Songwriters often say their tunes arrive on walks, and the woman in the flat below mine is no exception. Every evening around seven she heads out with Bao, a scruffy schnauzer cross, and comes back humming something new. She once told me the click of Bao’s nails on the pavement gives her a tempo to write over.
Walks like hers are a ritual: the same route past the hawker centre, the same pause at the lamp post Bao likes, the same loop home. The leash is the one piece of gear in her hand for the whole of it, which is why she eventually wanted it to feel like hers.
The bass line of every walk
Think of the leash as the bass line of a walk. It stays in the background, connects everything, and you only notice it when something is off. Most of us buy one in a hurry, in black or navy, and never think about it again. A plain strap does its job, but it has nothing to say about whoever is clipped to the far end.
What changed when the strap carried Bao
Her fix was a personalised dog leash made by Little Red Cute, and Bao, illustrated from one of her phone photos, now runs the length of it. She liked that every decision stayed with her. She sent in the picture, picked a style, studied the finished artwork on her screen and paid only once she had signed it off. Nothing is produced ahead of that sign-off, and each leash is made in Singapore after it has been ordered.
The details, like a set list
- Strap: polyester, a metre and a half long and two and a half centimetres across, in a single size.
- Hook: zinc alloy.
- Handle: a generous loop at the far end.
- Print: sublimation, the strap taking the artwork under heat and pressure.
- Artwork: Bao, illustrated from her own snapshot and carried down the strap.
Choosing the photo that sets the tone
Her one piece of advice is to treat the photo like a good recording: clear, well lit and nothing muddy. You want the whole face in view, pointed roughly your way. Her phone was all she needed; the picture came from the corridor where Bao waits for her each evening.
Now Bao’s portrait swings beside her along the familiar loop, and the tune she hums on the way home has a working title borrowed from his name. Some songs start with a chord. Hers, lately, start at the front door with the click of a hook.…