Women Who Make
What is Women Who Make?
Women Who Make places women’s creativity and stories at the heart of Derbyshire’s cultural programme.
Women Who Make is a bold, welcoming space within Derbyshire Makes that champions women’s creativity, labour and lived experience - past, present and future. Launched on International Women’s Day 2025, the programme brings together artists, makers, designers and activists who identify as women to share skills, stories and solidarity.
Through talks, guided walks, studio visits, workshops and collective making, Women Who Make explores themes of value, care, courage, circular futures, enterprise and belonging. Rooted in Derbyshire’s landscapes, heritage and creative networks, and connected to wider feminist, environmental and cultural movements, the programme creates space for reflection, learning and collective action. Above all, Women Who Make is about visibility, connection and creative agency, supporting women to be seen, heard and celebrated.
The programme is curated by Sophie Gresswell, Samantha Whelan and Stephanie Walsh with Creative Director, Claire Tymon.
Women Who Make in 2026
This year, Women Who Make is bringing women together across Derbyshire and beyond through creative walks, webinars, workshops, festivals, installations and collective making.
The programme has included four online conversations exploring how women gather, walk, create and lead, alongside intimate creative walks offering women time to slow down, connect with nature and experience Derbyshire’s landscapes together.
A highlight of the year was the Women Who Make Festival at Hardwick Hall. Inspired by Bess of Hardwick and the theme of women’s influence and empowerment, the festival celebrated the many ways women create, lead, shape places and bring about change.
Women Who Make will return to Masson Mills on Saturday 10 October for another free festival, filled with creativity, inspiring women, hands-on making and ideas for a more sustainable future.
Inspired by World Circular Textiles Day, the festival will explore the full life of textiles – from how fibres are grown and materials are made to how they can be repaired, reused and reimagined. Through talks, exhibitions, workshops, walks, demonstrations, marketplaces, music and collective making, it will connect Masson Mills’ remarkable textile heritage with new ideas for a more sustainable and circular future.
Watch the 2026 Webinar Series
Four conversations exploring the ideas, experiences and practices shaping women’s creative lives and work.
Women Who Gather
A conversation about bringing women together, creating welcoming spaces and the power of gathering through creativity.
Women Who Walk
Exploring walking as a creative, social and reflective practice, and the connections formed between women, place and landscape.
Making as Soft Power
A conversation about creativity as a form of influence, resistance and change, and the often-unseen power held within making.
Where Women Create
Exploring the spaces in which women make and create, from studios and shared places to homes, communities and landscapes.
From the Women Who Make Archive
Watch the conversations that launched Women Who Make in 2025.
A Patchwork of Dreams – A Women-Led Creative Conversation
We kicked off our Women Who Make talks series in 2025.
The first talk was hosted by Derbyshire Makes Creative Director, Claire Tymon, alongside public art curator Cathy Newbery, lead artist Sue Reddish and Pip Jenkins, Design Director at John Smedley. The discussion explored the vital role of women in shaping this project and the countless women whose craftswomanship has historically been the backbone of the textile industry.
You can watch the discussion below:
Connecting with Nature Through Art and Conversation
Next in our Women Who Make talks series, Claire Tymon, Creative Director of Derbyshire Makes chaired a discussion with Cora Glasser of Glassball Studio (lead artist for MAKE Room), Feimatta Conteh (Sustainability Manager at Arts Council England), and Lucy Bird (dancer, facilitator, healer, and sustainability professional).
They explored our connections to nature, the powerful role art and culture play in deepening these relationships, and the unique contributions women make in the world of art, craft, and sustainability.
How to get involved
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Women Who Make Events
Forest Bathing and Calligraphy Walk in The National Forest
