Growing our Repair Cafe network one stitch at a time
Our local repair cafe network, which started in Braunton as a collaboration between Plastic Free North Devon and Regen Braunton, has been growing strong since it started in August 2021.
Our regular Braunton community Repair Cafe has become a hub for community engagement, featuring the patching up, mending, darning, and sewing of items such as well-loved teddy bears, an apple foraging bag, jackets, skirts, dresses, socks, pyjamas, tablecloths, recycled bunting, and much more.
The drop in sessions have been held at the Museum of British Surfing since the summer of 2021, as a space to repair clothes, start a conversation around actions we can take to look after our environment, and also to come together as a community. Emerging from the various lockdowns, this community aspect felt particularly important, and it has been great to see people interacting who may not normally cross paths in their day to day lives. We really encourage people not to drop and run, but to stick around, learn some new skills, and share a cuppa and some cake.
A lot of our clothing is made of plastics like acrylic and nylon, so making sure that our clothes and textiles aren’t wasted by ending up in landfill means that we are making the most of the resources we already have in circulation. Add manufacture and transport in, and not throwing away and replacing a pair of jeans because of a broken zip can actually have a huge impact.
Check out our blog from last year to find out more about how the simple act of repairing our clothes can help look after our environment too.
Claire Moodie, our CEO here at Plastic Free North Devon, explains a little more about the community aspect of the events:
“It is important to us to run these cafes as community events, giving people the opportunity to learn new skills that they can pass on to family and friends instead of just fixing things for them. We also wanted to provide a space where we could open up conversations, especially after the social isolation many people have experienced over the last few years. Effective change happens when communities work together and people feel supported and heard.
We also wanted to shine a spotlight onto our wider communities, highlighting the work and skill that goes into making our clothes in the first place - fast fashion is not only bad for the environment but is also associated with poor working conditions and unreasonable targets that contribute to poverty and poor health. Our original Repair Cafe in Braunton has now been joined by a monthly Landkey Repair Cafe, and we are hoping to see the model replicated across more locations in the future. ”
Members of the Braunton Repair Cafe group have also joined forces to sew thermal linings into curtains, part of an initiative with 361 Energy to help people reduce energy consumption in our homes.
Upcoming 2022 dates for the original Braunton Repair Cafe at The Museum of British Surfing are:
Saturday 16th July 10am-1pm
Saturday 17th September 10am-1pm
Saturday 12th November 10am-1pm
And our new sister Repair Cafe at Landkey, run by Cathy Karniewicz, aka Mrs Recycle, at Willow’s Tearooms, takes place on the third Wednesday of the month 9.30-11.30am, with the next one taking place on Wednesday 20th July.
We are grateful to have received funding from the National Lottery Together For Our Planet fund to continue to expand our Repair Cafe network and would love to see more of these events taking place in other locations across North Devon, so watch this space for more details coming soon and please get in touch if you’re feeling inspired and would like some advice and guidance to set up and run your own cafe.