Richmondshire Repair and Repurposing Cafe
Almost 50 people were welcomed to the latest Richmondshire Repair and Repurposing Cafe at Richmond Town Hall on Sunday 8th September. About 30 items were handled by the repairers, of which about half were repaired on site. The volunteers were deployed to fix everything from clothes and jewellery, to bikes, mechanical, electrical and porcelain items. The cafe also provided repurposing activities for children, and delicious home baked cakes, tea and coffee for those waiting for repairs or just wanting to have a chat.
Thanks to all the volunteers for sharing their skills and time so generously, and as importantly, thanks to all of you who visited the cafe and made the donations that will help us to fund our next event. Thanks also to Luke of BSA Electrical, who provided the PAT testing, and to North Yorkshire Council and Richmond Town Council for their start up grants.
Scroll down for more pictures and stories from our latest event, and watch this space for news of our next repair cafe event.
Posted: 10th Sept 24
Mayor drops in to support the Richmond Repair Cafe
The Mayor of Richmond, Councilor White, kindly dropped in to offer his support to our recent repair cafe at the Town Hall.
The Mayor spent some time chatting with the repairers and other volunteers who were busy ensuring the event went smoothly.
The Town Council provided £100 of start up funding to help get the repair cafe off the ground, and its funding has supported two successful events so far.
Posted: 10th Sept 24
A busy day for jewellery repairs
Much loved necklaces kept volunteer Sue Stokes happy all morning, and she made the owners even more happy when her work was completed.
Both necklaces were rethreaded with new wire and larger clasps. The pictures show Sue and her happy 'customers' June and Judith showing off their jewellry, back where they belong again! Great work Sue !
Its not just about the repairs - its a cafe too !
For many, the repair and repurposing cafe is as much about the cafe as it is the repairs, and for some it was all about some coffee, cake and a chat!
A fine array of home baked sweet treats including plant based, dairy and gluten free options were kindly and expertly baked by Alison, Sandra, Emma and Elaine, and enjoyed by visitors and volunteers alike.
Mmm.. delicious !
Posted 10th Sept 24
Apollo bike owners 'over the moon' with their repairs
Not one, but two Apollo bikes were successfully repaired and ridden away from the cafe after some tlc from Phil Batts of Richmond Community Bicycle Services. The pic above shows Phil hard at it, at what was possibly the tidiest workstation in the hall. Top job, Phil !
Posted 10 Sept 24
Patience makes perfect
Volunteer Don deployed his general repair skills and patience to great effect to bring this broken porcelain military figurine back to life.
Don is pictured here waiting patiently for his first epoxy glue repair to set, before moving on to reattach this little chap to his legs, and finally to clean off any excess glue - all to ensure the result was as shiny and flawless as it was originally.
Proud owner David was delighted with the final result. Well done Don.
Now this sucks !
This Dyson vacuum cleaner wasn't sucking when it was brought in, but with skill and persistence, our volunteer repairer Ian got it back up working again, and Luke, of BSA Electrical inspected the result and declared a PAT test pass - a result all round and another everyday household item saved from the landfill !
Grand job Ian, and Luke! 👍
Posted 10th Sept 24
Repair & Repurpose Cafe - Poster - 09.08.24.pdfWhat people said about our last event
"really good experience, friendly people"
"amazing idea"
"fantastic buzzing atmosphere"
"very good, kind people"
Only a few days to our next event !
Our next Repair and Repurposing Cafe will be :
Sunday 8th September 2024
at: Richmond Town Hall, Market Place, Richmond
Doors open at 9.45am and close at 12.30pm
The last items will be accepted for repair at about 12.15pm.
Free entry but donations to help fund future cafes would be very welcome.
Our fabulous team of fixers - all local volunteers - will be on hand to try and fix your household items.
Clothes, fabric, electronics*, small electricals*, jewellery, bicycles and more !
Tea, coffee, cake and soft drinks available
Don't forget to bring along younger family members to enjoy hands-on activities repurposing everyday items !
*if you are bringing electrical items for repair, please can you bring the power cable too !
Updated : 2nd Sept 24
What is a repair and repurposing cafe?
A repair and repurposing cafe is an event where people can bring along their broken or damaged goods and clothes and community volunteers have a go at fixing them, or reimagining new uses for your items.
The idea is to save you money by helping you making the most of what you already have, and to help save the planet by reducing the amount of waste going to landfill !
Volunteers give their time for free, though if they have a spare part that is needed for your repair, they may charge you for what they paid for it, or they may tell you where you can go and purchase the part.
