In late February, I was interviewed by The New York Times for an article that they were preparing on the labor market in the U.S. I offered my insight on the stone industry and how it has grown over the past few years, particularly in the fabrication sector. The resulting article appeared shortly thereafter and devoted a healthy amount of coverage to my thoughts and comments. Given the Times' national reach, I heard from friends and family from around the country. Even my father (who, I might add, is rarely impressed with anything) called to say that he saw the article.

So I spent the next day or so feeling suitably impressed with myself, and once the swelling in my head receded to a manageable level, I began to think about what I said and what the article meant. The writer, Virginia Postrel, has written about the U.S. labor market for major consumer publications, and she has also published a book on the subject. Essentially, Ms. Postrel's piece explained that there is a new manufacturing dynamic taking root in the U.S. marketplace. While large-scale manufacturing has been moving outside of our country's borders, there has been some growth in other niche sectors, such as the stone industry. During the interview, I noted that natural stone fabricators and installers are growing on a continual basis, and new operations are being established regularly as well. And although this growth has been difficult to quantify, I was able to point to Stone World's major increase in subscribers in the fabrication sector as one indicator of growth that I could put my finger on.