Vintage typewriter key cufflinks

Classic, with a twist

Paul Smith has created so many classics that belong here on The Obsessive. We've chosen these cufflinks as we believe they embody the whole ethos of Paul Smith.

The twist is an idea: everything that Paul Smith creates incorporates an idea. His clothes and accessories have layers of thought and meaning; his sense of fun and mischief radiate both from him, and his products.

As a penniless teenager, I stepped into his world in Floral Street, and was immediately intoxicated by it. His collections of interesting things under glass, the dark wood and brass shop fittings: everything communicated Paul Smith.

It was these cufflinks that caught my eye, with their clever twist on the traditional monogrammed style. Made from the recycled keys from old typewriters, these are monogramed cufflinks for the creative mind. Every time I visited the shop, I'd check to see if my initials were available: they seem to be made in small batches, presumably due to the sourcing of old typewriter keys.

In Paul Smith's book 'you can find inspiration in everything*' published in 2001, there are a couple of paragraphs, in the excellent introduction by the Canadian author William Gibson, that were an inspiration for the creation of The Obsessive. Here's an excerpt:

"The inhabitants of London and Tokyo, however, are consummate appreciators of 'secret brands'; they act out private dramas of relative consumer-status with a gravitas seldom seen elsewhere. Both the English and the Japanese are brilliant importers. If you want to know what it is that your own country produces that is genuinely excellent, look for what the most obsessively discerning residents of London and Tokyo choose to import. Look for the choices of the otaku, the fanatic of pure information."

"* and if you can't, look again"

Details

Category: Men's accessories

Country of Origin : UK

Designer: Sir Paul Smith 

Brand/Make/Model: Cufflinks

Type: Vintage typewriter key

Year: 1980s to date

Why: Cufflinks for the creative

Website: paulsmith.co.uk

Photography: Ray Massey

Location: Camden Park Studios