Repair Cafés: Fixing The Future

The make-do-and-mend model is hugely important when it comes to sustainability in fashion, and it's a real shame that skills seen as vital not that long ago seem to have vanished. What do you do if a beloved jumper sprouts a mothball or two? Do you bin it and try to find something similar... or do you fix it yourself, for a fraction of the financial and environmental cost?

It's always tough to try and figure this sort of stuff out for yourself. What if there was a place you could go to meet like-minded people, get help and advice on how to restore your beloved belongings, and have tea and cake while you're at it?

That's what Repair Cafés are all about. The Repair Café Foundation, set up in late 2009 by Dutch activist Martine Postma, is dedicated to setting up spaces where people can go to fix their stuff, pick the brains of experts and specialists and just generally hang out in a comfortable environment with good baked goods. Each Repair Café has tools and materials to help you make any repairs you need. You'll also find repair specialists such as electricians, seamstresses, carpenters and bicycle mechanics. In short. it's a one stop shop to fix up your stuff and meet new friends. You're welcome even if you don't have anything to repair, and who knows, you could find your own expertise comes in handy!

There are Repair Cafés in 4 UK locations at the moment, and we need to see more. The Repair Café Foundation can help you set one up, but really there's nothing stopping you and a like-minded bunch of friends from going full-on DIY and starting one from scratch.

It's a great idea, and one that's starting to spread. Ms. Wandas has a poll up, and are looking at starting up a network of UK-based repair cafes. It's a trend that's going to blow up in the next year or so. Now's the chance to fix yourself up nice.

For more check out the Repair Café Foundation website, and take part in Ms Wandas poll, why dontcha?

The Repair Café Foundation

Ms Wandas Repair Café Poll