Among the participants was Jay Cousins – a recent transplant to Berlin from Sheffield, UK. Jay was leading a workshop on creating self-made plastics. Jay's enthusiasm caught the eye of two other participants: Patrizia Kommerell and Gabriel Shalom. As the video production company KS12, Patrizia and Gabriel became the workshop's storytellers. When Jay sat for KS12's video camera for an interview, he uttered a one-liner which would set the tone for their friendship. "Basically," Jay said, "everything should be delivered in beta".

Fast forward to the Spring of 2012. Jay was cleaning up his apartment when he came across some old notebooks. After reviewing the contents and salvaging only a couple pages in each book, the waste created struck Jay as a problem to solve. Then inspiration hit. Jay took the empty notebook binding and affixed a piece of whiteboard plastic inside: the first Betabook was born.

Betabook Kickstarter

Jay approached KS12 about helping him to make a Kickstarter video to get the Betabook out into the world. After using prototypes for a couple months, it became clear to the group of friends that this product had a bigger future. And so they founded a company, developed a supply chain, and built and tested dozens of prototypes. They improved the design from a rough proof of concept to a refined and beautiful object. Which brings us to the present day: the launch of Betabook on Kickstarter.

Berliners reinvent themselves, always on the lookout for new possibilities, embracing creativity and change. In this way, Betabook embodies the spirit of Berlin: it's a creative tool in which everything you use it for stays unfinished – in beta. And in a manner of speaking, the Betabook is a child of the betahaus. This dynamic community provided the setting for team Betabook to discover their mutual passions.

The Betabook Kickstarter has a limited number of "Betahaus Early Bear Special" rewards. These rewards allow Berliners to save on the cost of shipping by picking up their books at the betahaus. Join team Betabook tonight at us for their Kickstarter launch party at 7pm.