I Stockpile This $20 Multipurpose Tool in My Garage in Case It Ever Gets Discontinued

As an interiors stylist—whose creative-driven work often includes filling homes with cut flowers and the latest It plant—having a good pair of garden shears on hand is essential. But when I’m on set, I’m usually doing so much more than placing pretty blooms in a vase or pruning a houseplant. Shoots are fast-paced and hectic. Within a span of 10 minutes, I could be opening a box, clipping anemone stems before putting them in fresh water, removing taped-on packaging from the legs of a celebrity homeowner’s newly purchased chair, and snipping floral netting to help make an arrangement photo ready. It’s multitasking to the extreme. 

For each of my jobs, I tote along a Mary Poppins–style kit of tools and supplies, from Magic Erasers to fishing line to furniture sliders (in every size). But if I had to choose just one item to bring with me (my desert island tool, if you will), Fiskars Multipurpose Garden Snips would be it. I have an almost emotional attachment to this multi-tool—so much so that I have a stockpile of backups in my garage, just in case the company ever decides to stop making them. 

Multipurpose Garden Snips by Fiskars, Amazon ($20)

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Just like Ms. Poppins, they’re practically perfect in every way: They cut through nearly all types of flowers easily—from delicate stems like ranunculus or sweet peas to branchier/woodsy stems like lilacs and proteas. (They’re not totally ideal for super-thick branches, but if you put in enough time and muscle, they’ll get the job done.)

They’re also by far the most versatile I’ve come across. The outer edge of the snips pull double duty. One side is a smooth blade that makes slicing open boxes or any type of packaging super-easy. The other is serrated, so you can saw through a thick rope or even use it as a knife if you’re in a pinch—after all, you never know what type of situations might come up during a prop-styling gig. 

What’s more, there’s a built-in wire cutter at the base of the interior blades. This is important, because if you use the main part of the snips to cut metal, they get dull quickly (and keeping them sharp is important for floral work). I usually use this feature for cutting floral wire and netting to create a flower frog, which helps give precise control over each stem’s placement in an arrangement. 

And because toting around a sharp object on a busy set can be a bit dangerous, I love that they come with a protective holster that you can clip onto your pocket or belt, so you always have them at the ready. Clearly I don’t like to be separated from my clippers. Ever.