Repair Café fixes things and restores memories

“The Repair Café in Bury St Edmunds runs every two months, and we have recently had our most successful event with around 40 items and eight repairers. Last month’s café’s heart-warming story was of two brothers and an electronic quiz show game they remember playing as children in the 1980’s. Theirs is long gone, but one of the brothers bought the game on eBay as a surprise for the other, but it didn’t work. They bought another one to see if they could make one good one out of the two broken ones, but that proved too complicated for them.

This is exactly the kind of challenge we love at the Repair Café. Ben and Alastair got out their soldering irons and their multimeters and set to work. In pretty short order “Mr Gameshow” was talking, waving his microphone and flashing his (frankly alarming) teeth once more.

Sharing the fun with their families at Christmas

The two brothers (on the left in the photo) were delighted. Not only had we restored their childhood memory, but they also said it was going to make their Christmas as they could share the fun they had with their own families.

It is this kind of stories that make our volunteers give up their free time so selflessly. Bringing things back to life and sharing in the joy that this resurrection can give to the owner of the once-broken item is simply great. And then there are always home-made cakes, coffee, tea and a chance to sit and chat and enjoy the bustling atmosphere. We love our Repair Café!”

Het bericht Bury St Edmunds Repair Café adds extra sparkle to Christmas verscheen eerst op Repaircafe.

Most satisfying repairs are the ones with sentimental value

“They call me Mr. Glue. For around 18 months, I have been fixing things along with the other menders at Repair Café Nunhead, South London. When I joined the Repair Café I decided that my skills with gluing would be an addition to the range of repairs the group could do. Shoes and wooden items often need glue fixes. Modern glues can do an immense variety of tasks. Some of the most satisfying repairs are ones which have sentimental value.

“For instance, I once mended a Caribbean coconut fibre ring. This was a fascinating job, obviously precious to the woman who brought it. I suspect it was a memento of a love affair, but that’s not the sort of question you can ask of someone you only just met!

“I also remember repairing a display plate that was painted when a woman’s – now-adult – child was at school: it had fallen off the wall and was broken in three places. I couldn’t mend it invisibly, so the cracks showed, but the owner thought that was great because it showed how much it meant to her as it had suffered a disaster and had been fixed.”

Menders explain what they do so the visitors can learn

“Our Repair Cafe was set up by Sophie two years ago. It operates once a month out of a community centre in South East London. There are the sewing team and the electricals group, as well as a spread of other skills, like bicycle repair, woodworking and leather expertise. As a result of success, the group expanded so we had to move into a bigger room.

“Most of the menders generally try to explain what they are doing, so people can learn to repair items themselves. Often they are astonished at how easy it is to do, for example, rewiring an electrical plug. That’s not everyone, of course, but we seem to have quite a generation who have been brought up to believe technological items either work, or should be binned immediately. I think that’s an attitude that needs to change.

It’s a lot of fun, although it can be a little stressful when a repair is difficult. But it is very satisfying when you learn and apply new skills. There is a lovely cameraderie between the menders and we usually retire to the pub next door afterwards.”

Collaborating on jobs that need multiple skillsets

“It would be remiss of me not to mention David, Richard and Aya, who organise things. This is quite complex: although there is a queue, it makes sense to move a job forward if a mender is free, or prioritise something simple, to get it done quickly over a more time-consuming repair. This aspect of the Repair Café involves constant project management juggling. Obviously we menders also collaborate on jobs that need multiple skillsets. A broken lamp might not be electrical, but have a busted switch inside, that needs physical repair.

“Are there any downsides to volunteering? I don’t think so, although I have felt a bit dismayed on a couple of occasions when I couldn’t fix children’s toys. Adults are usually understanding if you can’t repair something, or if we think a repair would be unsafe, which can be the case with elderly electricals. It’s better to junk those than to risk a fire.”

Throwaway society is on its way out

“On a more philosophical level, we must reduce our carbon emissions by repairing items. I think the ‘throwaway society’ is on its way out, and we will – of necessity – need to make products more repairable and durable in future. We will also need to inculcate repair skills in young people to ensure that artefacts can be repaired. If these skills are lost, it is hard to regain them.”

Photo: Olga Dominika Osuch

Het bericht Meet ‘Mr. Glue’ – volunteer at Repair Café Nunhead, London verscheen eerst op Repaircafe.

Her Majesty Queen Camilla visits Repair Café

On Wednesday 27^th March 2024 Her Majesty Queen Camilla made a royal visit to Shrewsbury, England. On her first royal visit to the town, she met members of the public in the town centre before meeting some local charities at the recently restored Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings Building, the world’s first iron framed building.

Shrewsbury Repair Café, which has been regularly meeting in the town since 2017, was delighted and honoured to be invited to be part of this prestigious event.

Shrewsbury Repair Café set up a Repair Café alongside the other charities present, repairing items donated by members of the public. Sadly, due to security and space constraints, the public could not attend this Repair Café, but it was a wonderful opportunity to showcase to Her Majesty The Queen typical items that are repaired each month and the skill and dedication of all the volunteers present. Items being repaired included an electric kettle, a sound equalizing board, an old but treasured teddy bear, a silver jewellery box, a costume jewellery necklace, a small wooden cabinet plus other small items.

