<\/p>\n
For computer programmer Alexii Carey, inventing, creating, building and tinkering have always been sort of a hobby.<\/p>\n
In fact, Carey even started the Durango Makers Club, a group of do-it-yourselfers, artists, craftsman and anyone curious that meet up and share their projects.<\/p>\n
Inside the new downtown Mancos business last Thursday, IOIO Spark Shop owner Carey had just finished putting the finishing touches on a 3-D printed contraption.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a leg for this quad copter,\u201d Carey said as he carefully peeled the perfectly formed plastic from the printer\u2019s base.<\/p>\n
The original legs didn\u2019t work just right, so Carey tweaked the design a bit, an experiment of sorts, one of dozens of Carey\u2019s projects reflected inside the store.<\/p>\n
But Carey\u2019s biggest new project is the store itself. It opened just over a month ago and features a dizzying array of do-it-yourself project ideas and materials.<\/p>\n
Take for instance, the 3-D printer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have this here for people who are interested in learning,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
If you want to step into the IOIO Spark shop, you have to catch Carey when he isn\u2019t working at his day job \u2013 systems knowledge director and lead programer for E-7 Systems.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am mostly open on the weekends and on some evenings,\u201d Carey said.<\/p>\n
When you do catch up with him, he\u2019ll gladly show you the latest models of electric bikes (he is the only electric bike dealer in the Four Corners), the newest quad copters and a large amount of electronics, including robots.<\/p>\n
Carey points to new technology that allows you to invent and build nearly anything.<\/p>\n
For example, the technology allowed Carey to build a sensor that you can place inside potted plants and when they get dry, the system will chirp.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese have created a huge community of inventors,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Carey pointed to a self-balancing robot.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is really cool,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can control it with your phone. You can also design your own.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carey hopes his shop attracts inventors and innovators.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s also for people who want to learn how to build their own working system,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In fact, the shop\u2019s name IOIO, pronounced \u201cyo-yo,\u201d is a nod to those of us that are geeks at heart, Carey said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a geek term. It means input, output,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Carey is working with local schools and the Durango Discovery Museum to help children become innovators and inventors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis would be an awesome opportunity to attract young inventors,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of cool stuff coming. The Internet is an amazing tool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carey will likely try to get you to ride an electric bike.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are really awesome and really amazing, and you don\u2019t realize it until you try it,\u201d Carey said.<\/p>\n
The bikes can go 25 to 30 miles on one charge and up to 30 mph.<\/p>\n
Mission Statement: IOIO Spark Shop aims to further extend the scope of the maker movement in Southwest Colorado by providing quality components and parts from the industry\u2019s top innovators and leaders of the maker movement. IOIO Spark Shop will work to help establish permanent maker spaces in local areas and provide tool, supplies and space to local community members. The established maker spaces will be used to facilitate collaboration and innovation, and to house the equipment and projects and resources to foster collaborative making and educational programs.
\n Address: 107 Grand Ave., Mancos
\n Website: www.ioiospark.com
\n Phone: (970) 903-8624
\n Also visit: www.durangomaker.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Shop offers high-tech solutions, hopes to ignite local creativity<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":116358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5742,5735],"tags":[13],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-116357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-news","tag-frontpage-lead"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116357\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116357"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=116357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}