ysabetwordsmith (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2019-01-20 12:04 am
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2019-01-20 12:04 am
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The Repair Café
The Repair Café is a network of places where you can take broken stuff and fix it for free. This is not limited to geekery with machines. You can take clothes, toys, all kinds of stuff. Find one near you or start one. Sadly, the only two in Illinois are right next to each other, in Chicago and Oak Park. :(
I will add, not knowing that things can be fixed and not knowing how to fix them are only two thirds of the problem -- the ones you can influence yourself. A much more serious issue is that most modern products are not designed to be fixable at all, only thrown away the moment anything breaks. They are made so covers won't come off, so broken areas can't be separated from whole ones. That's vicious, and it's also infantalizing, because it prevents people from doing things for themselves.
So another part of this movement is to search out and buy products that can be repaired. For a brilliant example, look at 3D archery targets. These things take a beating. The core, and sometimes the whole midsection, can be replaced with spare parts. For some targets and companies, all the parts can be replaced. You can even buy repair kits with foam, paint, etc. for smaller touchups. That's fantastic, because these things are really expensive; repairing them saves a lot of money and resources.
I will add, not knowing that things can be fixed and not knowing how to fix them are only two thirds of the problem -- the ones you can influence yourself. A much more serious issue is that most modern products are not designed to be fixable at all, only thrown away the moment anything breaks. They are made so covers won't come off, so broken areas can't be separated from whole ones. That's vicious, and it's also infantalizing, because it prevents people from doing things for themselves.
So another part of this movement is to search out and buy products that can be repaired. For a brilliant example, look at 3D archery targets. These things take a beating. The core, and sometimes the whole midsection, can be replaced with spare parts. For some targets and companies, all the parts can be replaced. You can even buy repair kits with foam, paint, etc. for smaller touchups. That's fantastic, because these things are really expensive; repairing them saves a lot of money and resources.
no subject
OTOH, the main library in town has regular sewing/mending sessions for clothing (& maybe bedding?).
Hmm ...