what are these thingdoos called that hung my posters as a kid?

March 2, 2009 3:58 PM

Can I buy something to display my postcards on a wall that is simple and cheap? Looking for a low end version of this sort of thing that I can get in the US.

When I was a kid, I hung my Leif Garrett posters on my walls with these rigid pieces of plastic. One slid over the top of the poster and had a little piece of string in it and one went on the bottom and just added weight. They were super cheap. I want them now.

I get a lot of postcards in the mail and I'm running out of space to put them and I'd like to look at them while I work. I'd love to have an upside-down version of the poster hanging thing that was attached to the wall that I could just slide postcards into, in a long line. Preferably transparent plastic. I envision it looking like this only with like 50 postcards over a few rows. So maybe sixteen or twenty linear feet.

Things I am not looking for: postcard/photo clips (too grippy, too inflexible, too spendy), postcard/photo sleeves (too tough to remove/move cards), frames or hangers (too spendy in bulk), "poster rails" (as I have seen them, too expensive, this is the closest I've found), tacky wall stickum stuff (too gloppy, I'm looking for linear). I read this thread but that's not quite right either.

If I can't buy these things, I'm open to other suggestions that don't involve wall-stickum or thumbtacks. Thanks!

posted by jessamyn to home & garden (19 comments total)

Posterhanger?
posted by game warden to the events rhino at 4:03 PM on March 2, 2009

This is more basically hammer-and-naily, but years ago I saw a thing in a Martha Stewart mag that I kind of liked. She had taken 1' decorative molding strips and nailed them to the wall, flat side up, in a staggered-ladder pattern. Each one provided just enough lip to balance the edge of a postcard on. It looked pretty nice and I always kind of wanted to do it, just haven't yet.
posted by Miko at 4:04 PM on March 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

I can not believe it, I found the pic. Miraculous.
posted by Miko at 4:05 PM on March 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

(And cheaper, clear plastic versions)
posted by game warden to the events rhino at 4:05 PM on March 2, 2009

No thumbtacks in the wall? or no thumbtacks in the postcard?

The cheapo way I hang paper arts around the house is to take binder clips, which can even be colorful, clamp it on the card, then remove the front facing arm. I have a lot of nails in the walls already from previous owners so i just hang them off there.
For rows upon rows, you could just bead the binder clips along a string or wire with the string in the mouth of the binderclip, but behind the card. only two thumbtacks needed on either end of the string.
This is not a particularly elegant solution. but it is possibly the cheapest.
posted by Cold Lurkey at 4:13 PM on March 2, 2009

This is not what you are asking for, but I always thought these would be a great way to hang up small papers. Cheap, sleek, easy to change, won't damage the cards and you could do several rows or side by side.
posted by whatnot at 4:16 PM on March 2, 2009

I'm guessing you have plenty of bookcases/books, something like this might work: http://www.shelfwiz.com/ . You may be able to get these from stores going out of business if you don't want to pay $ - they usually get them from their vendors, so they won't care what happens to them.
posted by blackkar at 4:19 PM on March 2, 2009

Magnetic Photo Rope?
posted by hindmost at 4:53 PM on March 2, 2009

I've always thought these looked cool although they are a little spendy. Every Christmas I hang ribbon up - just a thumbtack or staple to the ceiling - and clip cards to it with plain old wooden clothespins. I think it looks awesome. You could do that except without the shiny holiday ribbon part; if you had a place where you could secure clothesline or some kind of line from floor to ceiling so it's taut it would look even cooler. Or, hey, look at this or here's a bigger one. I like hanging things from the ceiling, myself.
posted by mygothlaundry at 4:55 PM on March 2, 2009

Possible alternative in this "Picture Window"/"Wall O Photos" from Urban Outfitters - I know they do single-space ones as well.

Those clips really remind me of things they use for binding/clamping sheets together, from the office supply store or copy shop. I don't know what they're called...will research further. But they look just like the first pic you linked.
posted by lhall at 5:00 PM on March 2, 2009

Thanks everyone for the breadth of replies, there are a lot of good things to look at here. Looks like GW2tER got the closest to what I remember (in the "cheaper" link) and another friend sent a link to this place along which seems like it sells what I'm looking for in an industrial/bulk fashion. I'll see what I can scare up around here and try to post a photo before the question closes to motivate myself to actually do this.
posted by jessamyn at 5:01 PM on March 2, 2009

i also really like lomo fotoclips for this, plus they're pretty cheap—$10 gets you 100 clips!
posted by lia at 6:29 PM on March 2, 2009

I'm not sure how much time you want to spend on this whole thing, but I'm about ready to build a photowall for my postcard collection, which looks pretty similar to what Cold Lurkey was describing. I'm planning on cutting slits in the cardstock and sliding them in instead of doublestick tape; alternatively, photo corners could do the trick. Good luck!
posted by veryhappyheidi at 6:48 PM on March 2, 2009

If you'd like to go a little more classy, the Ikea Clips picture frames are cheap. ($1 for 4), and you can do a nice wall of them. For $20 we got enough to make this photo wall.
posted by Morydd at 7:13 PM on March 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

I just saw this "wall mounting system" and thought it would be great for postcards.
posted by wherever, whatever at 8:06 PM on March 2, 2009

You can get plastic document covers pretty cheap. They're made of a plastic folder and a slide-on spine. The spine is similar to what you describe.
posted by theora55 at 10:32 PM on March 2, 2009

This might be too fussy for some tastes, but I like ribbon boards for damage-free display of paper stuffs. They're easy to make on the cheap, and depending on what you use for a board and what color the ribbon is, it can look as clean or as gaudy as you like. They work better if you affix the ribbons down with tacks where they intersect, as here.
posted by cirocco at 11:07 PM on March 2, 2009

I don't know if it violates the "no clip" rule, but I just picked up the DIGNITET wire curtain hanging system from IKEA to use in the very manner you're describing. It's a simple, thin (2mm) steel cable stretched tight between two small posts mounted to the wall. The basic package includes two posts and 16 feet of cable. Very clean and minimalist in appearance. Examples of how others have used the system here and here.
posted by dinger at 10:34 AM on March 3, 2009

I wound up finding a local place to buy the things that GW2tER suggested. I still wish they were cheaper but I used them and they work perfectly even with my weird angled walls, and look great (here are some pix). Thanks again for everyone who helped me brainstorm.
posted by jessamyn at 1:01 PM on March 26, 2009