The One Spark crowdfunding festival, patterned after the ArtPrize event in Grand Rapids, Mich., is a showcase for artists in various disciplines, from drawing and painting to sculpture and photography.
It also is patterned after South by Southwest, the annual art, music and technology festival in Austin, Texas.
In addition to art and technology for its inaugural event, One Spark organizers added the opportunity for inventors to showcase designs, prototypes and finished products.
Cameron Jacobs lives in Crescent City and brought his product, Floors-All, to One Spark.
Jacobs said he was a real estate broker and developer who, when the real estate bubble burst, found he owned a lot of land with nothing to develop.
That led him to design and construct duplex housing using surplus shipping containers.
Unable to find a suitable low-cost flooring material for his project, he developed Floors-All.
"It's an affordable, durable, all-purpose coating," Jacobs said.
The product is less than half the cost of traditional floor coverings and is applied with a trowel over any subfloor surface, he said.
Jacobs has applied for a patent and plans to market the product for the do-it-yourself market and possibly as a franchise business, he said.
Michelle Barth is Mayor Alvin Brown's deputy chief of staff. She's taking time off from her duties at City Hall to exhibit her idea for the "turning timer app."
Inspired by the care needs of her bedridden father, Barth said the app could be used by people who need to turn every few hours, 24 hours a day, to prevent pressure ulcers, which can affect spinal-cord injury patients or non-ambulatory seniors.
"It also could be used for tanning," said Barth.
Barth said she's at One Spark to gauge interest in the idea and, hopefully, raise money to put the app into development.
She registered two hours before the deadline after seeing a presentation by festival Director Elton Rivas.
"Elton said if you have an idea, you're ready, so here I am," Barth said.
One Spark is scheduled through noon Sunday at more than 65 Downtown venues.
For the itinerary and other information, visit beonespark.com.
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