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Blick Projects

A selection of our different creative projects, programmes and events

Current Projects

Nurture Creative Incubation Program

Nurture Support for Emerging Creatives

An 8-month program providing bespoke meaningful business support within a nurturing creative environment to help 4 emerging freelance or self employed creatives to successfully establish their creative practice and to...
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The Sustainable Pop Up Design Musuem

Pop Up Design Museum

As part of our work with The Design Salon we have been helping to curate the 3rd Pop Up Design Museum on the 12th & 13th November at The Europa...
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Designing Your Life through Doodles and Drawings to Improve Your Health and Wellbeing

Design your life to improve your health and wellbeing through doodling, drawing and collaging in this interactive visual journaling workshop. In this workshop illustrator Kylie Chan will share her own...
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Our Time is Now

A video podcast series sharing the stories of 5 Belfast creatives. Exploring how they have built their businesses, overcome challenges and navigated the shifts and changes throughout their creative journeys....
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Womenfolk Peer Mentoring

Monthly get-togethers for creative women to meet and connect with other like-minded women.
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Flock NI

Flock NI is the new trading arm of Blick. Flock is a company that delivers multidisciplinary creative projects. Flock brings together the creative talent involved with Blick to work on creative...
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Belfast Design Week

Belfast Design Week celebrates design in all its forms in an annual week-long series of events encompassing talks, workshops, pop-ups, exhibitions and interactive elements focusing on design.
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Womenfolk

Womenfolk is a project celebrating creative women entrepreneurs in Northern Ireland. The project aims to encourage more women to start up their own creative businesses through showcasing the profiles of...
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Share 6

At Share 6, 6 creative speakers share their stories over 60 minutes on a theme with an audience Q&A at the end.  Previous topics have included “Fashioning the future,” “Made...
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Graduate Entrepreneurs in Residence

The  Graduate Entrepreneurs in Residence programme is designed to support newly creative graduates to develop their business ideas with the help of free studio space and mentorship. Keep an eye...
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Exhibitions at Blick

Exhibitions at Blick include current residents “Our Time is Now”, “Urban Design Callenge”, “Womenfolk”, “Refugees Welcome T-Shirt Design Challenge”, “The Art of the Comic” and “Failures” and aim to support...
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Past Projects

Blick Summer 2023 Events

We developed a new summer 2023 program of support for creatives in Belfast. Focusing on informal action-led practical and inspiring workshops and get-togethers, bringing creatives together to meet, connect, and...
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Grow Your Own Way

Grow Your Own Way was a collaborative project we developed with Belfast Design Week and VentureFolk combining design and growing to explore the potential for supporting residents to grow their...
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Belfast Design Popup Museum Window Design of Oh! Donuts by Alex Synge First47 photo by Joe Laverty Photography

Popup Design Museum

The Popup Design Museum involved a design trail and exhibition as part of Belfast Design Week within shop windows and local independent small businesses and hotels.
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Big Design Day Out

The Big Design Day Out was a project we developed for Belfast Design Week with over 50 different city centre design related events and activities for people of all ages...
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Urban Design Challenge

The Urban Design Challenge sponsored by Destination CQ was a project we developed to bring together emerging designers to come together to design Urban Design ideas and interventions for the...
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The World Turned Upside Down

Rewriting the Narrative was a 4-part audio documentary series exploring the experiences and personal stories of creatives during the Covid-19 crisis.  Looking at how the pandemic impacted on the work,...
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Womenfolk Industry Expert Videos

We created a series of free industry expert videos in collaboration with Creating A Space for Ulster Bank on topics including managing your finances, design thinking, developing your brand and...
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Design Business Bootcamp

The Design Business Bootcamp was a short course with a leading design expert to develop design startups and give them the support and ideas for the next steps of their...
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My Block

My Block

My Block celebrates and showcases independent businesses and culture and is supported by Innovate UK.
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Design Startup: Build Your Own

Design Startup was a 3 day business start-up program covering three of the key elements of getting your business off the ground – ideation, prototyping and selling your work.  This...
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Womenfolk Dig Deep

Dig Deep

Dig Deep was a creative enterprise support program that brought young women (18 – 30) from different backgrounds NI & BAME together in a supportive and nurturing environment over a...
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Great Creators Podcast

