Creative new offerings at Naiise’s I Eat Design Festival

SINGAPORE — Ever wondered how innovative and design-driven your favourite foods are? Well, here’s a chance to celebrate just that.

Held over the Sept 10 to 11 weekend at its 8,500sqf flagship store located at The Cathay, Naiise’s I Eat Design festival is not only inspired by Singapore’s love for food but it also aims to bring inspiring and creative people in our local food and design scenes together for a unique collaborative effort that showcases innovative food items as well as food-inspired art and design. Naiise is a store that specialises in emerging and established brands from Singapore and around the world.

But this event is not only a showcase, as visitors can also look forward to a hands-on learning experience with activities such as a granola parfait workshop by Eastern Granola and Box Green; wine and soju appreciation workshop by Geonbae; ice cream-making workshop by Straits Wholefoods; tea blending workshop by Whitetree and more, just to name a few. Workshops will be made available for registration at Naiise’s website (http://www.naiise.com/collections/workshops).

Of course, the highlight of such an event will have to involve actual eating. Or more specifically, sampling of seasonal and trending food flavours from more than 10 food vendors, including mooncakes by j.artisier, Salted Egg Chocolate Truffles by Demochoco, unicorn-themed food offerings by STATE Creative, and creative eclairs by L’eclair by Sarah Michelle. There are even warm mocktails via a collaboration between The 1872 Clipper Tea Co. and JEWELS by Cheng to look forward to.

There will also be a photography print installation by Food On Fork featuring bite-sized offerings from eight vendors at the event, and a live crochet demonstration of ice cream knickknacks by Operation Overhaul.

“I EAT DESIGN is a representation of what Naiise stands for — creating memorable, feel-good experiences centred on design and connecting communities of design-lovers and crafters,” said Dennis Tay, founder of Naiise, in a statement released today. “Design is everywhere around us, and as a nation of foodies, we want to bring everyone closer to design through an accessible and fun medium.”

This, he added, is also part of its ongoing efforts to introduce engaging concepts within its network of stores, which he felt would help keep the shopping experience “fresh and interactive for our regular shoppers”.

In line with this approach, featured vendor and small batch local chocolatier Demochoco is currently running an Instagram crowdsourcing competition for contributions for a new chocolate truffle flavour. Users can contribute their ideas for flavour combinations on Naiise’s Instagram account (@naiise). The most creative suggestion will be chosen to debut at the event and made available for purchase. The contest runs until Aug 26.

I Eat Design by Naiise is open from 1pm to 9pm on Sept 10 to 11 at the Naiise Flagship Store at The Cathay (#B1-08, 2 Hardy Road). Admission is free.