy of concentrates? Take the new JF concentrates as an example. They have received good reviews but many mixers are still hesitant to get them. Maybe if everybody chipped in R20, we could buy several JF flavours. A single 10ml bottle will make quite a few juices. The bottles can be passed around on the day, mixers can whip up a recipe using that flavour, and then have the personal experience to know whether that flavour works for them.
4) The PIF thing. PIF juice is problematic and I can fully understand the reluctance to give out juices when it is unclear what hygiene conditions prevailed when those juices were mixed. However, if juices are mixed on the day and experienced/pro mixers are in attendance and see it being mixed, we can be reasonably sure that adequate hygiene was maintained. It won't be "clean room" mixing conditions but I'm not sure it needs to be. However, this would need to be examined further. Still, I think the idea of mixing up juices on the day, having people sample them, then giving the remainder of the juice to less well-off smokers who want to quit is a noble cause.
5) Focus groups. Maybe each meet could have one particular flavour profile which is discussed. Let's take Strawberries as an example. There are many on the market and most top mixers will mix two or more strawberries together to create their own 'complete' profile. Ripe and Cap Sweet is one popular combo. But which one is best for me? Sure, I can make a whole bunch of different combos. But let's say I mix up 10ml of Inw Shisha and JF Sweet and I don't like it, 8ml of it goes down the drain. However, if I mix up 30ml of it and take it to a meet, 15 DIYers can each try 2ml of it. I, in turn, can try 15 other strawberry mixes. So everybody brings only one mix but gets to try a whole bunch and then make up their own minds which one works best for them. It's a very efficient way to try different combos without the legwork of doing everything yourself.
Even for single flavours, it's a huge help. There are so many creams and tobaccos on the market, which ones should a new mixer buy? Will I prefer FA Latakia or Inw French Pipe? Will I prefer Cap Vanilla Whipped Cream or FW Bavarian Cream? If 15 mixers each bring a 30ml tester of a single cream or tobacco flavour, the group can sample all of them and decide which ones work for them.
Anyway, just my .02. And then some.
1) I have reached out to a vendor about showcasing new and current products as well as giving a talk, we will discuss this further when we have a larger audience and are able to accommodate them as I would like to get as much benefit out of such an event and the fact that it will most likely have to be more than the proposed 3 hours.
2) Pro classes will most likely be a byproduct of this group eventually for those that want to become vendors, this I will leave to the discretion of experienced mixologists and how they would like to go about it in order not to infringe on their business. I will bring it up but I will not touch that with a 10 foot pole without proper guidance or consent.
3) My idea around this is as follows- Everyone brings their concentrates and marks the top in their own unique way with a star, heart, square etc with permanent marker if they wish
this way at all times we will know who's concentrate is who's. I have round circle stickers that are available for everyone to use by sticking them on the concentrate they are willing to share. These stickers can be removed easily afterwards or when they feel like it. 4) I would have to open up a further conversation about this, this is a good point. This might have to be an "at own risk" Scenario until ground rules are set as a group. This will definitely have to be brought up in the first meetup to establish such rules that will be posted on this thread.
5) I think that this is something that should be part of every event, that is a fantastic idea as it can also be demonstrated via smell. This is why I find it to be very important to include those more experienced.
Thank you sooooooo much for all of this input, this is the kind of suggestions that will benefit such a gathering greatly setting it apart from people just getting together to vape their own juices
Brilliant Suggestions!I think the best way to ensure the success of such meets is to try and cover as many needs and angles as possible. If you're going to have a "learn how to mix" class for beginners, that's great and a good inducement for those interested in DIY to attend. But then maybe schedule that first so that mixers who already know how to mix will only pitch up to the meet an hour later when the class finishes.