Great Creators Podcast was a series sharing the diverse stories of design and entrepreneurship in Northern Ireland. Featuring start-ups, community-led projects, and established businesses which together make up the rich...
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timeisnowbanner-01

The Time is Now

The Time is Now was a collaborative project with Creating a Space focusing on honest and meaningful conversation style events for early stage creative entrepreneurs. Keep an eye on our...
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Small Town Big Dreams

Small Town Big Dreams is a collaborative project between Blick Shared Studios, Karishma Kusurkar and Graeme Watson. A podcast celebrating Northern Ireland’s creative entrepreneurs and telling their stories. Small Town Big...
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The Design Salon

A design collective for people in the design industry in Northern Ireland, to discuss projects and plans that are contemporary, cutting-edge and promote design locally and internationally.
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Late Night Design

A chance to see behind the scenes of some of Belfast’s most creative design studios and meet and connect with other design industry professionals
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Blick Academy

Blick Academy was an ongoing series of events and workshops for creative industry start-ups, freelancers and small businesses all about sharing skills and knowledge within the creative community to help...
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NEST Creative Incubation Programme

The NEST program was a bespoke business support program we developed and managed for Eighty81 Creative Workspace in Derry-Londonderry for creative and digital start-ups. The program included affordable workspace, industry...
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The Burning Question

The Burning Question is a panel discussion with design industry leaders. This interactive event seeks to find out the human element behind businesses through the sharing of stories as well...
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Eighty81 Club for Creative Startups

Eighty81 Club for Creative Startups was a community for startups, entrepreneurs and small businesses in Derry-Londonderry.  It was a series of events including workshops, clinics and case studies with industry...
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25

25 Pop Up

25 is a design-led pop up showcasing and retailing independent design brands with products all priced at £25 or under, making it affordable for everyone.  25 Pop Up has been...
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The Faculty

The Faculty was a collaborative project with Seedhead arts offering courses and workshops designed to teach you a new creative skill – be it photography, film-making, street art, flower arranging, stand-up...
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Today`s finance resource for emerging creatives is a budget template that you can download from our website as an excel document and complete for your creative business. �Putting together a budget for your creative business will help you to understand your costs, plan out your expenses and reach your goals. It`s also not as complicated as it seems, we have included a downloadable excel budget template on the resources section of our website to help you to put one together for your business (link in our bio or below):

��https://blickstudios.org/resources/useful-finance-resources-links/

Nov 20

Open
Today's finance resource for emerging creatives is a budget template that you can download from our website as an excel document and complete for your creative business. �Putting together a budget for your creative business will help you to understand your costs, plan out your expenses and reach your goals. It's also not as complicated as it seems, we have included a downloadable excel budget template on the resources section of our website to help you to put one together for your business (link in our bio or below): ��https://blickstudios.org/resources/useful-finance-resources-links/

�Today for our finance resources for emerging creatives we are sharing what you need to include on an invoice, something that seems obvious, but really isn`t when you are starting out!

�You can download an invoice template as a word or PDF document from the `Resources for Creatives` section of our website (link in bio or below) that you can then customise for your creative business!

��https://blickstudios.org/resources/useful-finance-resources-links/

Nov 19

Open
�Today for our finance resources for emerging creatives we are sharing what you need to include on an invoice, something that seems obvious, but really isn't when you are starting out! �You can download an invoice template as a word or PDF document from the 'Resources for Creatives' section of our website (link in bio or below) that you can then customise for your creative business! ��https://blickstudios.org/resources/useful-finance-resources-links/

Thanks again to everyone who came along to @stephaniesaloli`s creative talk last Wednesday evening and to Stephanie for giving such a great talk with so many insights and lessons for emerging creatives, as always we will be doing a wee event write up over coming weeks of the key lessons!

Nov 14

Open
Thanks again to everyone who came along to @stephaniesaloli's creative talk last Wednesday evening and to Stephanie for giving such a great talk with so many insights and lessons for emerging creatives, as always we will be doing a wee event write up over coming weeks of the key lessons!

