Repair cafe makes old things new again and builds community
Chimera Arts & Makerspace holds event where locals can bring in their belongings to be fixed for free
On Saturday, locals brought broken yet beloved belongings to Chimera Arts & Makerspace’s Sebastopol Repair Cafe.
The event, held in conjunction with Sebastopol Area Time Bank and Zero Waste Action, also featured snacks from Community Market and bike repair from Community Bikes.
Most of the visitors made appointments online beforehand. After they arrived and had their items triaged, they were escorted to the appropriate station and helped by one of a dozen or so volunteers on the premises.
“Then the work is done, and hopefully it’s successful,” said David Gill, Sebastopol Area Time Bank’s administrative coordinator. “If something isn’t fixed, it’s not that people are sad about it—it’s more like, ‘Oh, that was worth a try.’ They wanted to give it one last shot before getting rid of it.”
Items ranged from a table that simply needed to be welded back together to a suitcase with a damaged wheel that stumped a couple of volunteers. Ceramics, jewelry, metal repair and sharpening, walkers and canes, and musical instruments were among the categories of items that could be fixed.
“I do this a couple times a year as a volunteer,” said Gregg Wrisley, who was able to fix Sherry Wright’s hand-thrown stoneware lamp. “I can help people and keep stuff from getting in a landfill.”
Other volunteers included Ariel Stone, who was reconstructing a miniature stand, and Karin Lease, who was stitching a garment at the sewing station.
“I was always looking in people’s trash cans as a kid,” said Lease. “I’ve always been fascinated by fixing things. I do this because we should do things for each other and trade our skills.”
Andy King, a first-time volunteer who was across from Lease at the sewing station, is also a Chimera member, which means she pays anywhere between $55 and $195 a month to use Chimera’s space and tools for her projects. Since becoming a member, King has improved her sewing skills, giving her insight into the value of sustainability.
“I’ve been made aware of garment waste and worker abuse in sweatshops,” she said. “Repair is a great way to have more ethical clothing consumption.”
Sebastopol’s repair cafe is one of several that take place throughout the county over the course of a given year. Forestville held its own repair cafe at El Molino High School on April 13.
“We accept donations, but everybody that's a fixer is volunteering their time,” said Jim Wheaton, one of the directors of Chimera. “It really is a feel-good thing because when you can fix somebody's thing that they didn't know how to, they feel good, we feel good and everybody feels good.”