Some random ideas from my side:
1) Vendor guest. Each meet could have one guest vendor in attendance. I believe business is always better when vendor and customers have met each other. The vendor could give a brief talk on his business, where he is going with it, what niche he is trying to fill. DIYers could then put forward suggestions or ask questions. It will help vendors and mixers to understand each other's needs better. Naturally, the vendor could bring some stock and sell it on the day. I also think this will be helpful to vendors who sell their own lines of local concentrates. DIYers are reluctant to try these as there are few recipes available. I'm sure these vendors have their own recipes which use only their local concentrates. So they could maybe bring a few different juices along which mixers could sample on the day. This could encourage mixers to support local concentrates.
2) Pro classes. I love the idea of commercial mixers giving talks and sharing ideas. However, we should remember that, for those who have their own commercial juice lines, DIY is reducing their customer base. Mixers like @method1, @Mike and others do a huge amount for the DIY community as is. That is because they are great guys, not because it helps their business. We should be mindful of that when asking them to help out.
3) Concentrate sharing. This is a great idea. For a mixer who wants to try a recipe with Flv Cream, but isn't sure whether they'll like it and don't want to buy a whole bottle to find out, being able to "borrow" someone else's Flv Cream to make a recipe on the day is a huge help. The trick is to balance it so that the better-equipped mixers don't get their rare and expensive concentrates exhausted and offered some awful unusable cheapie concentrate in return. Maybe the group could contribute towards a group buy of concentrates? Take the new JF concentrates as an example. They have received good reviews but many mixers are still hesitant to get them. Maybe if everybody chipped in R20, we could buy several JF flavours. A single 10ml bottle will make quite a few juices. The bottles can be passed around on the day, mixers can whip up a recipe using that flavour, and then have the personal experience to know whether that flavour works for them.
4) The PIF thing. PIF juice is problematic and I can fully understand the reluctance to give out juices when it is unclear what hygiene conditions prevailed when those juices were mixed. However, if juices are mixed on the day and experienced/pro mixers are in attendance and see it being mixed, we can be reasonably sure that adequate hygiene was maintained. It won't be "clean room" mixing conditions but I'm not sure it needs to be. However, this would need to be examined further. Still, I think the idea of mixing up juices on the day, having people sample them, then giving the remainder of the juice to less well-off smokers who want to quit is a noble cause.
5) Focus groups. Maybe each meet could have one particular flavour profile which is discussed. Let's take Strawberries as an example. There are many on the market and most top mixers will mix two or more strawberries together to create their own 'complete' profile. Ripe and Cap Sweet is one popular combo. But which one is best for me? Sure, I can make a whole bunch of different combos. But let's say I mix up 10ml of Inw Shisha and JF Sweet and I don't like it, 8ml of it goes down the drain. However, if I mix up 30ml of it and take it to a meet, 15 DIYers can each try 2ml of it. I, in turn, can try 15 other strawberry mixes. So everybody brings only one mix but gets to try a whole bunch and then make up their own minds which one works best for them. It's a very efficient way to try different combos without the legwork of doing everything yourself.
Even for single flavours, it's a huge help. There are so many creams and tobaccos on the market, which ones should a new mixer buy? Will I prefer FA Latakia or Inw French Pipe? Will I prefer Cap Vanilla Whipped Cream or FW Bavarian Cream? If 15 mixers each bring a 30ml tester of a single cream or tobacco flavour, the group can sample all of them and decide which ones work for them.
Anyway, just my .02. And then some.
I quite like the idea of concentrate sharing. It's simply just impossible to try everything out there, this way everybody could try something he/she doesn't have. If something gets organised I will most definitely attempt to be there
I quite like the idea of concentrate sharing. It's simply just impossible to try everything out there, this way everybody could try something he/she doesn't have. If something gets organised I will most definitely attempt to be there
even if i could just get a smell of the concentrate, in most cases that would be enough for me to know if i want to pursue it or not
haha I don't know hey, CAP NY Cheesecake smell like feet out the bottle, 2 weeks later and its actually bloody good. I hear you though
I will even share some of my finest "taste-like-burnt-rubber" recipes
I fully agree, how many people out there sit with almost full concentrates because one of their recipes only required a couple of drops.I quite like the idea of concentrate sharing. It's simply just impossible to try everything out there, this way everybody could try something he/she doesn't have. If something gets organised I will most definitely attempt to be there
I'm really interested in pairings. What creams to use when? What flavours accent which fruit flavours? How to stop flavour fading? How to taste Strawberry again? Why my Rhodonite doesn't taste as good as I expected after my wife sprayed Tabbard right next to me while I was mixing?
