Contractor Expectations
Elev8 Premier is a team of blowers that have a goal to be GREAT in their craft. The ultimate goal here is making money to make dreams come true. While we wish money did not make the world how it is, we also need to make this system work for us all the way it is. We are firm believers in
TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
Everyone is equal here at Elev8 Premier, but we are separated by our skills. This trade is very hard for us all. Some get the skills fast, some slower and we all have different styles. Elev8 Premier is a production glass studio focused on quality and design. So, the artistic desire part comes naturally to the team. Here the team is a group of people that are not artists, and not craftsmen, but a combination of the two. The main focus is craftsmanship, as that will always translate to exceptional art.
If you are here reading this, we thank you so much for your interest in helping us reach our dreams, and we hope to help you reach yours. Steve is here to make a dream come true, and we hope to grow with you. Dreams are fucking hard, so there are great expectations from all that want to be a part of Elev8 Premier.
Expectations are one of the things we feel we have the hardest time communicating well. This should help us all be efficient in learning, growing, and earning.
- Learning the parts
- It is your responsibility to learn the parts on your time. We are here to help you grow efficiently as possible. Our team works standard hours of operation (7-4) and teaching is best done in the first half of the day for guided assistance.
- Parts will be inspected no more than every other part. Most parts being learned will be inspected after it is completed for as many times it takes until the part becomes a habit. A habit is formed over repetition many many times. After the part is formed to a habit, then you will be free to make the part as you see fit.
- You are responsible for delivering parts that meet the minimum quality requirements of Elev8 Premier. This will be the sample that you have and MUST use EVERY time you make a part. Trust us, no sample will lead to a veered path which is no good for any of us. We can not sell 2nds in our products, only firsts. This is why we are called Premier.
- If you are taking Elev8 Premier raw parts and you ruin the raw parts, you will be responsible for replacing them at your cost.
Expectations In The Studio
Elev8 Premier can be a very fun and laid-back place to work but it’s important to remember that it is a job and should be treated as such.
- Your parts are the focus here
- Communicate with the Glass Manager if you plan to take a break making parts, we are now relying on you.
- If you make a mess, you clean the mess
- Dishes are done after you eat. Never leave them for later, you WILL forget.
- If you spill anything, make a mess in the microwave, CLEAN IT UP.
- If you piss on the toilet (seat or rim (ALWAYS LIFT THE SEAT)) clean it up. It is no one’s job to clean up after your mess, nor are you responsible for anyone else’s mess.
- If you are not happy with anything, tell the Glass Manager immediately, or we can not fix anything and this becomes a problem that you are now a part of, when you could have been the one to help solve it
It’s important to remember that typically contractors bring an experienced level of skills that with little to no training can complete a task at an acceptable level of quality and then are paid for their services.
We feel this is as simple as the situation can be.
Now from there things can go a lot of different directions depending on how much you want to be a part of Premier. We fully encourage you to embrace us, everything we are doing and become as valuable of an individual as you can be. Being a true asset to us makes you family.
We feel the more time you spend with us helping with production, hosting classes, participating and helping with events all helps earn you some of that personal torch time. But what is fair? How do we all know and agree on what’s what? How is training time reimbursed by the contractor if they need to be brought up to speed in their skills?
The following is a basic chart for work put in = time that can be earned through doing so: This also takes into account that you have been paid and earned money for the time you have put in for Elev8 Premier that week.
- Premier will supply all materials needed to complete these tasks.
- We will pay 20% more than what typical employees would make as you will need to pay your own taxes later.
- Free of any obligation to each other, more work can be given or stopped at any time.
Because you are responsible for your skills you will only be compensated for parts that meet the high standards set forth by Elev8 Premier.
So if you are still reading this congratulations!! You ARE a part of a growing team!!
What to expect from Elev8 Premier:
- Be there for your training of the project you want to take on as piecework part. We want you to be as fast as possible, but it must be no less than the sample provided so we will do all we can to help you achieve this
- A clean working studio if you are working in our shop
- To be paid for your work on the agreed amount and timeframe
- To expect only the highest quality of work. This can be tough for all, as the Elev8 Premier team grows, so does their expectations of quality. We started in 2004, so we have learned a lot of what not to do and want to pass it on.
We are dedicated to make parts for the Silver Surfer vaporizer. This is where we started back in 2004. Learn more about us Elev8. Learn more about the SSV idea here
See the full doc here
Example
| Typical production = Knobs,WPAs,H/Cs,Wands | |||||
| Advanced production = Pipe production, Heavy Lathe work (Butter sleeving,vac stack,logs) | |||||
| Hours worked (Typical Production) | |||||
| 8 | 16+ | 24+ | 32+ | 40+ | |
| Hours earned | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| Hours worked (Advanced production) | |||||
| 8 | 16+ | 24+ | 32+ | 40+ | |
| Hours earned | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| Host an LAE Class (within 1 week) | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| Hours earned | .5 | 1 | 1.5 | 2 | |
| Work an event (actively help) w/preparing food, setting up tents, tearing down and clean up 6 hours donated | |||||
| Hours earned | 4 | ||||
Now that we know how time can be earned, what is considered your time on the torch?
It’s just that, you doing your own thing.
If you’re working on learning/perfecting a Premier part that is Premier time and you will not be (charged) for it. However it might not build your time either. But you need to build your skills, so you must learn to manage this and build your skills first, then work on your time. Having skills will earn you more money, as well as making your adventure in your glass more rewarding.
Time building your hours should be good productive hours for us.
Now that we should understand time on the torch better, We need to figure out what materials are being used and who owns those. The simple answer to that is Premier. Unless the glass has been purchased by you before the piece was made Premier will always have first rights to your glass. You may have used your time on the torch and hopefully created something fresh but the glass is still considered ours until an agreement has been made.
If you make a piece on your time but use Elev8 Premier materials all we ask is your to make 2. One for you, and one for Premier. If you do this, the piece you make for Elev8 Premier will not count towardstoward your earned time. This is only for close friends and family. Any other glass items should be brought to Elev8 Premier to produce.
What kind of agreement? We want to pay you for your glass of course!!!
If the quality of your glass is up to our standards we would love to buy it.
If the glass falls short of our standards you may owe us for materials. So it might be a good idea to stay in your comfort zone if you’re looking for us to buy it.
If you 100% want to make a piece for yourself, a friend, family member or even just to sell on your own the best thing to do would be to purchase the glass materials before the piece is made. Once you complete it, it’s yours! Or you can make a second one to give to Premier and you can use Elev8’s materials.
If you’re using our materials you may be told what you can and what can not be used based upon your skill level. We don’t like buying unnecessary failures because you went too far outside your skill set. You lose time, we lose materials…no one wins. Unnecessary failures may result in you buying what ended up in the water bowl.
If we refuse to buy an item but you believe you can sell it.
- Can we do that? ABSOLUTELY!! We will need 20% for material money if sold outside of Premier.
- 40% if it was an in house sale (a sale made possible by Premier such as any customer that comes into Elev8 Premier, any item sold to a customer from an LAE class, or any other way that could be from Elev8 Premier bringing in a sale for you)
- This number may vary a bit depending on the piece.
- We want you to win. We’ll just need our material money out of it so this can be looked at case by case.
Can you use torch time earned for materials trade?
- No, this option would leave too many things to keep track of.
- We will be happy to extend family rates to you for raw materials.