The Menagerie is now remembered as unpretentious, shabby Belfast nightlife at its best.

A medley of musical and artistic tastes ranging from DJ sets to acoustic sessions, rock & punk to jazz & blues – soul, folk and everything else.

Background

At its height the successful venture in live music and art played host to many special events including many Guardian Pick of the week, crossovers with QUB Sonorities Festival, Moving on Music, Strange Victory Presents, Belfast Music Club, Twitch and many famous electronic music greats including Nicky Siano, Daniel Baldelli, Tim Sweeney, Optimo Espacio, Andrew Weatherall and many, many other high profile music brands.

I worked here as a final year undergrad student from around 2012, where I was responsible for contributing to the graphic design for promotional materials and developing in-house art direction.

In 2017 the opportunity arose to revisit the role this time as Events and Communications Manager / General Manager and lead a small, tightly nit team who revived an empty building back to its former glory, uniting the creative melting pot of artists, musicians and promoters all collaborating together for one common aim –  to create unforgettable moments together.

Services
- Brand Positioning
- Brand Strategy
- Digital Advertising
- Print Design
- Web Design
- Motion Design

Client
Menagerie Inns

Year
2012-2020

The side of a brick building with an orange and black painted lower section, a black doorbell, a security camera, a black gutter pipe, and a cage protecting a black security camera or light fixture at the top corner. Part of an adjacent building is visible.

Belfast's premier quirky boho enclave. Dimly lit with mismatched furniture, vintage-shop light shades, fairy lights and charity shop finds.

My role at the menagerie as Events manager and General manager of the premises included a vast array of skills including my design and marketing skills, but also business and customer service skills I had acquired working in hospitality. 

On the marketing front, I was responsible for managing the social media accounts; creating dynamic and consistent content that increased audience interaction as well as driving traffic to the company website.

I managed relationships with external partners such as appointed event promoters, communications agencies, public sector bodies and other private sector business organisations while ensuring the smooth running of events.

I also was responsible for the everyday managing of the bar,  including keeping a current liquor license, current entertainments license, negotiating supplier contracts, taking inventory and re-ordering supplies – managing budgets and setting goals.

If you weren’t aware or a part of the menagerie and its colourful spectacle visit the menagerie instagram to get stronger representation of the positive happenings in the basement of 130 university street.
This is a good place to reflect on the momentum we had between 2017- 2020.
The Menagerie is so much more than an empty building.  Like all good and inviting live music venues and clubs, we were at the very crux of the night time culture in Belfast that felt at the time that was on the verge of splitting the chrysalis.

People at a nightclub or party under colorful stage lights, with one person taking a photo or video.
People gathered in a dimly lit bar or club, some sitting at the counter and others standing, illuminated by hanging pendant lights.

— WEB DESIGN

Starting with very humble tumblr beginnings.
The Menagerie site had been through a few iterations, but always acted as a central marketing tool promoting the venue.

Screenshot of a web page from the website menageriebar.tumblr.com, indicating a new website launch for Menagerie, a live music and club nights venue in Belfast, with contact details and social media links.

I was responsible for the design build and maintenance, publishing event content for web and marketing, including writing copy and editing for the web, ad-hoc promotional design and daily content management to keep subscribers up-to-date with schedule and program information.

A bar countertop with various drinks, including a bottle of alcohol, a mojito, a shot glass, and a cocktail, with a blurred background of liquor bottles on shelves.
Screenshot of a website homepage with a dark header, featuring navigation links and social media icons. The main section displays a blue-tinted image of a person in a recording studio with headphones, and text overlay promoting a Twitch event. Below,
Screenshot of a website with event and club information, featuring photos of people and text promoting various social gatherings and activities.
Screenshot of a webpage with a FAQ section about visiting a men's bar, containing questions and answers, and contact information for Menagerie Bar in Belfast.
A website homepage for Menagerie Bar in Belfast with navigation menu, contact information, and details about private events, including a photo of a coat rack.
Back of a person wearing a white T-shirt with pink text, in a dark room with purple and blue laser lights and a disco ball overhead.
A dark room illuminated with blue light, showing two cans of alcoholic beverage, a stack of newspapers or magazines, and some other items partially visible.
Dimly lit ceiling decorated with orange hanging lamps and red string lights.
Two guitarists playing electric guitars on stage, with a drummer visible in the background, during a live band performance
A DJ with long hair and beard performing in a dark nightclub, illuminated by colorful lights and a lit-up digital backdrop.
DJ setup with vinyl records on turntables, mixing console, and scattered papers in a dark room illuminated by red lighting.
A glass of dark soda with ice cubes on a black surface, with blurred colorful lights in the background.
Nighttime exterior view of a dark brick building with blue lighting along the side wall and roof, featuring a small outdoor area with a table, a door, and a wooden fence.
An outdoor patio at night with a group of people talking near a brick building, illuminated by lights on the wall.

