catherine demorvan

Hi,

I'm setting up a pottery in an old school, on a hill.

Does anyone have any experience of setting up a shop / studio from which one sells things? I'm particularly concerned about any handicapped access rules as the old classroom I'm going to be using as a studio has two steps down into it.

dennerlymum

are there handicapped access rules in France??

As the daughter of a disabled father in a wheelchair and so being very aware of these things I cant think of one local building that my father could access easily and an awful lot that he couldn't access at all!

I have no idea where they hide all the disabled people in France but you never see any either!

dmu

Hi
You'll have to get yourself registered if you sell your creations or teach pottery, so your Mairie will be able to give you all the info at the same time, including "Health & Safety" regulations, and point you towards the pertinent Chambre des Métiers/Commerce of your Région or Auto-Entrepreneur organisation for registration.
Good luck!

Ka Ora!

Welcome to the Forum, if the steps are down hill then it's pretty accessible I know in our local town a wheel chair can't even get on the pavement let alone into a shop.

catherine demorvan

I have a vague idea that the handicapped access rules only apply to new businesses _ so that they are at a cost disadvantage to existing ones to keep the unemployment rate as high as possible!

Though I also have a feeling that some rules don't apply to autoentrepeneurs...but auto_ents can't set any costs off against revenue, which is OK for teaching English, but not much fun if one needs to invest in equipment and doing up a point de vente.

dmu

Hi,
Feelings and ideas aren't enough in bureaucratic France, so, you should ask those who know about all these regulations, i.e. your Mairie or even the Pompiers.
Accessibility for handicapped people doesn't mean simply easy entrance for shopping, but rapid exit in the event of a fire, which is why regulations are strict.
Good luck in your venture! You're in a beautiful part of France!

balding_potter

Hi Catherine - good luck with the project - I'm also setting up a pottery this year, in the south of the Correze (near Beaulieu sur Dordogne). I'll be slowly converting a barn into a salle d'exposition of sorts - but the workshop comes first! Best of luck ~ Bryan.