The Ugliest Thing I Love: Textile designer Seetal Solanki on her love/hate relationship with some headphones

I sometimes talk about my headphones as if they’re a person because they give me so much more than just sound; emotions, nostalgia and good times. I’d be lost without them as we’re pretty much joined at the hip – maybe that should be “joined at the ear?”

These particular headphones have been a part of my life for around five years. I bought them because their colour caught my eye in the shop – the ear-pieces have a kind of a rusty, copper-like tone but everything else is black. I suppose some people might think they’re good looking, and at one time I must have done too, but now they’re just an ugly piece of functional equipment that I’m forced to live with out of necessity. I guess you could think of it as one person’s trash being another’s treasure, but I actually consider my headphones to be both. They’re trash due to their ugliness but treasure because of what they offer me.

I’ve tried plenty of other earphones; Walkman headphones, DJ headphones, in-ear phones, but none of the others have come close. In the end I’ve stuck to the old faithful, the classic headphone, for comfort, quality and ease of use. Those in-ear numbers would never stay put anyway.

I do find it pretty strange that such a simple piece of equipment can mean so much to me. Maybe I have attachment issues, although I can honestly say I was never as connected to that old blanket or toy from my childhood in the way I am to these.

My better half always says that he’ll buy me some new ones that cancel out noise and make the music sound bright and clear but I can’t seem to part with the ones that I have. I’m not into gadgets that much and it just feels extravagant for me to have something so superior when I’m so happy with what I’ve got, even if they’re not much to look at. Even if they’re just plain ugly.