growth
Before I write my end-of-year blogs, it's generally been my habit to take a look at my last year-ending thoughts to get a sense of how on (or off) target I was and figure out what I need to do to refine my prognostications for the current version. For the most part, I usually don't find anything dramatic, but this year was
In uploading this set of newsletter articles to the WaterShapes database, I was struck by the fact that two of them involve large measures of cross-disciplinary collaboration - in one case between a designer and two skilled contractors, in the other between a pool designer, a home designer and a skilled contractor. As I've spent time these past few weeks thinking about what's happened in the
As I'm certain was the case when many of us heard the news, I was caught off guard by the announcement in August of the formation of Watershape University. The fact that it was happening beyond the bounds of the Genesis organization and followed so soon after the emergence of the also-independent
A few weeks back, I saw an item on the architecture website Arch Daily that immediately caught my eye. Entitled "Infinity Pools in 15 Architecture Projects" and compiled by Brazilian architect Eduardo Souza, the article delivers as promised - and I'm grateful that, for a change,
This edition of the WaterShapes newsletter carries two unusual articles. One is Victoria Lautman's piece on the stepwells of India; the other is Lauren Stack's look at water-related trends and the importance of helping more people learn to
As this newsletter appears, I'll be heading north to Paso Robles, Calif., to participate in the 20th Anniversary Celebration for Genesis - very much aware of the fact that it's a two-decade landmark for WaterShapes, too: We started pre-launch activities related to the magazine at about the same time the founders of Genesis began organizing their
As I prepare to close the book on another year of WaterShapes, I can't resist a bit of basking in the glow - a warm light radiated by an industry to which I've now dedicated more than 30 years of my life. When I started back in 1986, that light was considerably
I'm freshly returned from the International Pool|Spa|Patio Expo, loaded with memories and impressions and ready to set my course for the year to come. I had the editorial conversations I needed to have, conferred with old friends and new acquaintances and met with multiple suppliers to
Why don't more of us know how to swim? As I've discussed in several of my blogs through the past few months, I'm a firm believer that everyone should master this basic and essential survival skill. As fervently, I believe that encouraging comfort in and around water is the key to watershaping's future: Without it, why
'For years,' wrote Brian Van Bower to kick off his Aqua Culture column in the December 2005 edition of WaterShapes, 'conventional wisdom has held that many of the advances in watershape design incubate in the commercial realm and then slowly percolate over to the residential market as our clients ask for features they've seen on vacation and elsewhere.' 'That paradigm holds up to this day in many ways, but what's less acknowledged
