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10 n e w h a v e n B I Z | J a n u a r y / F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 9 n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m T R E N D I N G Where All Work Is All About Play By Thomas Breen M E E T T H E M A K E R I nside a Mill River factory where workers once made parts for jet engines, a new crew is designing and building bean-stalk and leaf-petal-designed children's climbing sculptures to ship to Cali- fornia and the Middle East. is past spring, the local climbing-sculpture manufactur- er Luckey Climbers moved into the 29,000-square-foot office and warehouse building at 300 East St. in New Haven. A company created by Luckey Climbers President Spencer Luckey and Director of Operations Dana Peterson purchased the building in Dec. 2017 from Space-Cra Manu- facturing as the latter, which makes precision engine parts for military and commercial jets, prepared to move its operations from New Haven to Meriden. "is is just a much, much, much better situation for us," says Luckey during an interview and tour of his company's new digs. Founded in Branford in 1984 by Luckey's late father Tom, Luckey Climbers creates bright, sinuous, one-of-a-kind playgrounds designed primarily for children's museums, malls and other private institutions, including at the Boston Children's Museum and at the Children's Museum of Houston. Luckey Climbers has only one sculpture in all of Connecticut: It's located at Foote School on New Haven's Prospect Hill. Luckey says his business doesn't have any current plans to build any other sculptures in the Elm City (beyond a potential museum piece, discussed below). e climbing structures are fab- ricated of steel pipes, cable mesh, and wood or plastic platforms, depending on whether they're in- tended for indoor or outdoor use. e younger Luckey, 48, moved the business to a roughly 5,000-square-foot manufacturing space at 281 Chapel St. in 2006. e company then expanded Some of the old carousels and toys designed by Luckey and his father, Tom. Cutting pipes in the new Luckey Climbers warehouse. PHOTOS: THOMAS BREEN