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.
Kicking off with a keynote by Muireann Charlton on KDW’s collaborative and international legacy, the programme invites the public to share one-pot recipes reflecting Ireland’s diverse communities.

Designers will reinterpret these dishes into a vibrant series of Risograph-printed recipe cards, inspired by Patrick Scott’s colour palette.

Alongside workshops and a limited-edition screen-printed tea towel, the week culminates in a public gathering, showcasing how food and design continue to tie and link us together.

Alongside workshops and a limited-edition screen-printed tea towel, the week culminates in a public gathering, showcasing how food and design continue to tie and link us together.

• 17 Nov: 2-3pm – Keynote, 6-7pm – social food gathering
• 18 & 19 Nov: 10-1pm – workshops
• 21 Nov: 7pm – closing showcase

Wheelchair Accessible • 18+