This week we have been thrilled to have been able to help with @belfastdesignwk  and @the_design_salon `s Sustainable Pop-up Design Museum as part of the RE(act) Festival by the @linenquarter in the Europa Hotel today and tomorrow!

If you are attending any events at the festival or just passing by you can pop by to take a look at the Pop-up Design Museum on the 2nd floor!

The Pop-up Design Museum feature 5 local designers incorporating sustainability into their work

- Sam Lynas Co-founder of @get.haru @helpandreuse a tech startup focused on circular fashion

- Azhar Murtuza Founder of @born_maverick a food innovation company

- Stéphanie Heckman @stephaniesaloli a graphic recorder and visual facilitator focusing on working on climate and sustainability events

- Lee Robb founder of Positive Carrickfergus and Co-founder of Carrick Greengrocers @carrickgrocers

- Emily McIlwaine @emtextiles Woven Designer and Horticulturalist

You can also read fab interviews with each of them on sustainability and their design practice over on the Belfast Design Week Website www.belfastdesignweek.com

Nov 12

Open
This week we have been thrilled to have been able to help with @belfastdesignwk  and @the_design_salon 's Sustainable Pop-up Design Museum as part of the RE(act) Festival by the @linenquarter in the Europa Hotel today and tomorrow! If you are attending any events at the festival or just passing by you can pop by to take a look at the Pop-up Design Museum on the 2nd floor! The Pop-up Design Museum feature 5 local designers incorporating sustainability into their work - Sam Lynas Co-founder of @get.haru @helpandreuse a tech startup focused on circular fashion - Azhar Murtuza Founder of @born_maverick a food innovation company - Stéphanie Heckman @stephaniesaloli a graphic recorder and visual facilitator focusing on working on climate and sustainability events - Lee Robb founder of Positive Carrickfergus and Co-founder of Carrick Greengrocers @carrickgrocers - Emily McIlwaine @emtextiles Woven Designer and Horticulturalist You can also read fab interviews with each of them on sustainability and their design practice over on the Belfast Design Week Website www.belfastdesignweek.com

We are so excited through our @the_design_salon collab as part of the �@linenquarter `s �RE[act] Festival 2024 to have Learning Experience Designer Peter Worth join us for a workshop on November 13th, 3-4.30pm in the Europa Hotel.

Peter works at the intersection of design thinking, professional learning, leadership, and culture change. Consulting globally and based in Northern Ireland, Peter’s work focuses on helping teams to elevate local brilliance and use the mindsets of human-centred design to create change so their users can thrive. In recent years, he has worked closely with the Stanford d.school and Catalyst.

Informed by his background in education, Peter has developed a design practice that balances analytical and creative problem-solving. His belief that great progress can be made by taking the time to listen first has positioned him to guide people through their initial discomfort with design to discover skills they did not know they had and to help educators recognize their power in the transformation of schools as a part of a larger story of impact. In addition, Peter works with K12 schools, universities, businesses, and non-profit organizations to promote local innovation.

Spaces are limited so find out more and grab your free ticket on the events page on our website (link in profile)!

Nov 8

Open
We are so excited through our @the_design_salon collab as part of the �@linenquarter 's �RE[act] Festival 2024 to have Learning Experience Designer Peter Worth join us for a workshop on November 13th, 3-4.30pm in the Europa Hotel. Peter works at the intersection of design thinking, professional learning, leadership, and culture change. Consulting globally and based in Northern Ireland, Peter’s work focuses on helping teams to elevate local brilliance and use the mindsets of human-centred design to create change so their users can thrive. In recent years, he has worked closely with the Stanford d.school and Catalyst. Informed by his background in education, Peter has developed a design practice that balances analytical and creative problem-solving. His belief that great progress can be made by taking the time to listen first has positioned him to guide people through their initial discomfort with design to discover skills they did not know they had and to help educators recognize their power in the transformation of schools as a part of a larger story of impact. In addition, Peter works with K12 schools, universities, businesses, and non-profit organizations to promote local innovation. Spaces are limited so find out more and grab your free ticket on the events page on our website (link in profile)!

