“Food Loves Design” aims to highlight the role of design in the food and hospitality sectors.
From illustration and branding to interiors and experiences, Food Loves Design celebrates the role of design in shaping how we experience food and hospitality. This event series invites the wider public to explore the creativity, ideas and thinking behind the places, brands and experiences we love, in a way that is joyful, accessible and interactive.
Our second event takes place on Tuesday 17th November , bringing together FADA Studio , Maven and Nine Squared for an insight into the world of interior design. Discover how the three came together to bring Nine Squared to life, from the initial ideas and creative vision through to the design and delivery of the space. Hear about the collaborative process, the thinking behind the interiors and how thoughtful design can shape the way we experience a place.
Tickets are £20 including refreshments & snacks with a limited number of free tickets available to those on low income.
Accessibility: Ninesquared Coffee is based in a ground floor unit with street access. The venue is easily reachable by buses due to its proximity to Belfast City Hall with off-street parking (including limited disabled access spaces) and car parks available nearby including CastleCourt and Euro CarParks.
About FADA Studio
FADA is a multifaceted design studio; an open, empathetic environment where creative conversation can thrive and flourish, where concepts are nurtured, contorted and tested before taking on their final form. We are considered in our approach, producing work that instils an appreciation for craft and precedent.Derived from the Irish language, FADA is an acronym for ‘faoi aon díon amháin’ translating as, ‘under one roof.’ In this space, under one roof, we thrive on the cross-pollination of ideas, people and place, resulting in the creation of meaningful timeless spaces, furniture, objects and forms. Founder and Architectural Designer, Aoife Mulvenna, is a collaborative creative with a passion for emotional place making and an eye for detail. She is driven by a genuine desire to understand her clients on a deeper level, crafting beautiful spaces that feel authentic and brand specific.
fadastudio.co
About Maven
Maven is an award-winning, independent furniture and homeware store located in a stunning former bank building on Belfast’s bustling Lisburn Road. Celebrating its 13th birthday this Autumn, Maven brings together the very best of international design, as well as smaller designer makers, resulting in a design destination that has customers travelling from across the island of Ireland.
As well as a bricks and mortar shop, Maven customers can also shop online. The team has a dedicated contracts division, working alongside architects, designers and contractors, as well as personal shopping and design services for residential customers.
wearemaven.co.uk
Food Loves Design is part of our “Design After Dark” series in collaboration with Blick Shared Studios and supported by Belfast City Council.
As part of Irish Design Week 2026
Welcome to the table is a participatory visual project and exhibition exploring belonging, third culture identity and cultural exchange through the lens of food, table settings, and shared meal rituals. You are invited to co-create table environments inspired by different cultures and ways of living, with each table becoming a visual expression of heritage, cultural traditions, rituals as well as contemporary habits.
The project is rooted in the idea that identity is not only shaped by nationality but by lived experience, creativity, migration and memory and that it continues to evolve. Through designed tableware, surfaces, vessels and place settings, audiences are invited to experience different cultures.
From creating centrepieces with natural materials to exploring zines and Tunisian cuisine, our workshops during Irish Design Week 2026 will turn ideas into objects and shared experiences, with the resulting tables and stories displayed at Belfast Central Library and Second Nature.
Join us and develop ideas through making and exchange with contributions from designers, artists, researchers and food practitioners.
What’s on:
Hands-on design and making workshops exploring table settings, objects and natural materials
Conversations about food, culture, creative health and who gathers around the table
Food and Gathering focused sessions with BIA! Zine, Larder East and Carthago including a Tunisian tasting tray
An exhibition of student product design, workshop creations and food stories
Evening showcases for Late Night Art and Design After Dark
Key information and schedule
Thursday 5th November (Belfast Central Library & Second Nature)
18.00 onwards - In our Late Night Art Showcase ahead of Irish Design Week 2026, Belfast School of Art’s Foundation (Product Design) students have explored the eating experience through designing tableware in an exercise of reimagining traditional eating tools that enhance the users’ sensory involvement with food
Monday 9th November
Day One: Welcome to the table
Session 1 (Art Shop at BSOA)
10.00-12.30 - An introduction with Belfast Design Week’s Christine James & Karishma Kusurkar and The Art Shop’s Celeste Owens. Belfast School of Art lecturers Dr. Pamela Whitaker and Dr. Adriana Ionascu, supported by Art Psychotherapy trainees Catherine Fitzmaurice and Michelle Eustace, explore who gathers around the table, intention, material objects, food, psychology, creative health and “glimmers.” Join them to create a centrepiece for a gathering space using natural materials.
Session 2 (Belfast Central Library)
12.30-14.00 - A tour of Belfast Central Library - a vital third space in the community full of heritage, design and ideas for gathering
Session 3 (Art Shop at BSOA)
14.00-16.00 - Join BIA! Zine for a very special session - “An Ode to the Meal that Changed My Life: A zine-making workshop inspired by your favourite foods. In this workshop, you are invited around our shared table to create a recipe zine. Through zine-making, collage, drawing, writing and storytelling, you will share the story of your favourite food, flavour, meal, or memory.
Tuesday 10th November
Day Two: Make, Eat, Gather
Session 1 (Art Shop at BSOA)
10.00-12.30 - Hear from Larder>East’s Alli Steen on the significance of tables and public spaces and design your own gathering space
Session 2 (Art Shop at BSOA)
12.30-14.00 - Discover Tunisian cuisine and culture from Carthago’s owner and head chef Sabeh Sendi and sample a Tunisian tasting tray
Session 3 (Art Shop at BSOA)
14.00-16.00 - Develop a unique cultural space using found objects and repurposed materials
Session 4 (Art Shop at BSOA)
16.00-17.00 - Install your work at Belfast Central Library
Thursday 12th November
18.00 onwards - Design After Dark celebration at Belfast Central Library with full exhibition of work
Accessibility information:
Belfast School of Art
Belfast Central Library
Second Nature - The exhibition space is on the ground floor with easy access through the main entrance. Please be aware of building works in the area which may affect pavement access outside.
If you have any specific accessibility queries or are joining with a larger group of 5+ people, please reach out to info@belfastdesignweek.com