Repair Café

Repair Café is a global movement to reduce waste and build skills and community.

During this monthly two-hour event, we have community members on hand who can help you with your items that need fixing. If you have a small appliance or piece of clothing or something else that needs fixing, please bring it in and have it repaired - for free :)

Thanks to our awesome team of volunteer "fixers", more than half of all the broken items that are brought in get repaired! Some of the items that have been repaired in the past are: toaster ovens, curling irons, clocks, lamps, jeans, purses, coats, chairs, radios, microwaves, and many more.

Please see our booking site (link below) to see the latest event dates and to RSVP for free.

Please see this document for more details on what being a fixer involves and then visit our volunteer page and complete the form at the bottom of the page.

The Repair Café is a free, volunteer-run initiative that operates about once per month with the goal of repairing items that were once loved but are no longer working. It is our hope to extend the lives of different items that would otherwise be sent to landfills and replaced by purchasing a new item.

While not mandatory, we recommend that you register ahead of time (see below).

In order to give everyone a chance to have their item looked at, at the time of the Repair Café, we will only look at one of your items at a time. If your first item is done being looked at/repaired, we encourage you to get back in line and “check in” your second item.

We have successfully been able to repair over 500 items at London’s Repair Café events! Depending on the issue with the item, the following items are worth looking at:

While we have been successful with repairing a variety of items, with the experience we’ve gained over the years, the following items may be too difficult to fix. However, you are still welcome to bring them so a Fixer can take a look.

For any issue that isn't fixable, replacing the zipper entirely is often an option if certain sewists are helping that night. You would need to get and bring a new zipper with you.

Zipper replacement is generally NOT an option for leather, vinyl, or footwear.

Common zipper issues:

Some examples of replacements parts you may need to bring are:

If you do not know what new part your item needs, please come to the Repair Café near that beginning (6 pm) so one of our fixers can take a look and advise you on what part(s) you may need. If time allows, you may be able to run to the store (Home Hardware, etc) to purchase the replacement part, return to the Repair Café, and have your item fixed before the end of the evening (no guarantees though)!

We highly recommend that you register ahead of time so we have a better idea of the number of people we expect and so we can make sure we have the right number of volunteer Fixers present. We also want to make sure we have at least one Fixer that is skilled at looking at the type of item you are bringing.

Having said this, if you decide to come last-minute and have not registered, we would gladly take a look at your item.

Based on our experience, you might be seen right away if you come near the beginning of the Repair Café. However, more likely than not, you will have to wait. It is not possible for us to estimate the wait time.

Sometimes, Fixers can take the entire two hours fixing one person’s item and other times, something can be straightforward for that fixer. We do not know how long an item will take until the Fixer takes a look.

To minimize your wait time, either come early (before 6 pm) or around the halfway mark (7 pm) - although if you come halfway through there is a chance that we will run out of time to look at your item. Coming early is definitely the safest bet.

We would like to remind our attendees to please be patient on the day of the event. We are all volunteers just trying to help make a difference in the world!

In a way, yes. However, our Fixers are all volunteers that may have a special talent in repairing certain types of items (sewing, electrical, electronics, bicycles, etc) so if you attend the café, we will find someone suitable to take a look at your item as soon as one is available. That means that someone who shows up after you but has a different type of item may be seen first if a Fixer that is more appropriate to look at their item is available before someone who specializes in your type of item.

No, there is no charge. We are all volunteers.

We gratefully accept donations, which enable us to continue offering this volunteer-run event.

How to donate to the Repair Café: