A celebration of all things making – meet the makers and discover what you can make at Derby’s favourite family-friendly making festival

Assemble: Derby’s Making Festival returns to the Museum of Making this Saturday 25 October 11am-4pm. A celebration of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, this popular family-friendly event brings together over 60 artists, makers, engineers, crafters and tinkerers from varied disciplines to showcase their skills and invite visitors to try their hand at various forms of making. The 2025 festival is made possible through the support of Belper-based heating manufacturer, Vaillant.

Produced by Derby Museums, Assemble is a dynamic daylong festival highlighting the region’s rich history of creativity and manufacturing taking place at the Museum of Making on what is widely regarded as the site of the world’s first factory – part of the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Last year saw audiences of over 2,000 in attendance and featured more than 70 makers. Back for 2025, spread across three floors of the Museum of Making as well as a specially installed marquee, there will be demonstrations in a wide range of disciplines from ceramics and embroidery to laser-cutting, letterpress printing, robotics and puppetry. Attendees will discover all sorts of fun, hands-on activities for makers of all ages including coding, clay-modelling, woodworking, sewing, building and more. Assemble provides an affordable, unique and inspiring day out for families and aims to inspire Derby’s future makers.

This year’s festival welcomes back several crowd-favourite spectacle makers and introduces lots of brand new experiences for visitors to enjoy. The fun begins on arrival at Cathedral Green, as family favourite Ian Russell – better known as the Bigbubbleman – will greet visitors with his joyous clouds of giant bubbles. Visitors will be invited to head over to the festival marquee, with a stop off at the newly upgraded bright yellow Makory bus – otherwise known as the mobile Museum of Making. After a year off, Aardman animations will be back with pre-bookable workshops giving particpants the opportunity to make their very own Feathers McGraw, inspired by the recent release of Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.

The ever-popular kinetic sculpture-maker Johnny White is bringing new interactive designs, and – as part of Railway 200 – silent movie characters The Lost Luggage Porters will be appearing in search of the railway station. Making their Assemble debut, The Youth Landscapers will be connecting young people with nature and the environment through videos and workshops.

The journey will be continued inside the marquee and Museum of Making where an array of makers will be waiting to share the many weird and wonderful ways of making. On gallery there will be weaving with Derbyshire Makes and bobbin winding, whilst the Workshop team will be showing their ongoing projects and ready to have a chat about all things Workshop.

Throughout the day, makers will offer ‘have-a-go’ workshops for all ages and abilities, which participants can sign up for or drop in to.

Assemble has been made possible thanks to an ongoing partnership with Vaillant who are the exclusive sponsor of the much-loved festival for three years, with 2025 being year two. Vaillant’s support underscores their commitment to celebrating local manufacturing heritage and promoting a more sustainable future. The boiler and heat pump manufacturer will be bringing their demonstration van to Assemble for visitors to find out more about the low carbon heating options available. Visitors can also explore Vaillant’s new initiatives in education and skills development for the region and for future generations.

Alice Woolley, Vaillant Marketing Director said: “Our partnership with Derby Museums is a great way for us to celebrate our local manufacturing heritage and inspire young makers. This year we are proud to celebrate 150 years of Vaillant and 90 years of our Glow-worm brand. We’re delighted to be able to support the Assemble event where visitors can get involved in a range of making activities in the fabulous location of the historical Silk Mill.”

Dan Webber, Events Programmer at Derby Museums, shared his excitement about the festival’s return: “Assemble is the largest event in Derby Museums calendar and a great example of the Museum of Making’s ethos. We cannot wait to welcome back both our maker community and the public and we are incredibly grateful to Valliant for their support which is enabling us to bring Assemble to Derby for 2025 and a further year.”

The festival is as much a draw for makers as for the public, offering an opportunity to share creative passions and skills, to explore ideas and make connections.

Carla Matthews, Illustrator and community artist, better known as Love Lalaland, is taking part in Assemble for the first time, she said: “I’m so excited to be taking part in Assemble as a maker for the very first time after being inspired as a visitor in 2022 and again last year with my family. One of the highlights for me was the Aardman Animation model-making workshop. I’ve been a huge fan since the Creature Comforts days, so getting the chance to make a clay character myself was just amazing.

It’s great to now be part of a community of local makers sharing their craft, encouraging people to try new things and get making themselves. Assemble is a true celebration of creativity whether you’re a complete beginner or already love making, there’s something here for everyone. Being part of an event that inspired me in the past feels like a very special moment. I’m looking forward to sharing my own creative practice and hopefully inspiring others to start making too.”

Rebecca Lee, from Youth Landscapers Collective, added: “We’re really excited to be premiering our music videos as part of Assemble. We like to combine digital, hand-made and DIY approaches in our projects in the National Forest. The festival is going to be a chance to learn new skills, be inspired by and connect with a huge community of other makers!”

Assemble: Derby’s Making Festival 2025 is suitable for all ages and takes place on Saturday 25 October (11am-4pm) at the Museum of Making at Derby Silk Mill. Tickets are free to under 16s and £5 per ticket for adults, with advanced booking recommended. For more information and tickets, please visit bit.ly/DM_Assemble25 and follow @derbymuseums on Facebook and Instagram.