The Red Paperclip Blogger

[TigerCat_Tania]

This is truly a feat for anyone to attempt... this guy traded one red paperclip all the way up to a house while blogging...

Blogger scores house for the price of a paperclip
ALEXANDRA SHIMO
Globe and Mail Update

It took one year for Kyle MacDonald to trade a paperclip for a house, but after 14 trades, the deal is complete.

On Wednesday, the blogger from Belcarra, B.C. will move into a two-storey, three-bedroom 1920s farmhouse in Kipling, Sask.

He started trading up from just a small red paperclip on July 12, 2005, and has traded a pen for a doorknob, a camping stove for a generator, a “instant party kit” for Bombardier Mach 1 snowmobile, and finally a part in the movie Donna on Demand for his final prize.

“I'm really pleased,” said Mr. MacDonald, 26. “I've never been to Kipling, but I've seen pictures of the house, and it looks great. It looks perfect.”

The genesis of the project came from a children's game called Bigger and Better. Growing up in the suburbs of Vancouver, neighbours would go door-to-door trying to trade their toys for something more valuable. Mr. MacDonald never played the game but decided to use the concept to show that all journeys begin with a small first step.

“It's a cliché, but it works,” he said. “I didn't know how I was going to get to my goal of house, or how long it would take me, or where the house would be, but I figured that if I kept at it, I would get there in the end.”

For their part, the town of Kipling decided to make the offer for the publicity, Mayor Pat Jackson said. “We are a small community, just over 1,100 people. We are trying to promote tourism. And who knows, maybe someone out there will think ‘This sounds like an interesting town,' and decide to move here. That would be just wonderful.”

Over the weekend and on Monday, volunteers painted, cleaned and repaired the house. About 20 volunteers have painted all the trim red.

“This competition is an a economic and psychological boost for the town,” Ms. Jackson said from her home in Kipling. “We are not living in a boom economy in this town, because the price of crops are down. So this competition means a lot to our small community.”

The town plans to hold “the world's largest party” and auditions for the Donna on Demand role over the Labour Day weekend, Ms. Jackson said.

“We expect a lot of people will come to visit the town to try out for the movie. People will come here, spend money and see all that our town has to offer.”

When the town first made its offer a few weeks ago, Mr. MacDonald responded and entered into negotiations. In the end, Mr. MacDonald won not just a house but the key to the town, and the opportunity to be mayor for one day.

The town council also decreed that the day of the trade would be known as “One Red Paper Clip Day.” The council also plans to build the world's largest paperclip, which has to be larger than the current record of approximately 11 metres, Ms. Jackson said.

Mr. MacDonald said he had never been to Kipling and was looking forward to the move.

He didn't know what he would do once there, but he planned to write a book about the whole project.

His girlfriend, Dominique Dupuis, 26, has also quit her job as a nutritionist to follow him to Kipling.

“I'm very excited,” she said. “The people of Kipling are so into the project. They all got together last weekend to clean and paint the house. It's not every day that a small town gets together to welcome you into their town. It's going to be a new adventure.”

http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/

[Davydave]

Hmmmm I wonder if I can trade my '95 Caravan with 677,000km for my own private island in the south pacific.....

[BigFratDaddy]

very interesting article... i need to get started

[WildKat]

I'm going to do this, but I want to skip the middle part.....I have a Lucky Red Paper Clip, does anyone want to trade a house or new car for it? See if that works!