Working with limited budget we advertised through social media channels and printed posters, however our main and most effective manner of advertising events
was word of mouth.

Making visible the monthly events listings was important, as the marketing of events by both the promoters booking events and the club would ultimately would determine footfall on the night.

The Monthly flyers continued a style created by onsite photos of events and and corners of the building creating an immersive, recognisable and inclusive community feel to engage those who had experienced past events, in an attempt to evoke the familiar. 

— ORGANIC MARKETING AND ADVERTISING

Collage of several event posters with a dark background, featuring bold white and colorful text listing dates, titles, and details of various film screenings, music events, and community activities.
Person wearing a shiny, sequined jacket at a dimly lit party or club.
A man with a beard and tattooed arm wearing headphones and a striped shirt, DJing at a venue with warm yellow-orange lighting and brick walls.
A person standing in a dimly lit room with string lights and a red lampshade hanging from the ceiling, smiling and making a gesture with one hand.
Neon green sign with handwritten white text listing music genres like punk, psyche, soul, rock 'n' roll, disco, electronic, jazz, and hip hop.
Stack of wooden chairs and tables against a white brick wall with a wall-mounted electrical box.
A top-down view of various electronic equipment and cables on a wooden surface with an overlay of stylized white text reading 'TO BE OR NOT TO BE'.
Person in a yellow jacket with purple text reading 'Cabbagetown Royals' on the back, pointing upward with their right hand, in an indoor setting.
Crowd dancing and raising hands at a concert or party with dark background and stage lighting.
Web page showing an event listing for a performance by Andrew Weatherrall at The Menagerie in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The event is scheduled for October 4, 2019, from 9:00 PM to 1:00 AM. The page includes details about the venue, attendance, and ticket support, with a graphic featuring the name 'Weatherall' in stylized text.
Text in a dark background reading "Inside Menagerie."
A person holding a black poster with an abstract white design, partially visible, in front of a textured brown wall.

images menageriebar and twodimensional.design
other images © courtesy of oppositepage.com

— MORE THAN JUST LIVE MUSIC

As well as the staple club nights and the live music events, Menagerie hosted regular events with drinks suppliers and marketing agencies including Jameson Ireland for their cocktail final in 2019, and visits from Bushmills Black Bush Stories including Oscar Woolley – Suki Tea, and Michael Morris candlemaker in 2018, organised and delivered by the team at Clearbox. 

Three people standing close together, smiling at the camera, in a dimly lit indoor setting.
An assortment of loose leaf teas in small glass containers arranged on a wooden surface.
A bottle of Black Bush Irish Whiskey on a wooden surface surrounded by three metal spoons filled with various herbs and spices, including dried berries, tea leaves, and peppercorns.
A man wearing a brown apron leaning on a dark wooden counter with a bottle of Black Bush whiskey in front of him. Behind him are wooden shelves with labeled jars containing tea and other ingredients.
Three bottles of Bushmills Irish Whiskey in front of a bar, with a glass of whiskey with ice, a small candle, and promotional material on a wooden table.
A crowded bar or club with people socializing and listening to a live performance. The bar area has warm lighting, exposed brick walls, and a large illuminated dollar sign decoration hanging from the ceiling.
A bar with a brick wall background, illuminated with warm yellow lighting, featuring multiple bottles of Jameson Irish whiskey on shelves and a digital cash register on the counter.
Bar scene featuring a bottle of Bushmills Irish whiskey, a glass with a drink, a paper bag labeled 'Black Buster', a metal cocktail shaker, a strainer, and a spoon on a dark wooden bar counter. In the background, various bottles of alcohol are lined up against a brick wall.
Indoor event space with green and black decor, featuring a backdrop with the Jameson logo, green lighting, and a large illuminated hook-shaped decoration hanging from the ceiling.
Three women are preparing for an event, setting up tables with various bottles and boxes of Jameson Irish whiskey in a dimly lit room with black brick walls. One woman is adjusting items on a wooden table while another is organizing supplies on a white table.

Portfolio

Construction workers wearing yellow safety vests and white hard hats with 'JSP' logos, overlooking a construction site with buildings and a cloudy sky in the background.

Trimline Group

Blue signboard for KitChi Restaurant attached to brick wall outside a building.

Kitch Restaurant

Stack of four catalogs titled 'PYRO + ECHO' with modern interior home decor on the cover, featuring a gray sofa and wooden side table, on a black background.

Pyro + Echo