Dirt Don’t Hurt – and pink was the theme of the day. With 57 ladies in attendance everyone had a chance to see that Ladies can build a water feature! Each attendee received a gift sack with a tee shirt, pink gloves, note pads…and pond-building instructions. Seeing is often believing; now these women can feel confident that they can build a water feature.
Quickly learn about the different business entities that are available to the businesses in the pond industry. You have heard them before – Sole Proprietor, Partnership, LLC, and Corporation. There are tax benefits/detriments to each of them. What will fit your business best? A 25-year veteran will wade through each of the choices and help you confirm your current status, or consider a change.
The industry association, IPPCA, met in Orlando in November to elect officers, attend seminars and meet with manufacturers at the large tradeshow held in conjunction with the IA. It was a four-day event and filled to the brim. See who was selected as the 5-Star Contractor of the Year and much more.
MAP, yes it can lead to a heated debate. John Olson tries to give a broad, yet in-depth overview of this hot topic. What is MAP? It is Minimum Advertised Pricing. MAP is not MSRP, short for Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price. Is MAP pricing the best practice for the current retail arena? John explains the Pros/Cons of each so you can decide what’s best for your store.
You know this spring you are going to have customers, old and new, call you about the dreaded “pond leak.” Be prepared to answer their questions in a way that gets them involved in the solution and helps you charge for your time when you go help! This will save the customer money, save you time and hopefully get the problem resolved happily.
Tropical Punch and Kiss the Sky are two of the new waterlilies introduced at the IWGS New Waterlily Competition that you will want to see and know. They were selected as Best New Waterlily and 2nd Best New Waterlily in 2012. Other winners include Manee Red, Pink Pom Pom and Sand Pearl. Your customers will be excited to see these new varieties and you have some great new winning lilies to recommend.
The Product of the Year 2012 competition yielded two outstanding winners, one in each major category – Pond Equipment and Pond Product. Each is a new and unique addition to the industry. See who won here.
Hikari means metallic, thus Hikari Utsuri is an Utsuri with a metallic sheen to the scales and skin. It is often hard to find good examples of this variety, so when you see one be sure to buy it. The two qualities that you want to focus on is the koi’s sheen and pattern. Taro shares his knowledge of Hikari Utsuri, and provides helpful tips on how to make them fly out the door.
In some cases it makes since to move pond fish indoors over the winter. You do have three basic options for overwintering fish beyond letting them fend for themselves outdoors: add supplemental heat, build a greenhouse-like structure over the pond or, the focus of this article, move the fish indoors. Learn about the precautions to take when you move pond fish in for the winter and back out when spring returns.
Concrete and mortar have been favored by pond and fountain builders since the Roman Empire, and the formula has changed little in the past 2000 years. Limestone and clay are mixed, heated and ground to the silky powder we call cement. Concrete is made by adding water, sand and gravel to the cement, while mortar …
