I started making jewellery about 10 years ago. I have always had handicrafts amongst my hobbies, as an antidote to a scientific bias in my work as a specialist radiographer. I decided to ‘have a go’ at jewellery making and very soon became addicted to the genuine gemstones I use. The jewellery is almost exclusively made using genuine gemstones and sterling silver. I sell my jewellery locally at craft fairs, take commissions and donate all my profits to charity. It was a short step from making to repairing and I am now part of a core of repairers on the Cambridge circuit. With jewellery repa ..read more

Biochemist, now full time mum. Loved crafts my whole life so used to using a needle and thread. Learnt to use power tools at university putting together hands on science exhibits.  I originally came to Repair Cafés intending to do a bit of sewing but have since realised that a logical approach and the ability to use a screwdriver lends itself to many of the mechanical repairs that turn up as well.  I find it really rewarding to be able to help people, my fondest memory is of what was a very straightforward repair to the stitching on a favourite toy. It took about 5 minutes but the look ..read more

Retirement for me meant that I finally had the opportunity to do what I wanted, and to do something really worthwhile. It’s frustrating (I would say wrong) that there are many activities that are really important and valuable, but for which it’s impossible to make a business case. Whilst I might argue that society should not rely on the goodwill of volunteers to get these things done, retirement is an opportunity to turn ones back on the time-is-money paradigm, for the benefit of everyone and the future of the small planet we inhabit. As an engineer, I appreciate equipment that has been design ..read more

Since being a student I have been a passionate environmentalist and in London 10 years ago I became a member of Transition Ealing. I am a mum of 3 boys, 14, 12 and 6 and am very worried about their world. Transition gave me a place to be part of positive, sustainable, community and family friend events such as reskilling and gardening. When I came to Cambridge I contacted Cambridge Carbon Footprint and Transition and volunteered at a couple of Repair Cafés and ran a Swish. They had the same atmosphere as the Transition events in Ealing. With the encouragement and guidance of Nicole and Kate I ..read more

I first came across the concept of Repair Cafés whilst searching online for information about give and take events. It struck me as a great idea and I did some further research in my local area which led me to discover Cambridge Carbon Footprint, Cambridgeshire Repair Café Network and the activity that was already occurring in the Cambridgeshire area. From that point, with the invaluable help of CCF and CRCN, I decided to organise a café in Cambourne and we held a successful first event in December 2019. At our first café, a music box that had not been heard for about 40 years was fixed and ..read more

I’m an electronic engineer who has spent the last 20 years in either industry or academia. When not working I split my time between my family, food (BBQ in particular) and motorbikes. My day job involves making electronic so I am most comfortable repairing electronics and appliances, but I’ll happily have a go at fixing any kind of mechanism. I have a 3-year-old boy whose glasses give me plenty of practice. Throughout my childhood, my father was always fixing things in the garage and around the house. He never hesitated to involve me in whatever project was on the go as apparently his father ..read more

I come from a sewing family background.  My grandmother was very good at embroidery, my aunt made soft toys and my mother made most of my clothes until I was old enough to make my own. My first Repair Café was in Histon.  I was impressed when they fixed my kitchen gadget, but I also noticed some ladies sewing.  I found them friendly and they invited me to join them – I have been attending cafés as a repairer ever since. From a repairer’s point of view, I enjoy the challenges brought in by members of the public, from 70-year-old teddies to metre-wide ball ‘pools’, as well as the more us ..read more

We buy more clothes per person in the UK than any other country in Europe[i]  and 300,000 tonnes a year ends up going to landfill or incineration[ii], causing an environmental disaster. Please DON’T put unwanted clothes or shoes in any of your household recycling bins. See: ‘What’s Best for Unwanted Clothes & Shoes – if you exhaust most of those options, please take them to one of the council recycling points for clothing. I’m delighted that  many Cambridge City and South Cambs recycling points now use SOEX  to collect  those clothes and shoes and take them to their plant in Wolfen, German ..read more

There’s no two ways about it, our world is currently configured to produce large quantities of waste in the form of packaging, broken products, and the byproducts of various activities including manufacturing, cooking and travel. But what if were to change how we view waste, and instead think of it as a unexploited resource? I believe, that as well as reducing avoidable waste, we also need to look at how we make use of ‘waste’, and in doing so lay the foundations of what is being termed the ‘Circular Economy’. Make no mistake, we are in a maelstrom of planetary crises, most of which are exacer ..read more