Repair Cafe Sydney North Going from Strength to Strength

Have you seen a line of people with electrical items, clothes, and knives standing outside the Living and Learning Centre in Lane Cove on the first and second Sunday of the month around 2pm.  They are waiting for the Repair Cafe Sydney North to open to repair their items FREE OF CHARGE.

What is a Repair Cafe?

A group of dedicated local residents are behind Repair Cafe Sydney North.  A repair cafe is a group of skilled local residents who want to fix things instead of throwing them away. Lane Cove residents are invited to bring broken items from home and watch them being repaired.  You may even be inspired to learn how the repairs are made.

Volunteers aren’t necessarily tradespeople, but they are good with their hands – people who love to work with objects.

The Repair Cafe Sydney North celebrated its ninth birthday in January 2024.

Besides fixing household/electrical items like toasters (see our photo below), Repair Cafe Sydney North provide repairs for clothing (buttons, zippers, mending holes etc.), shoes, bags, umbrellas, and sharpens knives and gardening tools.  They also fix jewellery and ceramics (they may not have jewellery and ceramic volunteers always available).

Most things are fixed during the Repair Cafe Sydney North opening hours. However, more challenging items might be referred to a local speciality repair shop.

Some Examples of Happy “Customers”

The sewing team recently repaired what they describe as a much-loved cotton shirt.  The repairer said, “The shirt was approximately 30 years old. The fabric was starting to disintegrate in a few places. I did a few areas of very fine darning to prolong the life of the shirt and sewed up a partially ripped sleeve seam”!

Umbrellas

The Repair Cafe has repaired numerous umbrellas over the past nine years, so don’t ever give up on your favourite umbrella—take it along to The Repair Cafe.

Electrical Repairs

At each Repair Cafe, a team of about four repairers fixes electrical items. So before you throw them away, think about what could be repaired by The Repair Cafe.

Even if it Seems Trivial – It Still Makes A Difference

Sometimes, even what might be considered trivial and cheap is worth fixing. For example, the kitchen tongs (pictured below) now have a new smart brass rivet. They might be cheap to buy at the supermarket, but hey, we sure pay in other ways with the environmental and social damage created through mining the raw materials and the energy (both human and machine) taken to manufacture them —not to mention disposal costs!

When is the Repair Cafe Open?

1st and 2nd Sundays of the month 2-4 pm.

Where is the Repair Cafe Located in Lane Cove?

The Living and Learning Centre, 164-180 Longueville Road, Lane Cove.

What is the Procedure?

Please queue up for a time slot, and the Repair Cafe Sydney North volunteers will try to fix your item on the same day whenever possible.

You will be allocated a time slot between 2-4 pm.

The last time slot for gadget/electrical repairs is 3.30 pm.

The last time slot for other items is 3.45 pm.

Indicative timetable

First. Sunday of the Month – Gadgets/electrical, Sewing,  jewellery/ceramics, Shoes/leather, tool/knife sharpening.

Second Sunday of the Month – Gadgets/electrical, Sewing, simple Jewellery repairs,  Shoes/leather, tool/knife sharpening

What Does the Service Cost?

There is no charge for the repairs, donation in cash or credit card is welcomed. To make an online donation click here and scroll down the home page until you see the yellow donate button (see below).

When Is the Repair Cafe Next Open?

June 9th 2024

Time: 2 pm to 4 pm

Is there a website where I can find out more about the Repair Cafe Movement?

Here is the link

Repair Cafe Sydney North Contact Details

Website: https://repaircafesydneynorth.net/
Facebook: @RepairCafeSydneyNorth
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/repaircafesydneynorth/
Email – [email protected]
Phone: Wendy D on 0410 280 912

The Local and Independent News Association (LINA) recognises that local news publishers like In the Cove need assistance and has launched the National Collective Fundraising Week for newsrooms. It is a national movement of newsrooms calling on their local communities for support.

All Australian media companies need two sources of revenue to survive: advertising and subscriptions. In the Cove will never have a paywall, and that is why we need your help. If you can support us by making a monetary contribution (no matter how small or big!!), you will help us pay our staff and hopefully employ more locals in the future. Check out our team below

We need you to help us continue to be in the Know. Now is the best time to support us, as the Local and Independent News Association will match your financial support dollar-for-dollar during their campaign period from June 3rd to 7th. This means you can turn $20 into $40. The link to support us is here.

Thank you the ITC team.