The News

Lessen brings the work to you

T Lessen, a technology company that connects property owners with contractors, is on track to book 12,000 paint jobs in 2023 and is looking for pros to complete the work.

Launched in 2019, the company caters to property owners nationwide—not individual homeowners. Lessen customers include real estate investment groups, rental property owners and institutional landlords, all looking to renovate or maintain properties.

According to Stephen Houret, senior director of vendor operations, “For pros who like to focus on the production side of the business, our model is ideal. There’s no cost to join and no payment required for leads. We handle all the marketing and estimating, we deal with any change orders, we pay the vendors, we pay the pro industry standard rates, and we pay fast—typically within a week of completion. Right now, we work with 750 paint business owners. For some, we provide all their work and for others we fill in the gaps in their calendar.” Lessen.com

Courtesy of NTU Singapore

This wood won’t burn

T Researchers at the Nany ang Technological University

(NTU) in Singapore invented an invisible coating that makes wood fireproof. Applied at a thickness of just .075 mm, the transparent coating is invisible to the eye and allows the natural beauty of the wood to show.

The unique formulation causes the coating to char and expand to more than 30 times its original thickness when heated with a flame. The char is extremely heat-resistant, effectively insulating the wood and preventing combustion. NTU is in licensing talks with different companies and is actively exploring using the coating to protect mass-engineered timber elements.

Editor’s note: If you have time, a cool video of the coating in action is available on YouTube. Search ‘invisible coating that makes wood fireproof.’

It’s so you

T French luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton recently unveiled its latest accessory—and it may look familiar. Designed

by the late fashion designer Virgil Abloh, the LV Paint Can Bag is styled like a real paint can, even featuring a metal handle to hold the coated canvas and leather body. Described as ‘roomy enough’ to hold two phones and other personal items, the $2,850 ‘bag’ is available in six colors from the designer’s signature palette and is emblazoned with the fashion house’s logo as well as a ‘Handle with Care’ warning and flammable symbol.

Um, ew

T BMW is teaming up with global chemical company BASF to create a new sustainable paint made from sewage. The effort aims to replace petroleum-based components in the painting process with raw materials from organic waste that include biowaste from sewage treatment plants. The new system also cuts emissions normally released in the production and transport of crude oil.

While BMW has not announced what shades are available for the sewage-based paint, one could hazard a guess.

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