Healthy koi fish swimming in a pond at Kloubec Koi Farm.

March/April 2017

Spectacular 2016 Water Artisans of the Year Award Winners

By Lora Lee Gelles

Published on February 28, 2017

Lora Lee Gelles, Publisher of POND Trade, with Tim Wood after receiving the most naturalistic pond build award.

Oh yes, we do! It’s been a crazy, but fun few months processing and organizing all the amazing entries for our first-ever Water Artisans of the Year contest. There certainly is tremendous talent out there. It goes without saying — you guys are GOOD!

We’ve dedicated most of this issue to highlight the winners. Hopefully these beautiful projects will inspire you as pond season is in full swing. If you know any of the winners, be sure to congratulate them.

[box style=”rounded”]>> See More | View all the winners via our Gallery Spotlight[/box]

We received a nice note of thanks from the Wounded Warrior Project. We are very pleased to have raised more than $1,300 for their cause.

The time has finally come to unveil the winners, so get psyched and click here!

We’ve got a jam-packed issue for you. Are you on the lookout for new and innovative equipment to use in the field for construction or maintenance? Jamie Beyer discusses a whole host of cool tools that you may or may not be aware of [click here to visit].

Our Language of Koi installment this issue is especially informative about fish foods and nutrition. Joe Pawlak provides a detailed rundown of food ingredients and the current regulations.

Mike Gannon’s article show how his team “took the show on the road” to complete a project-of-a-lifetime for a very deserving customer. In the end, they transformed a neglected pool into a vibrant koi pond, and it was music to the customer’s ears.

Water artisans creating natural pond features for the contest 2026.
 I’d like to say a special thanks to Ed, Kelly, Benjamin, Mike, Dave, Rick and Jason — our Water Artisans of the Year judges — for donating their time to this year’s contest.

As pond season kicks off, be sure to keep an eye out for projects that go above and beyond the mainstream. Chances are, they could be eligible candidates for next year’s Water Artisans of the Year contest.

Stay tuned — we’ll release more details about it very soon.

Happy PONDering!

Healthy koi fish swimming in a pond at Kloubec Koi Farm.

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