Unfortunately, not everything that you bring to cafe may be repairable on the day. We will try to suggest a local business where it could be repaired, or may suggest an alternative use for the item if it is beyond repair. - see 'What if you can't fix my item?' below
Updated 30th Aug 2024
Who might you meet on the day ?
Our fabulous fixers already confirmed include:
Mark - household mechanical and electrical items
Ian- mechanical and electrical items, electronics, woodwork
Don - our 'have a go at anything' man !
Sue - fabric/jewellery
Sandra & Sue - fabrics/clothes/soft toys
Luke* - PAT testing by BSA Electrical to ensure all electrical equipment and repairs are safe.
Phil* - bicycle repairs by Richmond Community Bicycle Services.
*Phil and Luke have businesses or enterprises in Richmond, but are generously giving their time for free at the cafe. See the 'our supporters' item below.
Our leaders of the repurposing activities for children and young people
Edwina - North Yorkshire Youth and Community Development worker - DBS accredited
Richie - former youth worker and trainee teacher
Our meet and greet team will include
Elaine - welcome and registration
Frank - welcome and registration
Tony - Refreshments & cakes
Valerie - welcome, registration and overall coordination
Updated: 30th Aug 2024
Could you be a volunteer at our next event ?
We are always looking for new volunteers to help us organise and run our repair and repurposing cafes - could this be you?
If you get satisfaction from helping others and would like to join our small but friendly team of repairers, cake bakers and organisers, then please get in touch with valerie@richmondshireclimateaction.org.
We are particularly on the lookout for woodworkers and IT fixers.
You can do as much or as little as you want - and you don't have to help out at every event. We are hoping to run events in Richmond and around every couple of months or so.
Scroll down to see what our first event was like - all our volunteers thoroughly enjoyed it !
Updated 30th Aug 24
What if you can't fix my item ?
If we can't fix your item, then you might want to try a local repair business. Check out the local repairers directory below to see if there is one that matches your needs !
Updated: 6th June 2024
repairers directory rev1.pdfWho is supporting the repair cafe ?
As well as all the volunteers who have organised and taken part in the event and of course all the people who turn up, the repair and repurposing cafe would not be possible without the welcome financial support of the following:
Richmond Town Council
North Yorkshire Cllr Stuart Parsons, through his Locality Fund
any donations received from the public on the day.
The following volunteers are taking time out from their related companies to support the cafe in kind:
Luke of BSA Electrical Your Local Electrician - BSA Electrical
Thanks to everyone !
Uppdated 30th Aug 24
Thank you to everyone who supported our first ever repair and repurposing cafe in June 2024. Our enthusiastic and highly skilled community volunteers managed to fix almost half of all the items that you brought in, our cake makers excelled themselves with their fabulous offerings and our meet and greet volunteers made sure everyone felt welcome. A beaming smile from a little one indicated that the repurposing activity got the thumbs up too !
If you enjoy fixing things or meeting and greeting visitors, perhaps you would like to be a volunteer at one of our future events ? if so, please get in touch with me via email (valerie@richmondshireclimateaction.org)to find out more.
Here are some pictures for you to enjoy from volunteers Sandra, Sue and Tony that capture some of the atmosphere of the day.
2 bikes repaired
1 IT item fixed
2 pieces of jewellery fixed
All our lovely volunteers ready for action !
6 electronic/electrical items repaired
4 fabric repairs
4 general repairs
How long is it until the next repair cafe ?
If our first repair and repurposing cafe is successful and we have enough willing volunteers, we hope to run another cafe in the area soon.
Please check back to this page or email valerie@richmondshireclimateaction.org to be added to the mailing list.
Posted 4th June 2024
Are you good at fixing things ? Do you enjoy helping out ?
If you would like to get involved in helping to organise the Richmond repair cafe, either as a repairer, front of house or behind the scenes, do get in touch with valerie@richmondshireclimateaction.org. We would particularly love to hear from people with woodwork, sewing or computer fixing skills. Why not showcase your talents in an informal and friendly setting?
Posted: 1st April 2024
Information for Volunteers
General
Repair Cafe Layout - Sept 24 Richmond
New process for dealing with repairs - Sept 24
revised repair process - 02Sept24.pdf
Revised Repair Record Form - Sept 24
revised repair record form 02Sept24.pdf240412 notes of meet up no2 - town hall size up.docMeet up No 2, 12th April - notes
240329 Notes of repair cafe meetup no1.doc