The Queen showed a real interest in all aspects of the Repair Café

On arriving at the Shrewsbury Repair Café, Her Majesty The Queen was greeted and welcomed by Liz Evans, coordinator of the Repair Café, and Pete Martin, a volunteer repairer. Her Majesty Queen Camilla was introduced to each volunteer, who explained the items that were being repaired and how they were repairing them. She took great interest in every object being repaired and noted that each item had been saved from being discarded and would continue to be used.  HM The Queen showed a real interest in all aspects of the Repair Café, the ethos by which it works and the valued role of all the volunteers.

For many years, His Majesty King Charles III and Queen Camilla have held a passion for the environment, often blazing a trail in highlighting issues which are now so prominent in all our societies. Equally, they have actively supported the preservation of traditional skills and crafts that they see slowly dying out as technology advances. We were honoured and delighted to showcase not only the Shrewsbury Repair Café to Her Majesty Queen Camilla but also the wider Repair Café movement and we hope this has highlighted the incredible work that many thousands of volunteers do worldwide each day.

Het bericht Queen Camilla visits Shrewsbury Repair Café verscheen eerst op Repaircafe.

Such as Repair Cafe Utrecht – The Library, in the Netherlands. This Repair Cafe has existed since February 2022 and holds its meetings in the Laboratory of Utrecht’s central library. “Since the start, young people have been coming to us”, says coordinator Bas Defize. “Maybe it’s because of the central location, and libraries attract many young people anyway.”

Young people are very savvy with modern technology

One of the repairers is Bas’s son Niels. “He just turned 30 and studied Industrial Design”, Bas explains. “In his circle of friends, they often discuss sustainable solutions. And those young people are very savvy with modern technology, such as smartphones. That brings something to the Repair Café.”

But older appliances can also appeal to young people, Bas noticed. “I once had a Discman from the 1990s on the table at the Repair Cafe. Then a boy walked up and got all excited about it. So, I gave him some tools and said: go to work on that. He never left. The same goes for a student who came by with a toaster. They enjoy coming here to tinker and learn all kinds of things.”

It helps, Bas thinks, that young people see in his Repair Cafe that they are not the only young volunteer. “That lowers the threshold”, he says.

At Repair Cafe Utrecht – the Library, young people have been coming in from the start

In a Repair Cafe with mainly people over 60, rejuvenation is an important issue

So, for Bas, the younger generations’ enthusiasm for the Repair Cafe is entirely normal. However, things are different for Joost Veldhuizen, a repairer at Repair Cafe Houten. At 49, Joost is one of the younger repairers in Houten. “Most repairers with us are 60-plus; we even have some people older than 80”, Joost explains. “So, you’ll understand that rejuvenation is an important issue for us, for continuity and expansion of knowledge.”

Repair Cafe Houten has actively sought younger repairers for quite some time. “But since a few months, one after another has suddenly joined. So, in a short span of time, we have gained a thirty-something, two forty-somethings and two fifty-somethings. Not super young, but younger than our average.” With their experience and skills, Joost says the new repairers are a valuable addition to the team.

Whether the energy and cost of living crises are currently helping to get people moving, he dare not say. “Our new volunteers say that they just enjoy making repairs and they like helping others. Furthermore, they want to do something against the throw-away mentality.”

Actively appealing to younger audiences

Repair Cafe Amsterdam-West in community centre Jeltje is also getting more and more younger repairers. Around five of the 25 repairers are younger than forty, says organiser Robert Riede. Repair Cafe Jeltje has long been actively appealing to younger repairers and visitors. “We do a lot of image building. We are active on social media, and our website has a youthful look. Also, it’s no coincidence that the first thing you see at the top of the homepage is a picture of a bold, young woman making repairs.”

At Repair Cafe Jeltje in Amsterdam-West, around five of the 25 repairers are younger than forty

Robert sees the current influx of new (younger) repairers partly as a response to the mandatory social distancing during the Covid pandemic. “At a meeting of several volunteer organisations, I heard that more organisations are currently seeing an increase in applications. The explanation was that after Covid, many people had developed a desire for new contacts outside work, neighbours and friends. This certainly applies to young people as well.”

For example, Robert recognises this in his college-age daughter. “She desired connection during the lockdowns. Now she is an enthusiastic volunteer and bakes cakes and biscuits with a woman with dementia in a care home. Both my daughter and that woman have blossomed immensely as a result.”

Open and socially safe environment is a key success factor

However, Robert’s experience is that retaining young volunteers for a long time and getting them to commit to the team is challenging. “Sometimes someone comes in very enthusiastically but then disappears again after a few visits”, he says. To avoid that, the volunteers actively work to create an open and socially safe environment. “That’s a key success factor.”

At Repair Cafe Jeltje, for instance, there is always someone behind the bar to chat with waiting visitors. Drinks and biscuits are complimentary. “My co-organiser Johan always walks around and watches out for people looking lost. He then speaks to them to put them at ease. He makes jokes, is interested, and keeps an eye on whether the repairers are at ease. That is certainly not always a given.”

Robert Riede would like to see the diversity of his neighborhood reflected more in his Repair Cafe’s team

Robert hopes to attract more young people to Repair Cafe Jeltje in the near future. “But also people with a different gender or cultural background. I would love our team to reflect the neighbourhood; Amsterdam-West is incredibly diverse. You don’t see that reflected so much in our team yet.”

Robert does not know why that is exactly. “I’m not a community worker, social worker or personal coach. The best tool I have is myself. My stance is not to turn anyone away who wants to volunteer.”

Het bericht Trend: Repair Cafes attract younger repairers verscheen eerst op Repaircafe.

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