Clip It On: 14 Design Accessories to Spiff Up Your Everyday This Year

The holiday season already feels behind us, but for those who had forgotten to get all their presents on time, this collection of playful accessories may inspire a few ideas to start off the 2017 gifting. From golden shirt buttons to attachable leg modules for furniture, the following design objects are sure to add a touch of color and shine and offer smart solutions to everyday home and personal items.

For the organizer

Big Clip by Arash and Kelly

In Arash and Kelly’s creative hands, a blown-up paper clip becomes a home accessory to better store and organize loose items. The Big Clip can be hung against the wall or from the ceiling and strung with others of its kind in a chain formation, ideal for a coat hook or a magazine rack.

Tool the Clip Numbers by Tom Dixon

In a typography that seems to take influence from Pop Art and Art Nouveau styles, Tom Dixon creates a set of paper clips, shaped like numbers from 0 to 9. Etched from sheet brass, the minutely detailed clips are a classy addition to one’s stationary collection.

For the smartphone

Snail Speaker by Valore

A compact plug-in speaker for your smartphone, the Snail Speaker is a playful, durable accessory. Pocket-size and powered by a built-in rechargeable battery, it plugs into the headphone jack to offer a quality sound system everywhere.

Luma by Peleg Design

Designed in collaboration with Maor Aharon, HIT, Luma is a tiny lampshade that clips right over the flashlight of a phone to turn it into a mini nightstand light. The plastic piece is available in gray, red and blue.

For the home

Flower Power by OTOTO DESIGN

The Flower Power Steam Releaser is a silicone flower that clips onto the lip of a cooking pot to prop the lid slightly open while in use. With the steam evaporating, the plastic petals sometimes begin to twirl.

The Clip On Vase by AD-3D Design

This 3D-printed polyamide sleeve attaches to the top of a glass to transform a common cup into an elegant flower vase. It best fits over an IKEA Pokal glass and has been engineered through a parametric modeling process in a way such that the least material is used without compromising the functionality of the object.

Snap by Be-elastic

Designed by Maria Roca and Erika Biarnes when they met at the Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura at the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya in Barcelona, Snap is a minimalist design for a removable leg module, which acts as furniture support for any flat surface. Ideal for found objects, the epoxy paint-covered steel legs come in sets and various colors and allow for secure and stable structures. The pair, now based in Barcelona and San Francisco, led a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the design.

For the urban dreamer

Ruilbankby Pivot Creative

This Amsterdam initiative consists of an urban intervention where red metal clips were placed on benches, with reading material attached to them so that any passerby may enjoy a few pages of a newspaper or book or leave another little something behind. The placement of these pins aimed to encourage social interaction and connectivity among urban dwellers and reading material.

Journey Travel Light by Moleskine

For the reader or designer on the move, Moleskine’s Journey Travel Light clips onto the border of their notebook, book, bike or bag to provide a focused stream of light, orientable on a 360-degree axis. The object is a demonstration of Moleskine’s mission to design objects inspired by journeys, as this pocket-sized lamp is perfect to carry along nighttime commutes and can be clamped onto any surface.

For the cyclist

Windrider by gijs bakker design

Designed by Gijs Bakker and distributed by Eno Studio, the Windrider clip is made of reflective PVC to alert car drivers of oncoming bicyclists. Shaped like Hermes wings that fit around the ankle, the symbolic clip is a great accessory for those who want to ride safe, without giving up style.

Cup Holder by BOOKMAN

Swedish bicycle accessory brand Bookman has designed a simple cup holder that bikers can attach to their handlebars to accessorize their ride. Two rings are held together with a steel spring, which clasps around the handlebars for a firm grip even on a bumpy road.

Beeline

An idea that stemmed between two friends who got tired of getting lost on their bicycles, Beeline is a smart compass that wraps around handlebars to provide easily readable directions for the biker on the move. Water- and shock-resistant, the app-connected device features a patent-pending navigation technology that works worldwide.

For the fashionable

Buttons by Studio Swine

The London-based design studio produced a set of gold and silver buttons that can be clipped onto standard shirt buttons to add a touch of originality to an outfit. In their advertorial campaign, the designers make reference to modernist São Paulo architecture as a main source of inspiration for the button’s shapes and patterns.

3D-printed jewelry by Maria Jennifer Carew

For her appropriately named LessIS collection, this Italian designer creates minimalistic geometric shapes that hook onto garments of all kinds to superpose the fabric in the same way a piece of jewelry would. Printed in bronze, brass and black or white nylon, the lightweight clips can easily dress up a look.

See more playful, design accessories on our 2016 Architizer Guide to Gifting.