Merry May Mending

IMG_5027

Sam (who co-organises Brighton Repair Café) turned her making skills to use, showing Sarah how to replace the disintegrated rubber seal on a coffee maker with a new one.

IMG_5033

Fiona of The Lost Mitten Project talked Stacey through how to repair the ladders in a favourite top, suggesting that after darning the holes that she could crochet a motifs to cover them.IMG_5036Stacey decided on a raindrop shape and Fiona showed her how to create them.
IMG_5023

Juan Carlos and Miriam who we met at Brighton’s Green Drinks brought along a lamp that had stopped working.IMG_5031In a jiffy Mattia had diagnosed that it was a blown fuse and showed the couple how to replace it as they had never been taught how before.IMG_5032

Dan brought back some speakers that he fixed at a previous event and had further problems with. After a chat with Mattia they worked out what needed to be done and Dan used the soldering iron to make the repair.IMG_5053

Ali and his Dad sanded down toy catapults that had a sharp edges which were causing the cord to frayIMG_5040

 whilst Hannah and Irenka sewed up tears in their tops.

IMG_5042

Sarah also brought an ipod speaker which needed some repairs to the circuit board.IMG_5041John came along to learn how to do electrical repairs from Mattia and volunteered to be his apprentice at future events.
IMG_5054Kelly replaced the clasp on her bag.

IMG_5045And all the while the talented D White tickled the ivories and Rafa Zabuski strummed along playing a range of classical, covers and original music.

February’s Repair Café

IMG_3501

brought some new faces

IMG_3539

who were shown how to darn

IMG_3507

and patchIMG_3543

to make links

IMG_3513

in order to fix jewellery

IMG_3527

We had a visit from a lady who is knitting a map of Brighton

IMG_3545

& Dan fashioned a nifty bike basket rack

IMG_3549

out of coat hangers!

IMG_3536

IMG_3553

IMG_3550

Roll Up for the Bridge Circus

This Monday & Tuesday we will be holding a mendathon a Brighton University as part of the Bridge Circus Symposium  to see how many things we can fix in two days, whilst challenging people to actively occupy their objects rather than passively consume and dispose of them.

MENDATHON

Volunteers will be on hand with a range of skills to help people to fix their things throughout the day in the space between the gallery and the Cafeteria. Bring your clothes, bikes, jewellery and other broken items and we will endeavour to help you fix them.

Find us at Brighton University’s Grand Parade Campus between the canteen and the gallery between 10am and 6pm.

We are looking forward to our new volunteer Christine from Be Crafty joining us to help out with textile & clothing repair.

Repair stories from Magpie’s Eco-Festival

We were invited to hold an outdoor repair café at Magpie’s Eco Festival. The event was held at Magpie’s fantastic Shabitat warehouse where they sell second hand goods from clothes to furniture.

Set in Saunders Park, the festival was a fun mix of great local music, food, drink and eco-projects and craftspeople.

IMG_2719

We held our café under canvas with a prime view of the main stage.

IMG_2724

A range of repairs were undertaken by people who had brought things to fix with the help of our volunteers…

IMG_2697

Sometimes all that is needed is a simple change of fuse…

IMG_2699

and a bit of re-wiring

IMG_2702

trimming and stripping the wires

IMG_2705

before putting them back in place in the plug

IMG_2706

and hey presto, the lamp works again!

IMG_2709

A rip in a coat was assessed

IMG_2711

and a technique for mending it was demonstrated

IMG_2714

IMG_2717

before the coats owner completed the repair with the new skill she had learnt.

IMG_2718

Our new home…

is at the all new Seven Bees Café in St George’s Church, St George’s Road, Kemp Town, Brighton BN2 1ED. IMG_5488

Where we aim to hold a repair cafe on the last Saturday of every month (except December).

At our first event there we had a few new people join us to darn…IMG_5465

sew and staple!

IMG_2660

Isaac helped to replace a watch battery

IMG_5479

using Mattia’s tools.

IMG_5480

Izzie gave sewing and jewellery repair advice

IMG_5476

Tom brought along a great book

IMG_5464

with an amazing cover!

