We’re a throw-away society.

How often have you dumped a perfectly good bag, coat or hair straightener, just because you didn’t know how to fix it?

Now there’s an excellent way to give your broken items a new lease of life and save some cash on the process; a new Repair Café is setting up shop in Blackpool.

Hosted by Cork Community Art Link, the Bruscar Crow ‘common sense living’ newsletter and Cork Community Bikes, the event will offer a regular space where anyone can find out how to repair items such as clothing, shoes, bikes, furniture and electrical goods so they can be reused instead of ending up in the landfill.

A modern way to ‘make do and mend’

The idea began in Amsterdam in 2009, when journalist Martine Postma opened the first café space where volunteers could help others to mend common items.

The first Irish Repair Café sprang up in Belfast, where over 1,000 items, from ceramics and leatherwork to suitcases and antique dolls, have been fixed in two years, completely free of charge.

Now the first Rebel Repair Café will open on Thursday, March 5th, 2020 at The Lido, 71 Watercourse Road, Blackpool (from 5.30pm until 8.30pm) as part of a drive to take the idea national and encourage more people to adopt a zero-waste attitude.

Cork Repair Café is hoping to welcome plenty of volunteers too:

“If people want to turn up and volunteer to help others, that would be awesome!” said a spokesperson. “Also, donated supplies such as zippers, sandpaper, paint etc. are also much appreciated,”

Bring along any items that need repair and the volunteers will see if they can help you restore it to its former glory. Check out the Facebook page for further updates.

Main image: Repair Café Belfast