Flexible Clip Might Work In Pinch

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It’s a money clip. Wait, it’s a tie clip. No, it’s a cuff link.

It’s called SnapLNX, and it can be used as all of the above. The Santa Monica company that makes the clip, SnapLNX LLC, was conceived three years ago when financial analyst Alfred English was a college bartender searching for a fashionable way to keep his sleeves rolled up without rubber bands.

“There really was no way to keep them up in a stylish manner,” said English, 30.

He teamed up with Apollo Crowe, a product designer. They built an initial device, called Sleeve Clip. Then the two invested $60,000 and got to work trying to build a better clip.

They ended up using a spring-loaded device designed by Spring Works Utah, a company in Woods Cross, Utah. The clip is attached to the back of a decorative disk – such as a penny – and makes multiple uses possible.

“We eventually realized the same reasons it holds sleeves made it great as a money clip,” said English, SnapLNX chief executive. Crowe is vice president of design.

The clips are sold in pairs, so one can be used as a money clip and the other can play another role, such as a tie clip. Or they can be used in pairs, such as sleeve clips.

English and Crowe launched the company in January and have been selling the clips online for about $40 a pair, or less on deal sites. The device is manufactured in Valencia and shipped from a fulfillment house there. The partners have sold about 1,500 units, but since some were sold at a discount, sales have totaled about $45,000.

English stills works as a financial analyst for Westwood investment firm Doheny Asset Management. Crowe is a freelance product designer. The two said that they work on the company in their spare time but hope to grow it.

Jonathan Boos, chief executive and founder of menswear company WĂĽrkin Stiffs in Sarasota, Fla., met English and Crowe at a tradeshow in Las Vegas last year before SnapLNX was launched. Boos saw the Sleeve Clip product, and said SnapLNX could do well.

“If they improved upon the design and are capable of doing these things, I think it’s a benefit,” Boos said.