The paper clip is something of a fetish object in design circles. Its spare, machined aesthetic and its inexpensive ubiquity landed it a spot in MoMA’s 2004 show Humble Masterpieces. This was a ...

James Ward has an unusual attachment to paper clips. And when he sees one, he sees "a piece of art, but it's also a piece of useful art." And like any serious art appreciator, he is also a collector.

Your standard paperclip has a design so perfect and so simple that it seems inevitable–and obvious. It wasn’t. The Gem paperclip is actually the last clip standing in a war over paper clip design that ...