IMG_2661

and guided us with our darning repairs

IMG_5463 IMG_2664IMG_2665

Mattia, busy as ever, helped Iain the café owner to repair his toaster

IMG_5470IMG_5471IMG_5472

IMG_5473

IMG_5487

and a vacuum cleaner

IMG_2658IMG_5481

Super fun fixing at Super + Super

A great evening was spent at Super + Super fixing electrical goods, necklaces, sunglasses, gloves & elbows on a cardigan as well as adapting trousers and lightbulbs to make them more useable.

IMG_3726 IMG_3725 IMG_3723 IMG_3722 IMG_3717 IMG_3712

We can’t wait for the next session at Super + Super on Friday 12th July from 6.30-8.30pm.

There will be opportunities to mend textiles, electrical, jewellery as well as ceramics or anything else which needs fixing back together with Araldite or Sugru!

IMG_3715

We can’t promise one of Izzie’s cakes (Mmm) again but there will be tea and other snacks available and we will be asking for donations towards the materials, refreshments and the cost of running the space (suggested donation £2).

If you would like to bring something electrical to fix please post a photo and description of the problem here, or on the facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/brightonrepaircafe or email brightonrepaircafe@gmail.com so that our volunteers can diagnose whether it is something that can be fixed and bring the right parts to help you mend it.

Friday night fixing!

super-super-interior

Tonight we will be holding a repair café at the fabulous Super + Super – A creative hub in the centre of Brighton which shares our mission to learn and share creatively.

Come along from 6.30-9pm.

Bring clothes, textiles, jewellery, ceramics & electrical goods to repair with help from our volunteers and other repairers.

Feel welcome to bring cake too!

Stories from the Street (Mendathon)

IMG_3679

We were really fortunate to have a gloriously sunny day when we took our tables, chairs and tools out into the streets of Hanover for the Street Mendathon.

IMG_3660

The First thing to be repaired (or at least assessed for which parts were missing) was my old Singer sewing machine. As Tom worked out how it functioned a passing neighbour mentioned she had a Singer sewing machine that she was hoping to get rid of. So off she went to get it and brought back a near identical model which can now be used to repair my Singer!

IMG_3678

With the ingenious use of a bit of blu-tac to hold it steady Izzie managed to repair a ring which had become detached using Araldite.

IMG_1685

Tom showed Kate how to Darn her slippers on a doorstep

IMG_3683

IMG_1682

Then whilst Mattia started to show me how to fix my broken lamp, D replaced a broken string and tuned a Kora.

IMG_1663

After cleaning up some of the points and a bit of re-wiring and tightening of connections…

IMG_3664IMG_3670

the electrical parts were in working order but the missing glass top still needed replacing…

IMG_1673

So the Belisha Beacon found left out in the street a few weeks before was carved down…

IMG_1675

Until it fit snuggly atop the lamp where it looks like it was designed to be!

IMG_1677

There was no rest for Mattia, he went on to help Sam fix her reading lamp

IMG_1699

and Andi with her coffee machine that had taken to dripping coffee at a torturously slow rate

IMG_1698All this whilst knees were patched

IMG_1693

bag seams were fixed

IMG_1684

Zips were repaired

IMG_1695

and pockets were mended

IMG_1690

Whilst down the road there was another hive of activity where the SpacePlace Repair Café were set up with their radical repairers…

IMG_3690 IMG_3691

Street Mendathon

Think street party but everyone is repairing something!

street_party_lge

We are taking our next Repair Café out into the streets of Hanover (Brighton) on the 2nd June from 1-5pm.

We’re encouraging Hanover residents to take their tables & chairs outside their houses and to do those repair jobs that have been put off for another time. It will be a chance to meet neighbours and share repair tips and tools (perhaps even some tea, cake or a bottle).

People who don’t live in Hanover are also welcome to join in.

The Brighton Repair Café will be set up on Jersey Street with textiles, electrical & jewellery repair and perhaps furniture.

SpacePlace will have their Radical Repairers out in Washington street with sewing machines, bike repairs, crochet and darning experts and The Lost Mitten Project.

Anyone who repairs something at the Street Mendathon please take a photo and send it to us via weareonthemend@gmail.com and we’ll post them up here and tot up the total number of repairs!

A4 Mendathon poster all orgs