Welsh ‘Repair Shop’ helps you get your items fixed for free

The Repair Shop is the hit BBC show which follows a workshop where broken or damaged family heirlooms are brought back to life.

A Welsh charity launched in the year The Repair Shop first hit our screens is encouraging people not to throw away an item that needs to be repaired but to get it fixed for free.

Repair Cafe Wales hosts free pop-up events run by volunteers who have fixed over 31,000 items and saved over £1m in repairs. So, whether it’s your favourite jeans, shoes, lamp, vacuum or bike, Repair Café Wales’ skilled volunteers say they could bring your items back to life for free.

History of Repair Cafe Wales
Frustrated with the unsustainable growth of landfill and waste, Repair Cafe Wales was founded by Joe O’Mahoney and Cerys Jones in April 2017 to start and support repair cafés in Wales.

The international repair café movement was initiated by Martine Postma. Since 2007, she has been striving for sustainability at a local level in many ways. Martine organised the very first repair café in Amsterdam in 2009. It was a great success.

This prompted Martine to start the Repair Cafe Foundation. Since 2011, this non-profit organisation has provided professional support to local groups in the Netherlands and other countries wishing to start their own repair café. There are now over 1,500 repair cafes worldwide.

How a Repair Cafe Works
Repair cafe events are free pop ups that reduce waste, teach skills and build community resilience. Run by volunteers who will try to fix anything that is brought to them (though with specialist items, do contact your local repair cafe).

Started by committed members of the public with our support, and run by the local community, they can provide advice and support on everything from organisation, processes, insurance, fundraising, volunteer recruitment and social media.

At each repair cafe event, somewhere between 20 and 50 members of the public bring their damaged or broken household items for repair/advice. Typical items include electrical goods, technology, ornaments, clothes, bicycles for basic maintenance and guidance, jewellery and more. The repair cafe volunteers then attempt to repair the items. The visitors are encouraged to join in and learn how their item is being fixed so that they can attempt similar repair in the future.

Mission and impact
Repair cafes are a fun, social way to combat the general frustration with wasted materials, resources and a loss of skills. They recognise that the shift of humanity into a throw-away society is not a sustainable one.

Committed to facilitating the opening of repair cafes in every town, village, city and suburb in Wales, cafes are focusing energies on nurturing a cleaner, more sustainable world whilst our communities are inclusive and safe environments for people of all ages and backgrounds to share knowledge, skills, and to generally connect.

A spokesperson said: “We restore confidence, we reskill those who want to learn, and we remind ourselves of the importance of communication, cooperation and community spirit.

“We are working for our communities to influence standards for goods and government policy, collecting data from our community hubs, and helping to inform policy decisions that promote a greener, more sustainable world.”

What kind of items do Repair Café Wales repair?
Vacuums
Lamps
Clothing
Children’s toys
Small home electricals like electric scales, shredders, juicers, record players and radios
Power tools
And more!

Find your nearest event

Cardiff
Canton – 21/02, 11:00 – 13:00

Whitchurch – 21/02, 14:00 – 16:00

Llanishen – 22/02, 13:00 – 15:00

Caerau & Ely – 28/02, 10:00 – 13:00

Rhiwbina – 01/03, 13:30 – 16:00

Cathays – 07/03, 10:00 – 13:00

Grangetown – 07/03, 11:00 – 14:00

Splott – 14/03, 10:00 – 13:00

Fairwater – 14/03, 11:00 – 13:00

Vale of Glamorgan
Cowbridge – 21/02, 10:00 – 12:00

Penarth – 22/02, 14:00 – 16:30

Wenvoe – 28/02, 10:00 – 12:30

Barry – 07/03, 10:00 – 13:00

Sully – 08/03, 14:00 – 16:30

Llantwit Major – 14/03, 10:00 – 12:00

Wrexham
Ty Pawb – 21/02, 11:00 – 15:00

Plas Madoc – 06/03, 12:15 – 14:15

OJ Dolywern – 12/03, 14:00 – 16:00

Caia Parc – 14/03, 11:00 – 13:00

Head to Repair Cafe Wales‘ website to find more events near you.