Repair Cafés are making a difference in Saratoga Springs
Our next Repair Café is on Sunday, April 16th from 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm
as part of the Saratoga Sustainability Fair at Skidmore College.
No reservation needed.
Please call 518-584-7860, ext. 242 for more information.
What do you do with a broken kitchen appliance? Or a chair with a broken rung? Or a shirt with a rip or a lost button? Toss it? No way!
Do you hate throwing things away that seem like they could be fixed if only you knew how? Help us support the repair movement to Saratoga Springs! Sustainable Saratoga and the Saratoga Springs Public Library host Repair Cafés in Saratoga Springs. Repair Cafés are free community events with the goals of repairing broken objects to extend their life, keeping things out of landfills, and fostering an appreciation for the art of repairing things. Check out this video to learn more.
People visiting the Repair Café bring along their broken items from home, and various volunteer repair coaches are on hand to help repair broken items free of charge. We have tools and commonly needed materials on hand during the event. Electronics, small appliances, textiles, wooden furniture, toys, jewelry…most things that are broken are welcome. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to fix everything, but we are pretty sure you will have a good time while you are here.
We held the first Repair Café on June 16, 2018 at the Saratoga Springs Public Library. Read our article about the debut here. We celebrated our one-year anniversary with our 4th Repair Cafe – we are amazed at how quickly this event became popular in the community. It is tremendously gratifying to be part of this repair movement.
Some examples of things we can likely repair (not an exhaustive list; we will try to repair anything you bring):
Electrical items: Lamps; hair dryers; kitchen appliances; plug, switch & power cord repairs; clock; vacuum cleaners; fans; games & toys
Wooden items: Furniture (chairs, small tables); toys & doll furniture; picture or mirror frames
Clothes: Replace buttons; hem pants/skirts; replace zippers; patch holes or tears; minor alterations
Textiles: Repair blankets & quilts; doll or stuffed animal repair
Jewelry: Replace clasps, restringing, gluing
Computers: Software installation, basic diagnostic & troubleshooting
Misc items: Rewiring frames and mirrors, repairing broken ceramics, fixing things with stripped out screws
We need you! Volunteer to be a Repair Coach today.
Do you have a special fix-it skill? Are you a general handyperson who can fix almost anything? We are always looking for volunteers to help us extend the life of broken objects. You don’t have to be an expert. Please email info@sustainablesaratoga.org for more information on how you can get involved.
We hold events several times a year. Read about some of our early Repair Cafés:
June 2018 post
September 2018 post
February 2019 post
June 2019 post (our one-year anniversary!)
October 2021 post-COVID return post
About Repair Café Foundation
The Repair Café concept arose in the Netherlands, in 2009, and was formulated by Martine Postma, at the time an Amsterdam-based journalist/publicist. In 2010, she started the Repair Café Foundation. This foundation provides support to local groups around the world wishing to start their own Repair Café. The foundation also supports the Repair Café in Saratoga Springs.
The Repair Café Foundation has the following goals:
- to bring back repairing into local society in a modern way;
- to maintain repair expertise and to spread this knowledge; and
- to promote community cohesion by connecting neighbors from different backgrounds and experiences through an inspiring and low-key event.
The Repair Café in Saratoga Springs is co-sponsored by:
