Doodlebug
Postman
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2012
- Messages
- 126
I am not she, and not worthy of sharing her name (may she be praised forever!). Kate (the nun) has done some truly wonderful work for the cause over the years, and I have had the benefit of her wise words in the past on several occasions. I gather she has taken a bit of a step back in recent months, but I will always appreciate everything she did for this community when it was still very new.
To differentiate, I am generally known as Katherine (or Kath, if peeps insist! *sigh*) and I'm the one who runs the Trade Association, ECITA. My many and varied conflicts of interest have been widely discussed, but for clarity, I'll set them out here, so that everyone is up to speed, and can choose to ignore any and everything I say if they feel I am too conflicted to be allowed to have opinions!
(*removes tongue from cheek before continuing...*)
OK, so here goes:
My business is called V K Consulting Ltd. I used to trade as V K Consulting before discovering vaping 3 and a half years ago. Originally, VKC was set up to help small businesses with document preparation, letter writing, and 'translations' of legal gubbins, since I used to work as a legal secretary, and have a deep-seated passion for language - how it's constructed, how it's used, how it is MISused, etc. When vaping came into my life, I began working with vendors on the legal challenges faced by this industry, and this eventually led to the formation of ECITA - largely thanks to Simon of Liberro, who devised the idea with me in the first place, and of course, all the other Founding Members who supported our 'little idea'. VKC manages and operates ECITA (EU) Ltd for and on behalf of its members, and ECTA of Canada for the members over there.
The 'K' is for Katherine, but the 'V' comes first because, originally, VKC was a shared idea between myself and my life-long friend and surrogate sister, Vivi. She has long since moved on to become a teacher, and is doing very well, but she (morally, rather than financially!) supported my continuing with the business.
Tom Pruen (Crossbow) joined VKC shortly after we met (and fell in love *aww*) at the first Vapefest. He used to be a moderator on UKV, and was instrumental in helping Jackie and the rest of the team to set up that great institution (may it rest in peace - it is sorely missed by so many of us!). When we incorporated last year, he and I were both set up as Directors of the company. (This was largely to protect the business, because I was extremely ill with leukemia, and we had grave concerns that I wasn't going to make it through last year. :O Mercifully, I am in complete remission at the moment, and fighting fit, so all is well.)
At some point, we hope to be able to take a salary from VKC, but it isn't possible yet. Along with our staff pay, I do pay Tom a small amount each month, for the historical wages he earned right at the beginning, before we incorporated, but salaries aren't possible for us yet.
VKC invoices ECITA (EU) Ltd on a monthly basis, but this barely covers the expenses (although we hope it will soon, especially now that the fees are at a more realistic level). Neither Tom nor I are Directors of ECITA (or ECTA), but I do have a 5% shareholding in ECITA, which I was given in exchange for several months of unpaid work in the early stages. Neither Tom nor I receives a salary or wage from ECITA directly, nor will we ever do so. Eventually, VKC will pay us a salary, which will come from ECITA/ECTA money, but ECITA makes no direct payments to staff.
My brother is Peter Cole (Nick O'Teen) of Decadent Vapours Ltd. He is a Founding Member of ECITA, and is on that Board of Directors. He asked me to become a Director of DV last year when his General Manager left under acrimonious circumstances. I checked with the (then) members of ECITA, and no-one raised any objections. I am not involved in the sales side of things for DV, but simply help out with the business management. Pete would be the first to admit that he is not a business man! He's a genius mad scientist, though.
Since I had to move to Swansea (where DV is based) to be able to assist Pete, and fulfill my obligations as a Director of DV, Tom and I decided to relocate VKC to Swansea too. Pete was kind enough to give us separate office space in one of his units, so that we can work separately from DV when necessary, but can be available when needed. Tom is also employed by DV, as Technical Adviser to the Lab. Since he is a chemistry graduate, this makes a lot of sense (as does his involvement with VKC!)
If we were not receiving salaries from DV, I doubt if ECITA could have survived as long as it has, to be honest. But fortunately, this mutually-beneficial arrangement allows us to get all the work done.
Finally, part of my passion for the work I do - designed, as it is, to protect everyone's freedom to choose whether to smoke, vape or do neither - undoubtedly stems from the fact that my husband died of cancer at the age of 31, leaving me with 2 young children and one on the way. I was also 31 at the time. It has taken most of the last ten years to come to terms with this.
I now have 4 children, Tom, my work, and my remission, so life is good.
I guess that's pretty much it: conflicted up to my eyeballs (if you choose to see it that way), or with enough motivation to roll up my sleeves and get stuck in (if you prefer). When people take 'shots' at me, and/or my work, I tend to stay quiet. They often end up looking foolish anyway, and I would rather let my work speak for itself. If it's not good enough, I can only apologise. If you like it, all the better.
