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You know that broken lamp that’s been sitting in the corner of your garage for the last decade? You know, the one with the busted pull chain and persnickety cord your college roommate gave you? Yeah, that one. Do you think it might be time to get that thing fixed?

What if I told you there is a place you can go to have your lamps rewired, your vintage denim mended, your bicycle tires patched, your weed wackers restrung and your great-grandmother’s heirloom necklace soldered — all for free?

Sounds too good to be true, right? Not so! On Sunday, April 6, volunteers and staff with Arcata’s Recreation Division will host the first Humboldt Repair Café, a free event at the Arcata Community Center where people can take their broken stuff (electronics, clothing, jewelry, furniture, crockery, small appliances, etc.) to be repaired by local fixers. If you can carry it, chances are, they can fix it. 

“The rule is it has to be small enough that you can carry it in by yourself,” volunteer coordinator Wendy Ring told the Outpost. “We won’t be able to take in refrigerators and things like that. We’ll have a retired electrician to work with smaller electrical appliances. We also have some IT specialists to help people with their computers. We have experts at putting fancy patches on clothes and another person for bicycle repairs. This is our first Repair Café, but we have quite a variety of people!”

Image: Repair Café International Foundation

The upcoming event is part of an international movement, which originated in Amsterdam in 2009, to combat “throwaway culture,” promote sustainability and teach people practical repair skills. “We just bring our skills and fix stuff together,” Ring said.

“The Repair Café movement is trying to change consumer culture and say, ‘No, we can’t just throw things away because they don’t just disappear,’” she continued. “This is a way of making the things that we have last longer and teaching people how to fix things by watching our volunteers as they’re doing repairs. It’s also community building, which is something that we really need right now.”

While the event is free, volunteers may request a donation if they need extra materials for repair. In some cases, it may take volunteers a little longer to diagnose the issue and get the parts needed for the fix.

“If we don’t have the part on hand, we may ask you to come back next month,” Ring said, adding that she hopes to host the event once a month. “Sometimes, it’s going to be a multi-step repair. We do have some people who have 3D printers who will be able to make parts for people. … We’ll also have little handbells around, and when a repair is made, we’ll ring the bell and have a mini celebration.”

Asked what she would be taking to the Repair Café, Ring said she has a Kindle that needs fixing, some clothes her dog has chewed on and a jacket with a broken zipper. “I put a collection of beautiful beach pebbles in my jacket pocket, and I’ve never been able to unzip it,” she said. “That was a year ago. I can sew a little bit, but I can’t do zippers!”

Cullen Groom, recreation supervisor for the City of Arcata’s environmental services department, is helping to support the program on behalf of the city, which is allowing the Repair Café to use the community center’s senior room free of charge.

“[The city] is always looking for new ways to engage with the community through events that bring people together and help make those connections,” Groom told the Outpost. “This is another way to teach people there are a lot of ways to reduce, reuse, recycle and repair. It’s really awesome to hear the enthusiasm from our volunteers who are passionate about showcasing their skills and being able to bring that back to the community.”

Most volunteer slots have already been filled, but people interested in participating can sign up for the monthly event at this link. The group is also looking for specific tools. If you’ve got some to spare, contact the city’s recreation division at rec@cityofarcata.org.

The inaugural Humboldt Repair Café will be held in the Senior Room at the Arcata Community Center on Sunday, April 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

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