information access

The New WaterShapes.com!
I celebrated another birthday on September 9, and one of the coolest gifts I received was the word that a major renovation of WaterShapes.com was ready for final review - and would, crossing that hurdle, be ready for public launch alongside release of the September 20 edition of the WaterShapes newsletter - this very day! It's our first major update in several years and the first
Making the List
When I teach seminars on watershape design, I always emphasize the importance of having a list of questions to ask prospective clients during initial conversations.  It's a point that always seems to ignite discussion - and it usually ends up with someone in the audience asking me to provide such a document for general use. I always refuse to do so, not because I consider my approach a trade secret, but rather because everyone's business and approach to clients is a little different and the questions I ask might not be exactly the questions everyone else would (or should) ask. The issue has come up frequently enough through the years, however, that I've finally assembled
Making the List
When I teach seminars on watershape design, I always emphasize the importance of having a list of questions to ask prospective clients during initial conversations.  It's a point that always seems to ignite discussion - and it usually ends up with someone in the audience asking me to provide such a document for general use. I always refuse to do so, not because I consider my approach a trade secret, but rather because everyone's business and approach to clients is a little different and the questions I ask might not be exactly the questions everyone else would (or should) ask. The issue has come up frequently enough through the years, however, that I've finally assembled
First Do No Harm
Elevating the way we do things in this industry means addressing our gaps in knowledge on several levels.   First, excellence means understanding the aesthetic side of watershaping - design traditions, art history and the nature of visual appeal.  Second (and right in step) is the need to know how to build various types of systems properly.  As an industry, in other words, we need to know how to avoid mistakes. In February, Genesis 3 staged a construction school in Orlando - and what follows isn't a commercial; rather it's a point of departure for a discussion long overdue in our industry.  What struck me is that