Ambacht in Beeld Festival at the NDSM Loods on 26 and 27 September: 10 euro online, 12.50 at the door, under-13s free

The Ambacht in Beeld Festival takes over the NDSM Loods, an old shipbuilding hall in Amsterdam-Noord, on 26 and 27 September, 10:00 to 18:00. It is not a craft market: it puts the people who still make a living with their hands in front of you, glassblowers, smiths, silversmiths, painters of traditional Delft blue tiles and hat makers, with more than a hundred workshops, masterclasses and demonstrations running at once. Entry is 10 euro online and 12.50 at the door, under-13s come in free with a ticket of their own, and Amsterdam Stadspas holders walk in without booking. Inside there is a row of free repair desks, a soft-toy clinic, fountain-pen repair, tool sharpening, instrument maintenance and clothing repair, plus a free documentary cinema and a run of lectures. Next step: decide on workshops first, then buy entry. (source 1, source 2)

• Be clear what the ticket buys. Entry buys the right to walk into the hall and nothing else. Every workshop and masterclass is charged separately, and the organisers state plainly that everyone who visits a workshop or masterclass also needs an entrance ticket, so polishing your own diamond or painting a blue tile costs two amounts, not one. (source 1, source 2)
• When and where: Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September, 10:00 to 18:00, in the old shipbuilding hall in Amsterdam-Noord; the street number is in the card below. Entry is 10 euro online against 12.50 at the door; under-13s are free but still need a ticket; a CJP card takes 2.50 euro off; a Stadspas gets you in free on sight with no advance booking. Online payment is iDeal or credit card, and the on-site desk takes PIN only. (source 1)
• Who it suits: adults who would rather watch something being made than being sold; children from about six who can stand still for ten minutes in front of a furnace; and anyone whose Dutch is still thin, because glassblowing, forging and diamond polishing are watched with the eyes rather than followed by ear. The site itself has an English version; the language of individual workshops is not stated, so ask before booking. (source 2, source 3)
• Before you go: workshops thin out fast. Checking the English programme page on 20 September, 40 entries already read SOLD OUT, glassblowing and silk batik among them. Tickets are non-refundable but transferable, and a barcode on a phone is accepted. NDSM is reached by the free ferry from behind Amsterdam Centraal, which runs to a timetable, so leave room for the wait on the way back. (source 2, source 1)

Work it out: entry = people x 10 euro online, or x 12.50 at the door. Two adults with two children under 13 is 20 euro online against 25 at the door, a difference of 5 euro; the children are free but still need a ticket, so do not leave them out of the order. The real budget sits one layer down: total = entry x people + the price of each workshop, and the person taking the workshop needs an entrance ticket too. If you want to spend nothing beyond entry, build the day out of the free half: the repair desks, the documentary cinema, the lectures and every demonstration cost nothing, so bringing one broken thing to be mended already returns the 10 euro. For a Stadspas holder that column reads zero. (source 1, source 2)

Where

NDSM Loods, NDSM-Plein 85, 1033 WC Amsterdam

When

Saturday and Sunday, 10:00-18:00

Price

Online 10,00 euro・at the door 12,50 euro・under 13 free (ticket still needed)・CJP 2,50 euro off・Stadspas free

Note

Workshops and masterclasses cost extra and need an entrance ticket as well・40 programme entries already sold out on 20 September・tickets non-refundable but transferable・on-site desk takes PIN only

Hokimi field note: choose the workshop before you buy entry, because entry is non-refundable; if you really want to make something, read the programme page for what is still open and let that decide whether you come on Saturday or Sunday. If you are only looking, there is no need to arrive early: in the afternoon the light comes in sideways under the hall roof, which is when the forges and the glass furnace look their best. Details from the festival's own ticket page, 2026 programme page and home page, checked on 20 September 2026.