Thanks for making me so welcome here.
Happy vaping, one and all!
Cheers,
Katherine
To differentiate, I am generally known as Katherine (or Kath, if peeps insist! *sigh*) and I'm the one who runs the Trade Association, ECITA. My many and varied conflicts of interest have been widely discussed, but for clarity, I'll set them out here, so that everyone is up to speed, and can choose to ignore any and everything I say if they feel I am too conflicted to be allowed to have opinions!
(*removes tongue from cheek before continuing...*)OK, so here goes:
My business is called V K Consulting Ltd. I used to trade as V K Consulting before discovering vaping 3 and a half years ago. Originally, VKC was set up to help small businesses with document preparation, letter writing, and 'translations' of legal gubbins, since I used to work as a legal secretary, and have a deep-seated passion for language - how it's constructed, how it's used, how it is MISused, etc. When vaping came into my life, I began working with vendors on the legal challenges faced by this industry, and this eventually led to the formation of ECITA - largely thanks to Simon of Liberro, who devised the idea with me in the first place, and of course, all the other Founding Members who supported our 'little idea'. VKC manages and operates ECITA (EU) Ltd for and on behalf of its members, and ECTA of Canada for the members over there.
The 'K' is for Katherine, but the 'V' comes first because, originally, VKC was a shared idea between myself and my life-long friend and surrogate sister, Vivi. She has long since moved on to become a teacher, and is doing very well, but she (morally, rather than financially!) supported my continuing with the business.
Tom Pruen (Crossbow) joined VKC shortly after we met (and fell in love *aww*) at the first Vapefest. He used to be a moderator on UKV, and was instrumental in helping Jackie and the rest of the team to set up that great institution (may it rest in peace - it is sorely missed by so many of us!). When we incorporated last year, he and I were both set up as Directors of the company. (This was largely to protect the business, because I was extremely ill with leukemia, and we had grave concerns that I wasn't going to make it through last year. :O Mercifully, I am in complete remission at the moment, and fighting fit, so all is well.)
At some point, we hope to be able to take a salary from VKC, but it isn't possible yet. Along with our staff pay, I do pay Tom a small amount each month, for the historical wages he earned right at the beginning, before we incorporated, but salaries aren't possible for us yet.
VKC invoices ECITA (EU) Ltd on a monthly basis, but this barely covers the expenses (although we hope it will soon, especially now that the fees are at a more realistic level). Neither Tom nor I are Directors of ECITA (or ECTA), but I do have a 5% shareholding in ECITA, which I was given in exchange for several months of unpaid work in the early stages. Neither Tom nor I receives a salary or wage from ECITA directly, nor will we ever do so. Eventually, VKC will pay us a salary, which will come from ECITA/ECTA money, but ECITA makes no direct payments to staff.
My brother is Peter Cole (Nick O'Teen) of Decadent Vapours Ltd. He is a Founding Member of ECITA, and is on that Board of Directors. He asked me to become a Director of DV last year when his General Manager left under acrimonious circumstances. I checked with the (then) members of ECITA, and no-one raised any objections. I am not involved in the sales side of things for DV, but simply help out with the business management. Pete would be the first to admit that he is not a business man! He's a genius mad scientist, though.
Since I had to move to Swansea (where DV is based) to be able to assist Pete, and fulfill my obligations as a Director of DV, Tom and I decided to relocate VKC to Swansea too. Pete was kind enough to give us separate office space in one of his units, so that we can work separately from DV when necessary, but can be available when needed. Tom is also employed by DV, as Technical Adviser to the Lab. Since he is a chemistry graduate, this makes a lot of sense (as does his involvement with VKC!)
If we were not receiving salaries from DV, I doubt if ECITA could have survived as long as it has, to be honest. But fortunately, this mutually-beneficial arrangement allows us to get all the work done.
Finally, part of my passion for the work I do - designed, as it is, to protect everyone's freedom to choose whether to smoke, vape or do neither - undoubtedly stems from the fact that my husband died of cancer at the age of 31, leaving me with 2 young children and one on the way. I was also 31 at the time. It has taken most of the last ten years to come to terms with this.
I now have 4 children, Tom, my work, and my remission, so life is good.
I guess that's pretty much it: conflicted up to my eyeballs (if you choose to see it that way), or with enough motivation to roll up my sleeves and get stuck in (if you prefer). When people take 'shots' at me, and/or my work, I tend to stay quiet. They often end up looking foolish anyway, and I would rather let my work speak for itself. If it's not good enough, I can only apologise. If you like it, all the better.
Thanks for making me so welcome here.
Happy vaping, one and all!
Cheers,
Katherine
