It’s hard to believe Equinox, Belfast’s contemporary living store, has been around for 25 years. These days, Belfast prides itself as a top shopping destination, but even while all around it was chaos and disorder, the Howard Street store provided a calm, elegant space to browse and buy good design products from across Europe. The store stocks Georg Jensen, iittala, Kosta Boda, Rosenthal, Driade and many other well-known names, making it a popular spot for wedding lists.

They have stylish children’s toys, too, including Automoblox, an award-winning range of modular wooden vehicles that encourages young minds to build cars and trucks of their own design. A tiny café tucked in the back of the store offers light lunches and afternoon tea to foot-sore shoppers.

To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Equinox, together with Acme Studio of America, is inviting local people to submit a design for a pen which reflects the spirit and culture of the store’s native city. The winner will receive a gift voucher for £500 and have their design featured on the “Belfast Pen”, exclusively produced for Equinox.