Cambridge's First Repair Cafe!

Cambridge's first Repair Cafe!

Date: 31 May 2014
Time: 2:00pm to 5:00pm
Venue: Friends Meeting House, 12 Jesus Lane, Cambridge, CB5 8BA (map)
Cost: Free, donations towards room hire and other expenses very welcome!
Poster: If you are able to put up a poster in your work place or street, you can download it here. Thanks!
More info: For more information about Repair Cafes, see the Repair Cafe web-site.
Listen on radio! Listen to a radio interview about Repair Cafes on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire (starts 1:53:49) with Chris Lee who runs the Royston Repair Cafe.

What to bring - Booking info - Repairers - Cycle maintenance workshop - Map - Cafe - Get involved - Local repair businesses - Organized by... - Repair cafe movement

Got something that’s broken, that you think could be repaired if only you knew how? Or do you enjoy repairing things (whether that’s fixing computers, mending china, getting radios working again or darning socks)? The Cambridge Skillshare group are holding our first Repair Café in Cambridge on 31st May. The idea is really simple – people who have stuff that needs to be fixed get together with people who can help them fix it - and you can learn how to fix things at the same time! (but if you'd rather just have some fix it for you, that's also fine!)

What to bring

So far we have people who can repair mobile phones, computers, electrics, electronics, bikes, china, glassware, clothes, and woollen items. We also hope to be able to repair jewellery (we'll update this page once we're sure that someone will be coming). If you already know that your item will need a spare part (e.g. new mobile phone screen, new zip) please bring this along so that the repairers can do the repair.

There'll also be a Fix-It Challenge area for anything else, as our repairers like a challenge and will do their best, whatever you bring. There are no guarantees that they'll be able to fix it, but they'll do their best!

Register your items - or just bring them along to our Fix-It Challenge table

Do you have something that needs repairing? Then book in your item by e-mailing us with your name, the type of item, and one sentence about what’s wrong with it (if you know) - we'll email to confirm if someone will be able to help fix your item.

You can also just turn up on the day, and bring it along to our Fix-It Challenge table - we can't guarantee to fix it, but will do our best. (However, if you let us know what you are bringing before hand, there is a better chance that we'll be able to bring the right tools to fix it.)

Enjoy repairing things? All repairers very welcome!

We now have some wonderful repairers who have offered to come, including mending clothes, fixing all manner of electrical and electronic items, fixing bikes, and mending china and glassware. But we'd still love to have some more repairers so do come along if you'd like to lend a hand! Let us know what you can repair, and we’ll be in touch to let you know if people will bring things that you can work on (but please come along anyway, as we really don't know what will turn up on the Fix-It Challenge table!).

Cycle maintenance and repair workshop

There'll also be a cycle maintenance and repair workshop with Andrew Clark (in addition to the cycle repair area). To come on the workshop, which runs from 2:30 to 4:30, you need to book either via Greeniversity or by e-mailing us here. There are a couple of spaces left so book soon if you'd like to attend!

Map of Repair Cafe area



Click here to see a large version of this plan.

Cafe

There'll be tea and cakes in the cafe area - a chance to sit down, relax, and have a chat with others interested in repairing things! Suggested donations of 20p for tea, and 50p for cakes. (If you'd like to bring a cake, that would be wonderful; and if you'd like to bring a mug, that will save on washing up!)

Cost

Free, all welcome! Donations will also be very welcome as we have some costs, such as room hire and materials for repairs.

Get involved

We're going to need lots of help! Here are some specific things we're looking for help with, but if you could just help out generally with whatever needs doing, that will also be appreciated - just come along.

  • help putting up posters round town/libraries/workplaces etc - we will have lots if you'd rather not print one out (a bit heavy on the green ink!).
  • baking cakes for the cafe
  • help setting up (1:30-2:00) and clearing up (5:30-6:00) in the Friends Meeting House, Jesus Lane
  • transport to take things and bring them back

Local repair businesses

At the Repair Cafe we hope to be able to repair as much as we can, but where we can't fix thing there and then, we'd like to be able to refer people to local repair businesses. We want to support these businesses as much as we can, as our aim is really to encourage people to repair things rather than throwing them out, and so local repair businesses are an essential for that (Repair Cafes are pop-up cafes that we hope to put on every 2 - 3 months). So we intend to make a listing of such businesses in and near Cambridge. If you know of one or if you are one and would like to be listed, please get in touch with your details! At the Repair Cafe, there'll also be a place to write down any repair businesses that you know about.

Co-organizers

Organized in collaboration with Cambridge Carbon Footprint and Greeniversity, and supported by information provided by the Repair Cafe movement in the Netherlands.

The Repair Cafe movement

The Repair Café movement is growing rapidly, and is all about people helping each other out, learning how to fix things which are fixable, and keeping stuff out of landfill. Cambridge Skillshare is a partnership between Transition Cambridge, Cambridge Carbon Footprint and Greeniversity.

Download poster as jpeg (picture) file











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