This 50-Cent Paper Clip Also Holds My Pencils
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Zara Home makes some very nice goods for the home and the office, includingthese ingenious jumbo paper clipsthat can hold a pen or pencil. But I balked at the price tag — $12 for two pieces of bent metal — and quickly sourced them on Amazon for much less. Turns out Zara Home is upselling a product you can easily find elsewhere for a lot cheaper.
For half the price, you can get a set of 12 of these paper clips in three different finishes: gold, silver, and rose gold. By my estimation, they are the same product as the Zara Home clips and have similar dimensions: 2.8 inches long and about .75 inches wide.
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Metal Pen Clips
They appeal to me as someone who is fond of stationery and any implement that will help my productivity. Lately, I cannot read a book without a pencil in hand. I use it to mark character names, compelling prose, and key plot points. It is the only way to concentrate on the words in front of me and not on the screens that beckon me with their glow. I prefer a mechanicalPaper Mate SharpWriter.
I can easily tuck one of these pencils into my paperback — currently it isMiddlemarch— because the pages and soft cover will gently slope over it like an arcing wave and keep it secure within. But for a hardback, it’s trickier, especially if it’s a more slender book, likeKate Riley’sRuth, which I have just devoured. The cover will lift even if the pages create a tunnel for the pencil, and it is difficult to put an angled item into a bag for transport.
This paper clip, made of a thicker, stronger metal than that of a regular paper clip, solves the problem by allowing me to attach the pencil to the outside cover, keeping the book flat, without extra bulk. The pencil stays secure in the double hump until I am in need of its services. Although I’ve only fastened the clip to the outside of a novel, I imagine it would be just as practical on a planner, notebook, folder, binder, or portfolio where there isn’t already a dedicated holder for writing utensils.
I would not have purchased them for $6 apiece, but for 50 cents each I might even call them a steal.
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