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Alison and Roz used their sewing skills to repair kilts, dressing gowns and sequins
A puppet without strings rests limply on the countertop, while a robot hoover remains silent, no suction to be heard.
A family plate lies in pieces – toppled from its prized place on the wall.
Yet, a black bin bag was not in store for these sorry items, as each made its way in to the capable hands of a “fixer” at Toome’s very first repair cafe.
Volunteers at the County Antrim cafe have been busy sewing, gluing and painting to restore them to their former glory.
What is a repair cafe?
Repair cafes are pop-up community events where people can bring their broken items and volunteers will try their best to fix them.
The idea was born in Amsterdam in 2009 with the hopes of cutting waste and building community.
The concept made its way to Northern Ireland in February 2018, when the first event was held in a community centre in South Belfast.
Since then, 14 branches have opened or are set to open in Northern Ireland.
They hold their place among 2,500 repair cafes worldwide.
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Daniel Robinson was delighted to see his family name plate restored
Repair cafe Antrim and Newtownabbey hosts regular pop-ups across.
The most recent event saw fixers descend on the Tidal centre in the village of Toome with sewing machines and screwdrivers at the ready.
Daniel Robinson arrived with a family name plate that had seen better days.
It was one of six plates commissioned for each of six sisters in the family by a relative from America.
Daniel inherited this piece of family history.
It took pride of place on the wall until it was accidentally knocked off.
“I picked as many pieces as I could and it was put up into the roof space. It’s been there for five years”, he said.
But it was not over for this heirloom.
‘It’s more than words can say’
The task of reassembling the plate was assigned to fixer Sean O’Shea who has been volunteering with the group for six years.
“We’re through the worst of it now, we’ve glued together the bigger pieces, but there are a few fragments missing,” Sean said.
He put some fine epoxy filler in and gold nail polish to restore the item.
Daniel said he was “delighted” with the repair.
“It’s more than words can say, because there’s a lot of sentimental value in it for me”, he said.
“All the grandchildren would have been held up to the plate and said: ‘Night night’ to God before my mother put them to bed.
“Lots of memories are flooding back now.”
Repair Cafe Antrim and Newtownabbey
Fixed! A success story for Toome Repair Cafe
There is also a social aspect to the meet-ups, as the community gathers for hot drinks and baked goods.
Seamstresses Alison Kirk and Roz Bashford met at a Repair Cafe a few years ago and now frequently combine their skills to take on Antrim and Newtownabbey’s fabric needs.
“You meet people that you didn’t know before, but they’re like minded and that’s the joy,” Alison said.
Having learnt to mend fabric at a young age, the women said clothing should not be viewed as disposable.
“I have done somebody’s jumper that was so threadbare, but they absolutely loved it, so we fixed round the cuffs and they were just delighted”, Roz said.
On the schedule for that day was a kilt, dressing gowns and a sparkly dress.
As we left them, a puppet in need of re-stringing arrived.
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Some new strings were in order for a puppet that had lost its dancing legs
What is the impact?
The group says the repairs are good for the environment too.
Jo Templeton is the deputy chair of Repair Cafe for Antrim and Newtownabbey and helped to establish the group in the district, with support from the original team in Belfast.
She says the “fabulous” fixers usually manage to repair two-thirds of the items that come through the door.
More widely, the group said its volunteers have mended at least 3,500 items across Northern Ireland and saved eight tonnes of goods from going to landfill.
“We get to spread the message that it’s really important that people don’t just automatically throw things away”, Jo said.
“Can they give it to someone else? Can it be fixed? Can it be repurposed?”.
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Jo Templeton says the fixers usually repair two thirds of the items which come in
Chris McCartney, who supports the network across Northern Ireland said that new branches have recently been established along the north coast and in Augher in County Tyrone.
In the New Year, there are plans for hubs in Aghalee and Glenravel in the Glens of Antrim.
Chris said “all shapes and sizes” of communities can make an event work, from small villages to large cities.
“They’re seeing the benefits of what repair cafes can do and they want to get started as well,” he told BBC News NI.
Where is my nearest repair cafe?
- Belfast
- Antrim and Newtownabbey
- Bangor
- Carryduff
- Dromore
- Foyle
- Laurencetown
- Moira
- North Coast (Portrush, Portstewart and Coleraine)
- South Down
- Whitehead
- Augher
- Plans for Aghalee and Glenravel