In a sun-soaked meeting room at Berwyn’s Trinity Presbyterian Church, hand-lettered signs are taped to the fronts of long folding tables. One reads, “Bikes, Lamps.” Others say, “Woodwork, Glues, Adhesives,” “General Repairs, Blade Sharpening” and “Jewelry.” At each table, handy types are busily tinkering with a raft of broken items people have brought in on this Saturday morning.
This volunteer effort has been dubbed the Easttown Repair Cafe, part of a growing international movement focused on helping people get their worn and malfunctioning possessions fixed. The aim is to reduce the deluge of consumer goods going to landfills and, in the process, shift the mindset of our throwaway society and perhaps even teach folks some basic fix-it skills.
The first repair cafe was launched in Amsterdam in 2009 by Martine Postma, a journalist with a deep interest in sustainability. Today, according to the repair cafe foundation, there are more than 2,500 around the world, including 223 in the United States.
At the “Small/Medium Electronics and Appliances” table, Ed Ward has already fixed a clock, diagnosed what’s up with an ailing vacuum cleaner and conferred with the owner of a KitchenAid mixer about the alarming sound it’s making. He’s had to give up on a coffee maker because its manufacturer has made it impossible to take the unit apart—an all-too-common issue that’s inspired the “right to repair” movement.
Behind the “Sewing and Mending” table, Sarah Weisiger, Trinity Presbyterian’s pastor, surveys a pair of denim shorts sporting a hole, “All this needs is an iron-on patch and some stitching to reinforce it,” she tells the owner.
The first repair cafe was launched in Amsterdam in 2009 by Martine Postma, a journalist with a deep interest in sustainability. Today, according to the Repair Cafe Foundation, there are more than 2,500 around the world, including 223 in the United States. Around here, there are repair cafes operating in Berwyn, Phoenixville, Downingtown and Audubon.
The Berwyn group was founded last year by Cara Rash, a member of the Easttown Township Environmental Advisory Council, who was inspired by the 2020 book Repair Revolution: How Fixers Are Transforming Our Throwaway Culture. Written by two repair cafe organizers in New York state, it’s the bible of the movement in this country, offering a chronicle of the rise of fix-it groups and how-to advice on starting one. “I brought the idea to Trinity, which is an environmentally conscious church—and their pastor loved it,” says Rash, who credits Bob Berkowitz, founder of Downingtown Repair Cafe, with helping her get the group started.
Known as “Fix-it Bob,” Berkowitz was involved with two different repair groups in New York before moving to the area three years ago. “I’m a very handy person,” he notes. “I can pretty much jump into anything, and I really enjoy it. The mountains of trash we’re creating—that just can’t go on.”
The Downingtown group has about 30 volunteer coaches and holds cafes every other month. They typically see up to 50 people showing up with as many as 90 items in tow. “We have a 70% success rate,” says Berkowitz.
Rash notes that the cafes aren’t simply a free repair service. “We try to coach, teach and at least help people understand how things can be fixed and not just thrown away,” she says.
To that end, no drop-offs are allowed. Attendees must register at a reception table, fill out a form listing the items they’ve brought, and read and sign an acknowledgement of house rules. Among them: “Repair coaches are not obligated to reassemble disassembled items that cannot be repaired.” They must also sit with a coach as they troubleshoot the problem and hopefully find a fix.
Organizers of the quarterly Phoenixville Repair Cafe don’t mince words. They call their volunteers “fixers.” They set up shop in the cafeteria of Technical College High School, where long lunch tables provide space to take things apart and park the bins of tools and materials fixers typically haul in with them. Partly inspired by her work as a home organizer and manager of moves for downsizing seniors, J. Tiffany Bregoni helped launch Phoenixville Repair Cafe in 2019. “I wanted to find a way clients could fix and keep some of their cherished things,” she says.
Volunteer fixer Jay Darley found his way to the group after stumbling on Repair Revolution. “I told my dad, ‘I found my nation,’” says Darley. “My friends always tease me about how I try to fix everything, but they’re the first ones to come and say, ‘Hey, can you take a look at this?’ I think I inherited it from my grandfather and dad. It’s a lost art—that willingness to repair things.”
The eclectic parade of objects at one Phoenixville cafe includes a food processor, a shovel with a broken handle, a sweater with a neckline that’s unraveling, an iPod, and an enormous mechanical kitty litter box. The most surprising item of the day is a nearly six-foot Tigger inflatable, which is flopped over and listing to one side. Several of the fixers gather around the forlorn, half-inflated figure spit-balling solutions.
“Check the fan blades on the blower. Maybe it’s dust.”
“Are there any leaks?”
After testing out the theories, fixer Ron Faust delivers his final verdict: “The motor is just tired.”
Visit easttown.org, downingtown.org and phoenixvillerepaircafe.com.
Related: Longwood Gardens to Complete Major Renovations in November
