The Secret Wonders of a Repair Café

The Secret Wonders of a Repair Café

I bought my favourite pair of pants on sale from a local department store many moons ago. It has an elasticated waist and a drawstring so it’s forgiving when I’ve eaten just a little too much (not often at all).


The fabric is a light and breathable cotton so it’s soft and super comfortable. Did I mention that they’re black, so they go with everything? I’ve had them for so long and have washed them so many times that they are becoming threadbare in some places!


The fateful day arrived… I was shaking the pants out after washing them for the umpteenth time, and a rip appeared on the inside leg, as if out of nowhere!


I could not bear the thought of throwing them out, so I stashed them in the cupboard for my next trip to a repair café.


Now what’s a repair café you ask?


I discovered one shortly after arriving in Adelaide a couple years back. I was scrolling through my Facebook feed as one does every so often and saw an event advertising a repair café.


I discovered that it’s a local community event that offers free repairs on electronics, household items, clothes, and other random items. Volunteers from the community come together once a month to offer their expert repair skills.


My beloved Gramps would use an item for as long as possible, often repairing it multiple times using clever hacks, or repurposing it if it could no longer serve its original function. I think it’s also a Chinese thing that I have always been taught not to waste anything unless I really can’t help it.


I am nowhere near as handy as my Gramps was at fixing things, so stumbling on a repair café was the best thing since sliced bread.


For me it was mostly clothing repairs, but I’ve also had other random items fixed, like a broken key on my laptop keyboard, a pot lid, a torch, and a clothes hanger.


The torch wouldn’t screw shut anymore once I opened it to put in new batteries, so I thought the grooves were too worn out. The repairer simply made the opening smaller with pliers and voila, it fastened tightly again. It seems like such an obvious fix now, but I would never have thought of doing that on my own.


One of my plastic hangers snapped, and yes, I know it’s a cheap item to replace, but I really didn’t want to throw it out when it was a simple fix. Only thing was I didn’t have the right glue and buying a tube would cost more than a whole pack of new hangers. The repairer pulled out a tube of glue from his toolbox and applied a small dollop on my hanger. My job was to hold the two parts together until they held together firmly, and Bob’s your uncle, all fixed.


Back to my trusty black pants… the repairer told me she needed to patch the hole but she didn’t have the right colour material with her. She told me she would take my pants home with her, patch them, and drop them off with me that same afternoon! Now that is not the norm, but how fabulous is that! Talk about service with a smile 😊


The patch job she did is perfectly neat and has prolonged the life of my pants for just a little bit longer.


Aside from saving money by not having to buy new items, my main motivation for repairing every item possible is to save it from going to landfill for as long as I can. I’ve seen so many things being thrown out that still have plenty of life left in them.


Doing my small part makes me very happy and if I can spread the news and motivate others to do the same, we make a greater impact together.


Not only do you get to save things from landfill, but you also get to meet the amazing repairers, volunteers and fellow fans over tea/coffee and goodies. I’ve met such interesting people and had the most fascinating conversations. The social aspect is just as wonderful as the repairs themselves.


There are repair cafés across Adelaide that run either on a Saturday or Sunday, covering every weekend except the first weekend of the month.


This is a list of the repair cafés I’ve found so far, but there may be others that I don’t know about yet. Some require bookings and others don’t, so please refer to the links below for the details.


Repair Cafes Across Adelaide:



So, before you throw out that toaster or t-shirt, think about making a trip to your local repair café. Meet some fun people, get your stuff fixed, and most importantly, play a part in saving our planet!


Hope to see you at one of them soon 😊


(We’re usually the only Chinese couple there, so say hi if you happen to see us, we’d love to meet you.)