WaterShapes Classic

Operating on a Higher Level
'Over and over at seminars and trade shows, watershapers ask me three distinct but interrelated questions:  "How do you get into the high-end market?" and "How do you deal with wealthy customers?" and "How do you handle those kinds of jobs?" 'The short answer to all of them,' began Brian Van Bower in his Aqua Culture column in the April 2004 issue of WaterShapes, ' is that I've set myself up for it and am prepared to
Advancing Technology
'One of the longest-standing knocks against the pool and spa industry is that too many designers and builders rely too heavily on convention and seem disinclined to pursue new paths and ideas no matter how compelling they might be.' That was the resounding note with which Mark Holden opened his Currents column in April 2009.  He continued:  'All too often, pool and spa professionals tend to keep on specifying and installing equipment they've used for years - even if it's
Speaking the Language
'As is true of many business sectors, the architecture, engineering and construction industry . . . has its own language,' noted Dave Peterson to start his March 2009 Currents column, 'and the construction documents generated by those professionals (watershapers very definitely included) are the medium through which everyone communicates.   'The challenge for watershapers is that we've
Planting Pains
'Early in the history of garden design - dating back to the earliest days of civilization in Sumeria, Egypt and China - plants took center stage in garden spaces.'  With that observation, Bruce Zaretsky opened his On the Level column in February 2009, then added:  'Terraces and hanging gardens were built not for their innate ornamental qualities, but rather to display the plants they contained.  Always, the prized plant was
Finding Ways
'Last month,' wrote Brian Van Bower to open his Aqua Culture column in the February 2004 issue of WaterShapes, 'I jumped into the New Year with a discussion of how the trends we face these days are influencing our recent experiences in business, society and life in general.   'All that was intended to set up this column's discussion of where we, as the watershaping industry, might be going in the months and years to come.  . . .  Rather than get into the aimless game of offering predictions, I'll delve instead into
In Service of Trees
'All of us at one time or another run up against trees that are very much in the way - and our clients simply won't let us remove them.  To be sure, working around such prized specimens can be a real pain,' wrote Bruce Zaretsky in his January 2009 On the Level column, 'which is why so many in the construction trades have passive-aggressive attitudes about them and just wish
Hard Choices
'If I were to ask the average watershaper to name the most versatile element in any landscape,' began Stephanie Rose in her January 2004 "Natural Companions" column, 'he or she would probably reply by talking about water or plants or some other equally prominent component.  If you asked me the same question, however, I'd almost always say
On the March
'It's been a long time coming,' wrote Jim McCloskey in his WaterShapes World blog in December 2013:  'Just ten days ago, after nearly six months of grinding care and effort, the entirety of the WaterShapes magazine archive is now available online as it originally appeared
It’s Always Something!
'In all my years as a landscape designer,' began Stephanie Rose in her Natural Companions column for November 2003, 'I've always told my clients that nobody can know ahead of time how a plant will adapt to or behave in any given situation.''Most plants, of course, really are somewhat predictable when you place them in a client's yard . . . as long as you
It’s Always Something!
'In all my years as a landscape designer,' began Stephanie Rose in her Natural Companions column for November 2003, 'I've always told my clients that nobody can know ahead of time how a plant will adapt to or behave in any given situation.''Most plants, of course, really are somewhat predictable when you place them in a client's yard . . . as long as you