Pulled Studio presents The Common Pot, a week-long celebration of the Kilkenny Design Workshops (KDW) for Irish Design Week 2025, exploring how design weaves connections between people, food, and culture.
Through a series of public events, talks, and workshops, The Common Pot creates a dialogue between the public and design, inviting participation in a shared exploration of how graphic design and food traditions shape our collective experience. Pulled Studio will produce a series of Risograph-printed recipe cards and a commemorative tea towel inspired by renowned designers Patrick Scott and Oisin Kelly, both influential figures in KDW.
The programme unfolds through two open calls that bring the public and designers together in a collaborative exchange.
Firstly, the public is invited to share their most cherished one-pot recipes - simple, home-cooked dishes that bring comfort and connection. Each submission should include both the recipe and the story behind it: a personal link, a family tradition, or a dish rooted in cultural heritage. From these submissions, Pulled Studio will select six recipes that reflect the diverse traditions of Ireland’s long-established and new communities.
In parallel, six designers will be selected to take part in a collaborative design and print workshop, responding to the chosen recipes and reinterpreting their stories into a vibrant set of Risograph-printed recipe cards. Over two days, three professional designers and three students from the BA in Creative Design at ATU Sligo will collaborate under the guidance of the Pulled Studio team to plan, design, and print a fully packaged series of cards.
During Irish Design Week, 17-21 November, the programme will open in ATU Sligo with a public talk by Muireann Charlton, Lecturer at ATU Sligo, titled A 20th Century Design Movement in Ireland: Kilkenny Design Workshops, Exhibitions 1965–1984. This event will be followed by a social gathering and VoKu (volkskuchen), a communal meal revealing the selected recipes and introducing the participating designers. The week will continue with the collaborative workshops and conclude with a public launch of the printed works and closing celebration at the Yeats Building.
Full programme
All events are free
Date: Monday 17th November
Time: 4pm – 5pm
Location: L0002 (new Black Box), Block L, ATU Sligo | See map
Talk:
A 20th century design movement in Ireland: Kilkenny Design Workshops (KDW), exhibitions 1965 -1984 and its collaborative, interdisciplinary and international design philosophy.
Muireann Charleton, PhD researcher Kingston University, London; lecturer in Design at ATU Sligo.
Summary:
This design history talk is inspired by the quote “The Ties that Tie, and the Links that Link.” from William H. Walsh, founder of the Kilkenny Design Workshop (KDW). This public talk will explore how KDW was an important 20th century design movement in Ireland. It was also a pioneer in collaborative practice, a food revolution, employment, architectural heritage, working in teams, and working internationally with other design groups. This talk will explore how the KDW was featured in international design magazines (like the Italian design magazine Abitare) at the time. It will discuss how the Italian design community admired and interpreted the Irish KDW project. This talk will also explore how today; contemporary Irish curators and designers have been inspired by the KDW movement in their work in contemporary Irish craft exhibitions.
This talk will be of interest to practitioners of design, architecture, visual arts, craft, as well as historians. It is open to students and the general public.
The talk is free. Places allocated on a first come, first served based.
Date: Monday 17th November
Time: 6pm – 7pm
Location: G1030, Innovation Centre, ATU Sligo | See map
Public Event:
Recipe sharing gathering and VoKu
Summary
Come along and discover the one-pot recipes collected from our open call and hear the stories behind them. Meet the designers who will interpret the six shortlisted recipes to create a series of Risograph-printed recipe cards. This event styled as a VoKu (VolxKüche), a movement in Germany meaning people’s kitchens, which are social gatherings amongst communities to share food and connect. For decades the KDW and the Kilkenny Design Shop have brought Irish Craft and Design into the homes of people across Ireland and further afield with a range of kitchenware, tableware and kitchen textiles. As part of this programme we are exploring a reversal in the relationship of public and designer, with the recipes and stories collected through the open call forming a prompt for our team of selected designers to create their designs for the recipe cards.
Date: Tuesday 18th & Wed 19th November
Time: 11am – 3pm
Location: Pulled Studio, G0006, Innovation Centre, ATU Sligo | See map
Workshops:
Collaborative Design for Risograph Printing
Summary:
Pulled are seeking 6 designers to come together for a two day collaborative workshop responding to the themes of The Common Pot project to create a series of recipe cards and incorporating inspiration from renowned Irish designer Patrick Scott, an influential figure in the development of KDM. The six designs will be based on one-pot recipes collected as part of an open call from the public. To apply, check out the guidelines and eligibility.
Event postponed
New Date: Friday 5th December
Time: 7.30pm – 8.30pm
Location: Yeats Building, Hyde Bridge, Sligo | See map
Showcase Event:
The Common Pot Showcase
Summary:
We bring our Irish Design Week programme to a close with a celebration of the work produced over the previous days. Join us in the Yeats Building as we unveil the collaboratively designed recipe card series and a bespoke commemorative tea towel produced by Pulled Studio both inspired by the legacy of KDM.