Kindred Tales | Martha & Spy | Production Manager
Tell us a bit about your work
At the moment I’m on maternity leave with my 5 month old, Wilkie, but usually I work in central London managing the production of shoes for ÁLVARO.
Tell us about Spy and how he came into your life.
We have a family whippet called Timmy and when I left home my dad and I were living on opposite sides of London Fields sharing the dog. He decided to move to Cambridge and I couldn’t imagine my life without a whippet in it so I started my search. Everyone knows once you go and see a litter you don’t leave without one...there were two puppies left. One was big and dozy, a real gentle giant, but there was something so naughty about the littler livelier one that I couldn’t resist - he chewed the ends of my scarf and licked my ears and I knew he was the one. Spy’s been amazing at adjusting to having just me, then me and my boyfriend, and now a baby too in a couple of years.
How does Spy fit into your general working day?
Spy’s been an office dog from the outset. When he was tiny I’d tuck him in my bag and jump on a bus! As long as he’s had a good morning run around he lies under my desk. We have a little shop attached to the office and he loves the attention he gets from customers. He’ll come on shoots to the studio or on errands around town. At lunch we walk in Regent’s Park and then he snoozes again until home time when we squeeze in another walk on the way back.
When you’re not working where do you like to hang out with the dog?
Day to day we walk on London Fields where all of Spy’s favourite dogs congregate, or on Hackney Downs where I can grab a coffee and groceries from Casey’s. On weekends we love a good romp on Hampstead Heath or out towards the Olympic Park. Spy is most happy on the beach frolicking in the dunes, or getting lost against the sand. I love that he’s a real go-anywhere dog.
What essentials do you always have on you when heading out for a dog walk, and what do you carry them in?
Poo bags ! They’re always the first thing I forget and it’s never a good look getting caught short, so now I have them constantly attached to the his lead, which the loop is great for. But mainly I try to keep it simple with dog and baby in tow. In the summer I’ll chuck a bottle of water in the buggy, and if Spy wants a ball he usually finds one!
What adventures do you have planned with Spy for later this year?
We’ve got our annual trip to Norfolk scheduled which I’m hoping goes ahead, and sometime the OG whippet Timmy comes too. I’m hoping (if lockdown allows) to go and see friends and family in Cornwall and that gives my boyfriend Tom a chance to surf, too.
