Every studio has a drawer of clips that don't work. Bulldog clips that bite through the paper. Pegs that ping off across the room. That one bent paperclip doing a job it was never trained for.
Then there's the Penco PlaClip. It's a big, cheerful plastic clip from Japan, about the width of your palm, and it's the most useful small thing we've put on the counter this year. Here's what ours have been doing.
1. Holding a sketchbook open
The jaw is wide and the grip is gentle, so it keeps your page flat without leaving a dent in it. Plein air painters, this one's for you.
2. Keeping reference photos where you can see them
Clip them to the top of your board or easel and stop balancing your phone on a jam jar.
3. Taming the receipt pile
We won't pretend this is glamorous. It works.
4. Closing the coffee bag
Penco themselves suggest this one, and frankly the studio runs on coffee, so it counts as art equipment.
5. Surviving the outdoors
It's plastic with a steel spring, so a bit of rain or a splash from the water pot won't bother it.
6. Looking good doing nothing
Ivory, light blue, mint, orange, pink and red. They're the sort of colours that make a desk look like you've got your life together.
It opens with a light squeeze, which matters more than you'd think if your other hand is holding a loaded brush.
Call in to Callender Street and pick a colour, or find them with the rest of our Penco and Nahe range online. Fair warning: nobody buys just one.
