Salisbury repair café celebrates their third anniversary

Salisbury Repair Café is celebrating its third anniversary as they approach 500 successful repairs for local people.

Helpers made up of sewists, sparks, bike mechanics, crafters, bookbinders, and bakers will gather at Quench Salisbury community hub on Saturday 5th November for the 20th, and 3rd anniversary, of the popular Salisbury Repair Café.

Salisbury Repair Café (SRC) serves a need in the local community with about 40 people on average bringing items for repair to each event. From clothing to children’s toys, bikes to books, jewellery to jet washers, SRC’s dedicated team have repaired an incredible 443 items for local people.

On the first Saturday of each month, Quench Salisbury is transformed into a vibrant, welcoming, and friendly hive of repairing activity. Sewing machines, soldering irons, and screwdrivers are put to work fixing an unpredictable range of household items brought for repair.

Tea and cake, served by a team of hosts, keep both repairers and visitors going.

Saturday 5th November will be just the same, with one minor difference – at the end of the event, the volunteers will down tools for a shared ‘potluck lunch’ to reflect on three amazing years of fixing and friendship.

The Salisbury Repair Café started after a Wiltshire Council Area Board grant of £1000. Since, SRC volunteers have collectively given 1456 hours of their time to the local community. National community organisation ‘Power to Change’ values SRC’s contribution to the community at over £20,000 (20 times the original grant fund value).

A recent visitor to the Repair Café, Pam Eaton said, “It was lovely to meet you all and I am so pleased that my late Mother’s chair is being repaired. I’ve told several friends in Pewsey about your wonderful café!”.

Pam’s chair is being fixed by skilled SRC sewist Karen Mawson, who added, “I initially started volunteering for environmental reasons, to help divert things from the bin, but an unexpected joy is being part of a devoted and warm team of volunteers, who either help people save money by their repairs or breathe new life into much-loved possessions. I’ve learnt so much and really look forward to our monthly gatherings.”

Kathy Cinias, a longstanding volunteer organiser said, “As long as people in Salisbury have items that need fixing our team of volunteers will keep trying to help them. If you want to join our family of fixers and friends, email me at info@salisburyrepaircafe.org.”

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