Broken but beloved? These cafes can fix anything for you
If you've ever despaired of getting your vacuum cleaner fixed or thought that your broken lamp was a lost cause, there's hope. A worldwide movement is trying to reform our throwaway approach to possessions. Repair cafes and startups have taken root across the US. Organisers count as small victories any broken goods that can be repaired and kept out of the trash.
In 2013, Americans generated about 254 million tonnes of garbage, including furniture, clothing and appliances, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency .
The Repair Cafe concept has its roots in Amsterdam, where Martine Postma, a former journalist, came up with the idea after the birth of her second child prompted her to think about ways to reduce the waste going into landfills. Repair Cafe started in 2009 and spread across the Netherlands. Today , it has more than 1,100 sites in almost 30 countries.
Clothes, books, dolls, stuffed animals, bicycles, appliances, chairs, jewellery , electronics -if they are broken, ripped or inoperable and you can carry it in, repair coaches will try to fix it.
"One of the things that makes it challenging and interesting is that we don't know what people are going to bring," Ray Pfau, an organizer of a Repair Cafe in Bolton, Massachusetts, said.
Lamps top the list of items brought in to be repaired, fol lowed by vacuum cleaners. The types of repairs offered vary by location and reflect the particular talent in a community , he said.
The startups and cafes invite people to bring their "beloved but broken" possessions to the gatherings, which are hosted in church basements, libraries, town halls and senior centres.The gatherings tend to draw professionals, retirees and hobbyists who volunteer as repair coaches.
The gatherings generally last about four hours. While there is no charge for the repairs, donations are accepted. The Repair Cafe Foundation provides groups with information to help get started, including lists of tools, tips for raising money and marketing materials.
For Liz Pickett of New York, the startup-led movement is a chance to fight a consumer culture driven by buying new products instead of fixing old ones.Products are manufactured in a way that make their parts inaccessible, so that if they break, it's easier to buy a new one. Pickett, a single mother of four said the cafe extended the life of earphones and a laptop.
Elizabeth Knight, a cafe organizer who lived in New Jersey , for more than 20 years, said she often found "great trash picking" there. When she moved to Warwick, about 60 miles northwest of New York City , she learned that the village hosted a spring cleanup during which residents discarded furnishings and other bulk items that did not get picked up with the ordinary trash.
"I was stunned at what I saw," she said, referring to the kinds of discarded materials that could gain a second life if repaired. She said the Repair Cafe "is all part of the jigsaw puzzle of what do we do with our stuff."
The gatherings engender a sense of camaraderie as volunteers learn the stories of the items they repair. On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, a woman went to a cafe in Warwick as it was winding down, Knight recalled. She had a silver cylinder on a necklace with a broken clasp.
When Knight told her that repairs were finishing for the day , the woman began to cry . The cylinder held the ashes of her grandson, who died when he was 22.
Suzanne O'Brien, a cafe volunteer, sat down and worked on the necklace. The woman smiled when Knight hooked the repaired chain around her neck.
"It's not just about fixing things," she said. "It's about the community too.
In 2013, Americans generated about 254 million tonnes of garbage, including furniture, clothing and appliances, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency .
The Repair Cafe concept has its roots in Amsterdam, where Martine Postma, a former journalist, came up with the idea after the birth of her second child prompted her to think about ways to reduce the waste going into landfills. Repair Cafe started in 2009 and spread across the Netherlands. Today , it has more than 1,100 sites in almost 30 countries.
Clothes, books, dolls, stuffed animals, bicycles, appliances, chairs, jewellery , electronics -if they are broken, ripped or inoperable and you can carry it in, repair coaches will try to fix it.
"One of the things that makes it challenging and interesting is that we don't know what people are going to bring," Ray Pfau, an organizer of a Repair Cafe in Bolton, Massachusetts, said.
Lamps top the list of items brought in to be repaired, fol lowed by vacuum cleaners. The types of repairs offered vary by location and reflect the particular talent in a community , he said.
The startups and cafes invite people to bring their "beloved but broken" possessions to the gatherings, which are hosted in church basements, libraries, town halls and senior centres.The gatherings tend to draw professionals, retirees and hobbyists who volunteer as repair coaches.
The gatherings generally last about four hours. While there is no charge for the repairs, donations are accepted. The Repair Cafe Foundation provides groups with information to help get started, including lists of tools, tips for raising money and marketing materials.
For Liz Pickett of New York, the startup-led movement is a chance to fight a consumer culture driven by buying new products instead of fixing old ones.Products are manufactured in a way that make their parts inaccessible, so that if they break, it's easier to buy a new one. Pickett, a single mother of four said the cafe extended the life of earphones and a laptop.
Elizabeth Knight, a cafe organizer who lived in New Jersey , for more than 20 years, said she often found "great trash picking" there. When she moved to Warwick, about 60 miles northwest of New York City , she learned that the village hosted a spring cleanup during which residents discarded furnishings and other bulk items that did not get picked up with the ordinary trash.
"I was stunned at what I saw," she said, referring to the kinds of discarded materials that could gain a second life if repaired. She said the Repair Cafe "is all part of the jigsaw puzzle of what do we do with our stuff."
The gatherings engender a sense of camaraderie as volunteers learn the stories of the items they repair. On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, a woman went to a cafe in Warwick as it was winding down, Knight recalled. She had a silver cylinder on a necklace with a broken clasp.
When Knight told her that repairs were finishing for the day , the woman began to cry . The cylinder held the ashes of her grandson, who died when he was 22.
Suzanne O'Brien, a cafe volunteer, sat down and worked on the necklace. The woman smiled when Knight hooked the repaired chain around her neck.
"It's not just about fixing things," she said. "It's about the community too.
