Made You Look
An older cousin once told my sister Marci and me that a man had been discovered lying under a neighbor’s bed. Knife in hand, picking feverishly at the mattress bottom, digging up towards his intended victim. Passing on one of the great legends of American folklore, the man under the bed—the boogeyman.
The story terrorized my sister, who for a time refused to get into bed until someone checked underneath it. A chore she often forced on me, knowing I was more afraid of her than I was of the boogeyman, making it an act of servitude rather than bravery.
And the boogeyman doesn’t just hide under beds; he also hides behind doors and in the shadows. Existing in the fears of the person he inhabits, so that the boogeyman lives around every corner even if you can’t see him—according to my cousin. Teasing anxiety enough to compel one more check under the bed, just to be sure it’s all clear.
Concerned that it might not be.
Before an artist begins a commissioned work, there’s typically a structured and multi-step process involving sketches, models or other submissions before receiving approval from their patron. A process similar to one I’ve been through of late in an effort to find a patron for a piece of art I hope to create, with outlines and data substituted for models and sketches.
The process has lasted several months, enough time to consider and reconsider my willingness to make the commitment, which otherwise conflicts with a semi-retired life. Obliterating the idyll here, obligating me to set alarms and check emails, habits I have mostly fallen out of. But should it materialize, the opportunity will be worth the inconvenience as it allows me to reach for several brass rings simultaneously.
Should my “patron” agree, I’ll get right to work on what I expect will be the final engagement of my career. One which contains a built-in plan for what comes after, further explaining my current disquiet. Feeling like I hit the first seven legs of an eight-leg parlay and waiting for the late game to start.
Checking my phone more than Dan Starr checks LinkedIn.
Sherwin-Williams reported its third-quarter earnings this week, posting a revenue increase of 7.9%, primarily driven by inflation. Stores opened more than 12 months were up just 3.9% as compared to last year, reflecting the weak demand for architectural coatings Sherwin-Williams CEO Heidi Petz tells us we can expect for another year.
In the Paint Stores Group (PSG), total revenue was up just 4.7%, despite realized price increases in excess of that amount. The uptick was driven by increased demand for products in the AI infrastructure, energy and water treatment processing segments, highlighting the softness in demand for architectural coatings Petz referred to in her comments. With the commercial and property maintenance segments lagging new residential and rezi-repaint, both of which were flat. Sales in the Performance Coatings Group (PCG) were up almost 9%, showing the resilience of the industrial coatings markets, though most of those gains came from Asia, according to the company.
Other paint manufacturers also reported their sales, including Behr which continues to watch its DIY share crater, with no plan in place to arrest the nosedive. I’ll detail paint’s earnings in a podcast next week—right after I check my phone.