Pollen Studios + Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of “Palette Perspectives” by Blick resident Emanuela Mae Agrini @emanuela_mae_agrini_art

The event will take place on November 7, 2024, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, at Pollen’s gallery space located at 7 North Street, Belfast. As part of the Belfast Late Night Art event, this evening will showcase a collection of portrait paintings and fashion illustrations, exploring creativity and individual expression through various subjects and styles.

Nov 5

Open
Pollen Studios + Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of “Palette Perspectives” by Blick resident Emanuela Mae Agrini @emanuela_mae_agrini_art The event will take place on November 7, 2024, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, at Pollen’s gallery space located at 7 North Street, Belfast. As part of the Belfast Late Night Art event, this evening will showcase a collection of portrait paintings and fashion illustrations, exploring creativity and individual expression through various subjects and styles.

Another chance to check out the interview we did with Stephanie @stephaniesaloli who is sharing her story at our next Creative Talk on Wednesday evening!

Sign up on our website to hear her story in-person!

Nov 4

Open
Another chance to check out the interview we did with Stephanie @stephaniesaloli who is sharing her story at our next Creative Talk on Wednesday evening! Sign up on our website to hear her story in-person!

Just 1 week until our next creative talk with Blick Hill St resident Stephanie Heckman sharing her creative story as a graphic recorder and visual facilitator who translates real-time conversations into hand-drawn visual summaries at events and conferences globally including UN climate change negotiations!

Book your free ticket through our website (link in profile)

Oct 30

Open
Just 1 week until our next creative talk with Blick Hill St resident Stephanie Heckman sharing her creative story as a graphic recorder and visual facilitator who translates real-time conversations into hand-drawn visual summaries at events and conferences globally including UN climate change negotiations! Book your free ticket through our website (link in profile)

As part of our work with @the_design_salon we have been helping to curate the 3rd Pop Up Design Museum on the 12th & 13th November at The Europa Hotel as part of the RE[act] Festival @linenquarter this November 12th-14th to create a more sustainable Belfast.

The Pop Up Design Museum will themed on "Sustainability." You`ll learn about 5 local designers incorporating sustainability in different ways into their practices and we hope you`ll leave inspired and full of ideas for your own life and work.

We also have a very special workshop - "Design thinking (and doing) for sustainability" - with Learning Experience Designer Peter Worth.

We`ll be sharing more information about the pop up museum and workshop in the lead up to RE[act] and you can visit reactfestival.co.uk to discover the full programme of events.

#reactfestival2024

https://blickstudios.org/projects/pop-up-design-museum/

Oct 30

Open
As part of our work with @the_design_salon we have been helping to curate the 3rd Pop Up Design Museum on the 12th & 13th November at The Europa Hotel as part of the RE[act] Festival @linenquarter this November 12th-14th to create a more sustainable Belfast. The Pop Up Design Museum will themed on "Sustainability." You'll learn about 5 local designers incorporating sustainability in different ways into their practices and we hope you'll leave inspired and full of ideas for your own life and work. We also have a very special workshop - "Design thinking (and doing) for sustainability" - with Learning Experience Designer Peter Worth. We'll be sharing more information about the pop up museum and workshop in the lead up to RE[act] and you can visit reactfestival.co.uk to discover the full programme of events. #reactfestival2024 https://blickstudios.org/projects/pop-up-design-museum/

First in person meeting in our Great Northern Street Studios with our fab Nurture Program participants @kitschsistersbelfast @bethanysmillican and @verahylands who we will introduce you to properly over the coming weeks! Looking forward to working with them all on their creative ideas over the next 8 months!

Oct 29

Open
First in person meeting in our Great Northern Street Studios with our fab Nurture Program participants @kitschsistersbelfast @bethanysmillican and @verahylands who we will introduce you to properly over the coming weeks! Looking forward to working with them all on their creative ideas over the next 8 months!

Just over a week until our next creative talk with Blick Hill St resident Stéphanie Heckman a graphic recorder and visual facilitator sharing her story!

Stephanie will be sharing her journey as a creative entrepreneur and how she came to do the work she does. She will share the highs and lows of her journey and what she has learned along the way. She will also share her advice for others on a similar path and for artists and creatives on how to generate an income from their creativity. Stephanie will also share with us some examples of her work including her work for UN Climate Change negotiations.

