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As 2008 draws to a close, it's apparent that we are contending with a far more challenging marketplace than we enjoyed just a couple years ago. Current economic woes have cut deeply into bottom lines, forced some watershapers out of business and prompted many others to seek out ways to maximize the business and referrals that come their way. With this challenging business landscape in mind, I recently picked up a copy of Seth Godin's Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable (Penguin Group, 2002). Godin, the best-selling author of 10 books, is well-known for challenging the conventional thinking that constrains many businesses. Although this particular book was written before the recent downturn in the world and U.S. economies, his message in this easily read 150-page discussion is quite applicable to today's situation - particularly among watershapers who want to enhance their approach to the business. Godin's discussion starts out with an account of a trip to the French countryside, during which he was
I hadn't planned on breaking away from my coverage of the National CAD Standard anytime soon, but recent events - including the arrest of a pool builder on charges of manslaughter in a suction-entrapment incident - compelled me to do otherwise. As I started composing this column, my plan was to call it "Entrapment Rundown" and make it a straightforward, positive summary of recent changes in codes and systems related to suction entrapment. As I dug more deeply into the topic, however, I found the issues and solutions to be much more confusing than I'd anticipated - so much so that
I hadn't planned on breaking away from my coverage of the National CAD Standard anytime soon, but recent events - including the arrest of a pool builder on charges of manslaughter in a suction-entrapment incident - compelled me to do otherwise. As I started composing this column, my plan was to call it "Entrapment Rundown" and make it a straightforward, positive summary of recent changes in codes and systems related to suction entrapment. As I dug more deeply into the topic, however, I found the issues and solutions to be much more confusing than I'd anticipated - so much so that
Last month, I introduced my rundown on books I like to have at hand in my studio by mentioning a project that included a pool, an outdoor kitchen, stone walls, a fire pit and some other amenities. A feature I didn't mention - but one that may well be unique for a backyard in upstate New York - was the Peruvian Travertine we chose for use around the pool. While decking material seldom takes center stage in a design, its high visibility tends to make it more than just a bit player. Indeed, the choice of a material can either
Last month, I introduced my rundown on books I like to have at hand in my studio by mentioning a project that included a pool, an outdoor kitchen, stone walls, a fire pit and some other amenities. A feature I didn't mention - but one that may well be unique for a backyard in upstate New York - was the Peruvian Travertine we chose for use around the pool. While decking material seldom takes center stage in a design, its high visibility tends to make it more than just a bit player. Indeed, the choice of a material can either
Ten years ago, back when WaterShapes was in its infancy, the idea that swimming pools and spas had much in common with other forms of contained water (including ponds, fountains and streams) was a true novelty: All of those worlds seemed light years apart. In this past decade, however, things have changed and there's now widespread recognition that these seemingly disparate aquatic categories do indeed share many important characteristics and challenges. All of these systems contain water, for example, and circulate it in such ways that it stays safely clear and clean. All can be beautiful as well, whether they
Ten years ago, back when WaterShapes was in its infancy, the idea that swimming pools and spas had much in common with other forms of contained water (including ponds, fountains and streams) was a true novelty: All of those worlds seemed light years apart. In this past decade, however, things have changed and there's now widespread recognition that these seemingly disparate aquatic categories do indeed share many important characteristics and challenges. All of these systems contain water, for example, and circulate it in such ways that it stays safely clear and clean. All can be beautiful as well, whether they
It's common knowledge that getting into any body of water - large, small, natural, man-made - involves a certain level of risk. Despite all the healthful benefits of water recreation, despite all of the immense psychological and even spiritual appeal of even being in water's presence, the brutal truth is that, in certain conditions, simply
It's common knowledge that getting into any body of water - large, small, natural, man-made - involves a certain level of risk. Despite all the healthful benefits of water recreation, despite all of the immense psychological and even spiritual appeal of even being in water's presence, the brutal truth is that, in certain conditions, simply
In pre-Colonial days, the neck of the woods now known as Longwood Gardens was a hunting ground for the Lenni Lenape tribe, who prized the area for the richness of its game and timber. Once the British arrived, the land moved under the control of William Penn, founder (and namesake) of Pennsylvania, who sold it to a Quaker family by the name of Pierce in the year 1700. The family farmed the property until 1798, when Joshua and Samuel Pierce began planting an arboretum and the space that would one day become Longwood Gardens was born. Those of us living in the Philadelphia area have long enjoyed the privilege of having this resource in nearby Kennett Square, Pa. It's an amazing place, and I find my way there often because it seems that each time I go, there's something
