Amsterdam is full of things to buy as souvenirs or gifts. There are so many cool shops and rows of windmill keyrings, tins of stroopwafels, cheese wheels and tulip bulbs that may or may not flower when you bring them home. But maybe you want something different, something more special to bring home or gift to your friends for their birthday. Like a candle poured on a rainy Saturday, a ring you soldered yourself, a slightly wonky cheese.
I think a workshop in Amsterdam could be one of the nicest ways to spend an afternoon here, for visitors and locals alike. You learn something hands-on, you chat with strangers over coffee, maybe you even make a new friend, and you leave with something to keep or to eat. So here are eight creative workshops in Amsterdam where you get to make something tangible, from the very traditional to the ones you might not tell your grandmother about.
1. Bake your own stroopwafels on the Albert Cuyp
We have to start with the classics. At the Stroopwafel Workshop, on the Albert Cuyp Market, you will bake your own stroopwafels following a recipe that has been around for two hundred years (or so they say). You’ll learn how to prepare the dough, then press it in a traditional iron, slice the warm waffle in two and add the syrup, while trying to keep your focus through all that yummy smell. There is coffee or tea while you work, and at the end you will take home two XL stroopwafels and a certificate declaring you a stroopwafel baker (because we all need that, right? :D)
The sessions run daily, for groups up to 12 people, and prices start at €19. Language: English and Dutch.
2. Turn milk into cheese at De Kaasserie
Because cheese is a big deal in the Netherlands, I had to add a cheese making workshop on this list. At De Kaasserie on Bellamystraat, close to De Hallen in Amsterdam West, you spend three hours learning the secrets of cheese making. You make two fresh cheeses yourself, one set with rennet and one with acid, with tastings along the way. At the end you get to take home both cheeses, plus a cheesecloth and a portion of rennet, so you can keep experimenting in your own kitchen. They mix craftsmanship with playful interaction, so guests also mingle while making cheese.
Workshops run on Saturdays at 10:00 and 16:00 and cost €92 per person. De Kaasserie also holds private celebrations and other kinds of workshops. Language: English, with Dutch on request.
3. Distil your own bottle of rum at Spirited Union
This one is for adults. At Spirited Union, a micro-distillery on Helicopterstraat, you get your own small copper still for the afternoon. After a tour and a welcome drink, you get to distill youw own bottle of botanical rum. They have created four unique botanical blends for you to choose from: spicy rum, light and floral, refreshing citrus or tropical flavours. At the end you get a bottle of 70 centilitres and design a label for it (love that!). Non-alcoholic options are available as well.
The distilling workshop costs €69.95 and takes about an hour and a half. Language: English. It could be a lovely gift for a friend. I would do this only for getting to play with that copper pot!
4. Paint a Delft Blue tile
At Heinen Delfts Blauw you can learn the craft that made Dutch pottery famous. This is a ninety-minute workshop, during which you paint your own Delft Blue tile, choosing a classic design like tulips or windmills, or something else entirely. The workshop starts with a cup of coffee or tea and a brief introduction, and then you get to work. Afterwards, your tile is glazed and fired, so you collect it about two weeks later in Amsterdam or Delft, or have it shipped home for a small fee.
Price per person is €49, and there is tea, coffee and mini stroopwafels while you concentrate. It’s an activity for 13+, so it could be a nice experience for the whole family.
5. Pour your own candle at Very Goods Studio
Very Goods Studio has been making home fragrance by hand since 2018. They offer a beginner level workshop for those interested in learning how to make candles. You will start with an introduction and learn the process step by step. You will have the chance to experiment with essential oils, choosing your favourite scent. You can also create a new blend from a choice of more than twenty natural oils, which is pretty cool. The candles are made with 100% rapeseed wax. Everything is vegan and non-toxic, the studio smells wonderful, and the Saturday sessions cost €60.
6. Sew a leather bag at Monsak
Monsak makes bags from rescued leather in its atelier in Amsterdam West, and it will happily teach you to make your own. You choose the leather, learn to handle an industrial sewing machine and do every step yourself, cutting, stitching and finishing, with patient guidance throughout. There are various workshops. The mini workshop takes half a day and produces a small shoulder bag for €127; the ambitious can book a full day and walk out with a shopper or backpack for €247. They say that people with no sewing experience whatsoever can leave with a bag they are proud of, and the reviews back them up. Of everything on this list, this is the thing you will still be using in ten years (if you followed the instructions correctly).
7. Forge a silver ring at a goldsmith’s bench
How cool would be to wear a piece of jewellery you made yourself? Or give one as a gift? At Goudsmid Amsterdam, an atelier on Postjeskade, you can take a ring-making workshop. You saw, shape, solder and polish, and at the end of the session the ring goes home with you. No experience is needed.
8. Decorate a vulva cake in the Red Light District
I promised you weird, and here it is. In the Trompettersteeg, famously the narrowest alley in the city, Red Light Workshop runs its events in a former window brothel turned tiny theatre. Their signature is the Kutcake workshop, a name I will let you translate at your own risk. Under the guidance of ‘tante Yo’ you decorate your own vulva-shaped cake, using your imagination. It costs €35 per person and is a favourite for hen parties and thirtieth birthdays, though nothing stops you going there out of pure curiosity.
Before you book
Most of these workshops fill up quickly, so book ahead online. Nearly all of them are happily bilingual. Prices and times change, and it is worth checking the studios’ own websites for current dates before you set your heart on one. And if you are ever stuck for a present, almost every studio here sells gift vouchers, so you can give someone an afternoon of making things. That is my kind of gift!
And if you’d like to explore more workshops or longer courses in Amsterdam, check out my article: Over 30 English Creative Courses and Workshops in Amsterdam to Unleash Your Creativity.
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