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Continuing the WaterShapes Revolution Welcome to WaterShapes.com, the one-stop web site that serves the…
I’ve been around watershapes on a professional basis since 1986, and I can recall more than a few times when something has crossed my desk that made me cringe. Often it was studies released by the National Association of Realtors about what adding a pool does to a home’s value. On too many occasions it was news about
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
My history with Vance Gillette and his crusades began when I was editor of Pool & Spa News. Early in 1990, he approached me with a commentary that, almost overnight, opened everyone’s eyes to a complacency and lack of direction within the pool and spa industry that threatened to
An Interview by Eric Herman A watershaping industry veteran of more than 25 years, publicist Laurie Batter was cited as one of Aquatics International's "Power 25" in 2006; was twice named one of the Top 25 Industry People to Watch by Swimming Pool/Spa Age; was presented with
I’ve always believed that pessimism is useless. At times, I think it can even be destructive, which is why I personally beat the drum for positive thinking every chance I get. Sure, there are always going to be those who accuse optimists like me of seeing the world through rose-colored glasses, but I counter that by saying that I also believe that optimism is worthless if positive thoughts aren’t backed up by equally positive actions. That this is the foundation of my philosophy should be obvious to
We knew it had to happen. After several years of superheated growth, some sectors of the watershaping market are now slowing down - in some areas, dramatically so. In my travels and through dozens of conversations with watershapers and their suppliers during the past several months, I've been hearing consistently that the volume-oriented, price-driven end of the market has been hit particularly hard - off somewhere between 30 and 60 percent in some areas. That's a big number no matter which end of the spectrum is closer to the truth. It represents an enormous change from the extreme demand that most all of us were experiencing just a year ago. So now, a great many firms that were
NSPF’s Dr. Tom Lachocki