Creating a Repair Cafe?

#1

I believe I put this in the wrong category at first

Hello all, Joel here, very new member.
I’ve been so looking forward to sharing this idea that I’ve heard on good authority I sleeptalked about pitching it last night!

Obviously if any of this has already been thought of before/vetoed please let me know,

In the past I’ve volunteered at various Repair cafes and similar fixer spots and I’d love to open a conversation about trying something like that in the MakerSpace.
For those of you unfamiliar with the idea, a repair cafe is essentially - capable fixer types get together to form a hub that members of the community can come to have their furniture, mechanicals, electronics, textiles fixed free of charge.

Members of the makerspace would get out of this the following, in my eyes at least:

  • Positively impacting the community
  • Reducing landfill, carbon footprint and thus benefitting the environment
  • A real good feeling! The kind when you repair an artefact or relic that’s been in a family for generations but removed from it’s pride of place on the mantle due to disrepair
  • A break from your projects! If you’re working on an impressive piece which may take days or week to complete, making a fix on an ornament in a couple of hours will give you a real sense of accomplishment which could well give you a welcome break from long build times
  • Putting on your innovation cap! Coming up with unusual fixes for objects has always made me think about my ongoing projects in a different way, and has often led to a far more focused big build.
  • Members of the public usually donate funds when giving in their items like this, which could go towards upkeep of the MakerSpace as another revenue stream -
    As an extra note to this, in a previous life I was a freelance videographer, and I’d be interested in floating the idea of recording some of these fixes and posting online, with everyone’s agreement, with any potential revenue from those going straight back into the MakerSpace.
    There’s more details on all of this, but a simple one would be that if say a new fuse is needed for a clock, the member of the public would be expected to provide the funds to cover the cost of a new fuse.

Now insurance and safeguarding policies will need to be looked into, which I would be happy to do, I’ve looked into it before.

I really wanted to make a post now to engage our community in it, see if people from different disciplines would be interested in helping out, if it came off it would probably be a commitment of a half day on a monthly Saturday, something like that. Members could come in and work on their own projects, but be prepared to drop tools and help out if someone came in with something they could fix.

Let me know your thoughts, and if you’d want to help out!

Thanks,

Joel

#2

There was some discussion about this before. I think this is the latest thread on it - Future Repair Events?. Adding it here incase its helpful. I am not sure that we really came to any particular conclusion.

Also hello from another Milner. Not often I see someone with the same surname!

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#3

Dermot and Petra are heavily involved with this
https://www.fixingfactory.org/visit/camden

#4

Hi Joel, if you are keen on volunteering repair, feel free to sign up to my Fixing Factory in Camden. We are opening up three more next year…

I also work with councils to run pop up repair events…

I am working on some new processess and systems, so it is an exciting time to join the Camden group.

But if you are looking for local groups there is a Cafe in Brixton and Wandsworth and Tooting running regularly and nostly have all the tools and electrical inspection know how.

SLMS repair group has never caught up really, I suspect it is too much to ask members to do and blocks usage of the space without much return to the general membership. That said you can likely set up donation system and make it more worthwhile if theres energy which you obv have. Either way good luck! Its a great initiative.

#5

Milner to Milner! I saw another Joel got added today, funny!

I’ve had a read through the discussion you tagged, and there are some very fair points.
Petra - Thanks for getting back to me, I’m a member of a repair cafe in Putney, but was just curious if it had been done by SLMS,
I’ll ask around SLMS see if there’s much demand from members to set up their own, but completely agree would have to be delicately handled with regards to space being used

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#6

Sounds like a cross between Bake Off and Repair shop. No bad thing.

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