Brett Doar’s website claims he can build anything out of paperclips.

“For a long time I was building a lot of stuff out of paper clips, bottle caps and tin cans,” he said. “I really found that nourishing because those were stupid materials to use. When I failed, it wasn’t like, ‘Oh because you’re stupid,’ it was, ‘Oh, I’m trying to make this thing out of paper clips.”

What turned Doar’s ability to tinker into a business was a phone call from a pop band, OK Go, about five years ago. Doar helped build a machine featured in the song, “This Too Shall Pass.”

Here’s a look at some of the things Doar’s been working on in his Los Angeles studio.