And I'd love to try some mixed tobacco and flavours that are not ADV, but amazing none-the-less.
It would also be great to try premium e-liquid (paid for, of course) without going to a vape store and feeling like a freeloader if you taste more than 3 juices (not the vape store's fault, it's mine). So perhaps pay R50 and get a dripper or two full of each flavour to taste the entire range. I would love to experience the range of flavour profiles out there instead of sticking to what I know in the Fruit and Dessert circles.
Also, I think the @Moose Juice guys are in Greenstone as well.
And I'd love to try some mixed tobacco and flavours that are not ADV, but amazing none-the-less.
It would also be great to try premium e-liquid (paid for, of course) without going to a vape store and feeling like a freeloader if you taste more than 3 juices (not the vape store's fault, it's mine). So perhaps pay R50 and get a dripper or two full of each flavour to taste the entire range. I would love to experience the range of flavour profiles out there instead of sticking to what I know in the Fruit and Dessert circles.
Also, I think the @Moose Juice guys are in Greenstone as well.
The First meetup will be
4th February 2017
14:00 - 17:00
Greenstone Hill - East Rand
For those interested to attend, please send me a direct message for further details
Do:
1) Bring your own mixing equipment, Concentrates, juices, RDA's and drippers for tastings
2) Bring along your favourite recipes
3) Make a list of questions, inquiries or recommendations you would like to ask fellow DIYers or give input on improving future meetups
4) Bring along Vapes you are proud of and want to share
5) Bring a bag of chips or a soda
6) Come with a can-do attitude
Don't:
1) Be afraid to ask questions
2) Feel unsure or unprepared that this might be for you, this is to help each other out in the long run.
3) Bring along extra people that were not communicated beforehand (limited space)
MOST IMPORTANTLY LETS HAVE FUN
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That's a bummer, at least we will have more to come
Awesome! Greenstone is like 10 minutes from us. Thanks for hosting @Bunnypoison - really generous of you. I'll just double check but I'm pretty sure there isn't anything planned for the 4th. If there is space I'm sure the wife would love to join too so cordially requesting a +1 from my side? Will confirm attendance for definite via PM though?
Love all the suggestions so far and I think the clubbing in to buy concentrates is a fantastic idea.
Might be a good idea to get all attendees on a Whatsapp group so that organisation and chatting going forward is a bit easier and doesn't clog the forum/thread up?
Love all the suggestions so far and I think the clubbing in to buy concentrates is a fantastic idea.
Might be a good idea to get all attendees on a Whatsapp group so that organisation and chatting going forward is a bit easier and doesn't clog the forum/thread up?
Hi guys
Enjoy the upcoming DIY meet
I have discussed a few things with @Bunnypoison and have tried to help advise where possible.
We want to see pictures and get a report back of what you mixologists came up with
If this does not happen, I will have to summon the finesmaster
Please continue sharing the DIY knowledge gained - in the spirit of the forum - for all to share.
Enjoy the upcoming DIY meet
I have discussed a few things with @Bunnypoison and have tried to help advise where possible.
We want to see pictures and get a report back of what you mixologists came up with
If this does not happen, I will have to summon the finesmaster
Please continue sharing the DIY knowledge gained - in the spirit of the forum - for all to share.
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Bringing a plus one is welcomed
will be great to meet you both.Regarding a WhatsApp group, even though communication would be quicker and more convenient I would not want it to become a platform for discussion as people might want to join the conversations from the forum and might miss out on valuable input from members.
If it will only be used for arrangements for confirmed attendees then we could look into a group per event
.Cool, this is a few minutes from me. Still got space for another?
Thats great, yes we still have seven spaces left
That's ok, we will post everything we learnt, discussed and mixed so you wont miss out on everything. Will be great to se you at the next meet
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