WaterShapes World Blog

Marilyn and Watershaping
    A comment I’ve been anticipating (and dreading) has recently crossed my desk. It came from a reader who expressed exasperation with our newsletter’s use of celebrity-centered items; she was particularly offended by our link to a generous dose of Marilyn Monroe’s skin in a recent edition of “Ripples.”   I’m sorry that any offense was taken, but it’s a plain fact that items like these get people to 
Brighter Future or Wishful Thinking?
I’ve spent considerable time in recent days chatting with watershapers about the way things are going — just touching base with old friends, mostly. These conversations generally start with curiosity about
We Promise to Keep You Posted
Several people have called me in recent weeks with best wishes and, above all, questions about what the future holds for our magazine, WaterShapes. That’s a reasonable inquiry, and the honest answer is
Embraced by Yosemite
I’ve just returned from a mini-break in which my wife Judy and I and two friends spent two-and-a-half days scrambling around Yosemite National Park. Six months ago, we had reserved a campsite near Lake May, thinking
The Path to Better Times
I know for a fact that there are better times ahead for professionals who design and build with water. How? Well, it has nothing to do with psychic powers or a crystal ball. Rather, I know because my own experiences both as a child and an adult tell me
Recall the Drains Themselves!
The commercial pool and spa industrywas rocked recently by the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s mandatory recall of main-drain grates — devices that had been designed, engineered and manufactured within the past two years to meet specific provisions
Keeping It Clean: 21st Century Water Management
By Eric Herman It’s a given: As human beings, we are all utterly dependent on the availability of fresh, clear, potable water for our survival. As a result, the preservation of aquatic resources of all types is an interest in which all people should share. At the same time,
Are You Embracing the Total Outdoor Experience?
Now that it is generally accepted by experts, economists and pundits that the recession has come to an end, there’s a great deal of curiosity about what the recovery will look like and, more specifically in these parts, about how
The Ugly Truth About Spas
By Jim McCloskey As someone who sat in a spa for the first time in 1970 and has relaxed in a great many of them through the years, I have to confess that I’m not a fan of most I see physically attached to swimming pools. Yes, I love the way they feel when
Welcome to Our New Blog!
WaterShapes started 12 years ago as the result of a lengthy round of discussions between Eric Herman and me — an exchange of ideas that has