A: Well, not as readily available as we’d wish. Referring to the
question above, maybe having the right stock available at the right
time could be one of the biggest challenges we face. I think for most
modders who are just starting out, “waiting lists” and “secret groups”
are simply born out of necessity. They’re not only creating consumer
products, many of them create art, one of a kind pieces that stand
out with their beauty, ingenuity or clever design and these cannot be
made in quantities that satisfy the demand.
Q: What are the biggest changes you have seen in the vaping industry
since your company was founded?
A: Vaping at the core has remained the same. It’s about helping
people to quit smoking and to stay off cigarettes. Naturally we
have seen the industry develop and the community grow from an
underground culture to a mainstream phenomenon. And with that
we’ve seen all the positive and negative changes you’d expect.
We’ve seen companies becoming more professional, but also more
business orientated. We’ve seen vaping getting traction in countries
we’d not have expected while the community in other countries
suffers under restrictive regulation and the lack of a long term vision
of their governments.
Q: What is the product development process like at SvoëMesto?
How long does it usually take to go from concept to a market-ready
fi nished product?
A: The development of a new product usually goes through 5-10
prototype stages and each stage is tested in the real world under
all kinds of conditions – from the freezing cold to hot summer
days, from the valley to the mountain tops. Whenever we fi nd an
unwanted behaviour of the atomizer, we analyse it and develop the
next prototype from there. During this the changes from prototype to
prototype become smaller and smaller the further we progress until
eventually we arrive at the fi ne tuning, which includes haptic, noise
and of course the fi nal flavour profi le. Although we have learned a lot
with every project, this process still takes up to two years and many
ideas and projects we started have never been released to the public.
Q: New MTL tanks are often measured against Kayfun series
products as a way of describing their vape quality. Does this increase
the pressure on your engineers and designers?
A: When Sergey started making his fi rst mods his aspiration was
to create a device that would suit his needs. To a degree this idea
has prevailed in that we’re still creating atomizers that we also like to
use every day. And we’re incredibly lucky to have a large community
that shares our taste. Naturally we have very high standards for our
products that we’re continuously try to meet and raise with every
product generation and we really enjoy the challenge in that.
Q: What does a typical day for the SvoëMesto team look like?
A: There is no such thing as a typical day here. During a new product
release, it’s quite hectic, products have to be made on time, delivery
schedules have to be met, photos have to be taken, texts have to
be written, videos have to be produced, etc. In the summer months
when everyone is going on vacation it usually becomes a bit quieter.
Q: Do you or your team own any high-end devices made by other
companies? If so, which are your favourites and why?
A: We do. In fact, Eugen has quite the collection. Beyond that we have
a very friendly relationship with our main competitors and regularly
exchange atomizers as gifts. We like their work and I think they like
ours as well.
Q: It is well known that your company does not rush to release too
many products at one time. Is there anything you can reveal about
what is coming next?
A: We wish we could offer more products at a time and in the last
year we have made a considerable effort to offer a wider palette of
atomizers, from MTL to DL, from entry level models all the way to
very high end. As of right now I cannot tell you any specifi cs but we’re
working to expand this palette by another product category, which
we haven’t had yet.
VM25 227