Mark, My Words!

Why guess what went wrong at the Reflecting Pool in Washington, when you can just listen to this episode and know.

Lawsuits filed over the last 60-days portend lengthy court battles for the world's largest paint maker, exposing Sherwin to the risk that a jury might not be as forgiving as Pennsylvania's DEP. And these cases are just the beginning, because more and bigger are coming.

Recorded May 27, 2026, listen in as Jeff and I discuss the rising price of paint, Diamond Vogel's retail divestiture and the role of the American Coatings Association

I cover them all in this quarterly summary

As word of what #sherwinwilliams is doing in Rochester begins to spread, people have lots of questions. In the next two episodes I'll share the most common ones, with answers for them all. Because when you know what #sherwinwilliamspaint is doing in Rochester, you'll be as pissed as I am. #boycottsherwinwilliams Current market cap: $74bil.

As word of what #sherwinwilliams is doing in Rochester begins to spread, people have lots of questions. In the next two episodes I'll share the most common ones, with answers for them all. Because when you know what #sherwinwilliamspaint is doing in Rochester, you'll be as pissed as I am.

LIVE April 29, 2026 by Mark Lipton

Mark and Kim: Wage Disparity and Slogging for Corporate by Mark Lipton

Mark and Kim: All in the Family by Mark Lipton

Mark and Kim: THE 51st State and Tariffs by Mark Lipton

Live updating the news from Sherwin-Williams in Rochester, PA, where the company continues to poison people with no regard for safety or legality.

Mark Lipton's Boycott Sherwin-WIlliams: Episode One $83.14 billion by Mark Lipton

Join me and Gary as we discuss plant-based coatings, including products available from Behr and Sherwin-Williams. And sustainability, as the coatings segment continues to work to reduce its carbon footprint.

Join me as I discuss artificial intelligence in paint, with industry veteran Gary Dandreaux. Already making its way into the labs, field, manufacturing and distribution facilities, paint geeks with natural intelligence should keep track of the artificial ones. You can start to do that here.

There have been more than 3,000 layoffs in paint over the last year with likely more to come. I go through them and detail what I know, including what I think I know about what comes next. Which is more than you think, and less than I do! Plus, who's hiring. Because some paint companies still are.

A retrospective on my history with Benjamin Moore, including how I ended up working for that company's CEO, which nobody was expecting. And if you think I'm the type to hold back my criticism of Benjamin Moore because of that employment, it's only because you don't know the rest of THE story.

A source inside Pittsburgh's stores division gave me the best look behind that curtain since American Industrial Partners acquired the former architectural coatings division from PPG. I report what they shared, adding what I think it means. In case Brian Carson watches the video and wants to know what to do next. After that I hosted a no rules Q & A, which was the best of the three Q & A's I've re...

LIVE Wage Theft at Sherwin recorded 2/5/2026 by Mark Lipton

In my last podcast of the summer Steve and I finish our conversation about the condition of American cities including a discussion of the book Happy City by Charles Montgomery. American cities continue to suffer from poor planning and decades of maintenance backlogs, so that most offer a degraded lifestyle by the standard of what is possible. Will we fiddle while Rome burns?

Paint is not my only interest, though it's been the only topic I've podcasted about. Until now! Over the last several years due to work and good fortune I've spent time in numerous major cities around the US and world. Noticing THE disparities, it's been on my mind to share that experiences with you. If you're an American you might not want to hear it, though you need to. The problems with US citi...

Because one episode on this topic was not enough! Part two of my survey with independent paint retailers, asking all THE questions Ben Carson and Dan Calkins want to know! Next week, something completely different.

Now we get to THE good part: I've begun my work surveying dealer sentiment towards their manufacturing partners. I've only performed a few interviews so far and have already been impressed by how willing dealers are to share their views. Join us as Steve and I discuss this current and most interesting engagement. I'll be back with a new blog on Thursday!

Finally back behind the mike, join me as I catch you up on what I've been doing the last few months including talking tariffs, applicators, a recent paint store road trip plus an update on one of several consulting gigs I currently have going on in paint.

Mark, My Words and Friends! Episode 1: Tariffs and THE Consultant by Mark Lipton

Join me as the president of Farrell-Calhoun, Anthony Ward, shares THE story of his company's transformation in the moments after Kelly-Moore's closing. Unlike Dunn-Edwards, Farrell-Calhoun had not prepared for the closing of Kelly-Moore. As word spread of Kelly's collapse, Anthony and his team had no plans to hire a team of Kelly-Moore alumni. Until he met them!