Event Date(s): November 6, 2024
Event Time: 7.00 - 8.00pm
Location: Blick Shared Studios, 46 Hill Street, Belfast, BT1 2LB
Cost: Free

For more info and to sign up, visit our website (link in profile)

Oct 29

Open
Just over a week until our next creative talk with Blick Hill St resident Stéphanie Heckman a graphic recorder and visual facilitator sharing her story! Stephanie will be sharing her journey as a creative entrepreneur and how she came to do the work she does. She will share the highs and lows of her journey and what she has learned along the way. She will also share her advice for others on a similar path and for artists and creatives on how to generate an income from their creativity. Stephanie will also share with us some examples of her work including her work for UN Climate Change negotiations. Event Date(s): November 6, 2024 Event Time: 7.00 - 8.00pm Location: Blick Shared Studios, 46 Hill Street, Belfast, BT1 2LB Cost: Free For more info and to sign up, visit our website (link in profile)

Our next creative talk is on Wed 6th November at 7pm in our Hill St studios with graphic recorder and visual facilitator Stéphanie Heckman sharing her story.

Stephanie will talk about how she set up her creative business. Her journey so far as a creative entrepreneur, the highs and lows, what she has learned along the way, advice for others on a similar path and for artists and creatives in general on how to generate an income from their creativity.

There`s more info about Stéphanie below!

Stéphanie Heckman 
Graphic Recorder & Visual Facilitator

Stéphanie Heckman, Dutch originally but based in Northern Ireland, works internationally at conferences as a graphic recorder and visual facilitator. In this role she translates in real-time collective conversations into hand-drawn visual summaries that distill the essence of both content and undercurrent. Her visual summaries transcend language and accessibility barriers, and communicate key takeaways of complex discussions in an engaging, visual way to a much larger audience than those originally present.

Active since 2018, Stéphanie has worked with close to 200 organisations, but focuses on supporting those advancing climate action, peace and reconciliation and leadership development. Since 2020, she collaborates regularly with UN Climate Change and numerous NGOs in the global climate space. She has trail blazed a way for the field of graphic recording to support climate negotiations at the highest level and has led teams of graphic recorders to cover sessions during three consecutive COPs (annual UN climate summits) and related events. In recent years she has trained up two cohorts of graphic recorders through her Visual Practice Apprenticeship Programme, focusing both on the craft of visual practice and business skills as a creative professional.
https://www.stephanieheckman.com/

EVENT DETAILS
DATE: Wed 6th Nov
TIME: 7PM
VENUE: Blick Studios, 46 Hill Street

You can book your free ticket on our website (link in profile)

Oct 21

Open
Our next creative talk is on Wed 6th November at 7pm in our Hill St studios with graphic recorder and visual facilitator Stéphanie Heckman sharing her story. Stephanie will talk about how she set up her creative business. Her journey so far as a creative entrepreneur, the highs and lows, what she has learned along the way, advice for others on a similar path and for artists and creatives in general on how to generate an income from their creativity. There's more info about Stéphanie below! Stéphanie Heckman  Graphic Recorder & Visual Facilitator Stéphanie Heckman, Dutch originally but based in Northern Ireland, works internationally at conferences as a graphic recorder and visual facilitator. In this role she translates in real-time collective conversations into hand-drawn visual summaries that distill the essence of both content and undercurrent. Her visual summaries transcend language and accessibility barriers, and communicate key takeaways of complex discussions in an engaging, visual way to a much larger audience than those originally present. Active since 2018, Stéphanie has worked with close to 200 organisations, but focuses on supporting those advancing climate action, peace and reconciliation and leadership development. Since 2020, she collaborates regularly with UN Climate Change and numerous NGOs in the global climate space. She has trail blazed a way for the field of graphic recording to support climate negotiations at the highest level and has led teams of graphic recorders to cover sessions during three consecutive COPs (annual UN climate summits) and related events. In recent years she has trained up two cohorts of graphic recorders through her Visual Practice Apprenticeship Programme, focusing both on the craft of visual practice and business skills as a creative professional. https://www.stephanieheckman.com/ EVENT DETAILS DATE: Wed 6th Nov TIME: 7PM VENUE: Blick Studios, 46 Hill Street You can book your free ticket on our website (link in profile)