Somewhere in Berkeley, a former NASA engineer is building a car-juggling robot, an artist is outlining an octopus with the names of strangers and a man is dreaming of delivering high-end beer to your door.

Berkeley pulses with people who create things, whether it be a new business model or crocheted ties. This is really cool. As an acquaintance being forced to sign your high school yearbook might say, “Don’t ever change, Berkeley.”

Unfortunately, making things isn’t always free. As a result of this, creative types, free thinkers and entrepreneurs around the world have turned to multiple outlets to help actualize their visions. One of these outlets is Kickstarter. Kickstarter, a popular crowdfunding website, allows people with ideas to share their projects with the world. And if the people of the world like what they see, they can choose to support the project.

So in the spirit of appreciating and proliferating Berkeley’s creative culture, we at the Clog thought it would be cool to see if there were any current and ongoing Kickstarter projects based in Berkeley.

The predictable answer, of course, is yes.

1. “Be Entangled” Edward Romero is a Berkeley-based artist who graduated from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Romero explains on his project page, entitled “Be Entangled,” that he hopes to outline an octopus by using peoples’ names for the line work — because “how cool would it be to create an illustration that connects people from all parts of the world?!” He asks that his supporters send in their names and a $1 minimum pledge. The money would be for materials, and in exchange, you would get to, as Romero writes, “BE ART.”

2. “52Bottles”   Jacob Savage loves beer. And he wants to share that love. How, you ask? By delivering “one high-end craft brew from the Pacific Northwest to your doorstep weekly.” It’s one bottle a week, 52 weeks per year — hence the name “52 Bottles.” Savage has a $30,000 goal and is currently at $140 with 17 days to go. He said the biggest challenge will be convincing top microbreweries to participate in the project.

3. “BugJuggler”

Do you see that giant robot juggling three mid-size sedans like they’re apples? Someone — well, specifically, former NASA engineer — is actually working on making this thing, and his lab is in Berkeley. Dan Granett’s project has, understandably, garnered quite a bit of attention. If his Kickstarter project meets its goal of $50,000, then Granett will be able be able to build a human-scaled, one-armed prototype of the robot.

Other projects include “Alchemy of Tea,” a series of posters by SweeTooth Design that illustrate different tea recipes, and “Korla,” a documentary about the early television star. Other crowdfunding websites include Indiegogo and RocketHub, so if the mood strikes you, we seriously suggest that you check out what other people are up to. Even if you don’t donate any money or interact with the creator in any way, there’s something beautiful in knowing that if you wanted to, you could help bring a car-juggling robot into the world. Image Sources: Featured Image, Image 1, Image 2, Image 3