The Formaet® Clip System: protecting the canvas, redefining how it is held

At the core of the Formaet® Stretcher Canvas Frame lies one of its most important patented innovations: the clip system, designed to replace traditional staples and fundamentally improve how canvas is stretched, secured, and preserved.

For centuries, artists have used metal staples or nails to fix canvas onto wooden stretcher frames. While effective, this method has a clear drawback: it pierces the canvas and permanently damages both the fabric and, over time, the frame itself. This limits reuse, reduces material integrity, and contributes to unnecessary waste.

Formaet® was designed to change this.

A system built to protect, not damage

The Formaet® Clip System introduces a new approach: securing the canvas without puncturing it and without damaging the frame. Instead of forceful stapling, the system uses precision-engineered clips that hold the canvas through controlled pressure and structural grip.

The result is twofold:

• The canvas remains intact, without holes or structural damage
• The stretcher frame remains reusable indefinitely, without degradation

This transforms the stretcher frame from a disposable structure into a long-term modular system.

Four clips, designed for different materials

The system is composed of four types of Clips, each adapted to specific canvas materials and weights:

• Clip 1 is designed for raw linen and transparent primed linen, ensuring a precise and gentle grip for delicate and thin surfaces.
• Clip 2 works with primed cotton and primed linen, balancing tension and stability for pre-treated and thicker canvases.
• Clip 3 and Clip 4 are designed for heavier, high-grammage fabrics, providing stronger structural support.

Each clip integrates seamlessly into the Formaet® frame, distributing tension evenly across the canvas while maintaining material integrity.

Hook Clips: extending the system to display

In addition to the Clips, Formaet® introduces Hook Clips, designed for hanging artworks directly on the wall. They extend the same modular logic from creation to exhibition, allowing the system to function across the full lifecycle of the artwork.

A circular approach to artistic infrastructure

All Formaet® clips are made from ocean-bound recycled plastic, reinforcing a circular production model where material recovery and design innovation work together.

By eliminating canvas puncturing and preventing structural damage to both canvas and frame, the Formaet® Clip System enables true reusability. The stretcher frame becomes not a consumable object, but a long-lasting, adaptable structure.

Formaet® is not just improving how canvases are stretched. It is redefining what a canvas frame can be: protective, reusable, and designed for continuity.