Repair Cafe Toronto

Repair Cafe Volunteer fixing a customer's watch. Photo By: Raymond Zhao

Repair Cafe Toronto shows you how to repair and use your small household appliances.

What if you want to do it yourself but you don’t know where to start? In Toronto, try the Repair Café, a volunteer organization that will not only fix your broken household items but can train you to do the work yourself.

Co-founded by Paul Magder in 2012, Repair Café Toronto is a non-profit organization inspired by Repair Café Amsterdam, a company that fixes people’s broken stuff.

“I guess we were all interested in saving the environment,” Magder said. “You know, helping people to find ways to reduce waste.”

Magder and his organization have a clear goal. “If something breaks, try to fix it.”

While not everything can be fixed at Repair Café Toronto, Magder says that they can fix anything that people can carry.

“We fix all kinds of different things. That’s everything from books to bikes, home electronics and appliances, jewellery, clothing and small furniture,” he said.

Magder says the people who work at the café are all volunteers.

“Many of them are just people who like to fix things,” he added. “Some of them have worked in technical fields, some of them worked in factories. And some of the sewers have done industrial sewing.”

For some people like Thomas Hayes, repairing broken stuff has always been a passion. Hayes is a high school volunteer who goes to Saint-Frere-Andre French Catholic school located near College and Lansdowne Avenues in Toronto.

Hayes recalls when he first joined Repair Café Toronto he concentrated on electronics and appliances.

“I personally love taking things apart. I’ve done that my whole life, I’ve taken lots of things apart,” he said. “That’s kind of a great moment when you get to learn the problem, fix the problem, put the whole thing back together and watch it work. For me, that’s a satisfying moment.”

Hayes’ advice for first-time repairers is just pick up the stuff and start repairs yourself. And he explains why.

According to Magder, Repair Café Toronto offers two types of events. One of them is weekly with five or six volunteers doing the repairs. Usually they have that event on Sundays at the Toronto Tool Library, which gives Magder’s organization free space. The other event is larger and held every month where there are 40 or 50 volunteers participating. Even though Repair Café Toronto encourages people to fix things on their own it is also a group of volunteers who are willing to help others.

“I also fix for other people,” Hayes said. “In the repair café there’s the element of community. We’re helping them, we’re doing them a service for free. Also, the environment aspect we’re keeping these objects, otherwise they’re throwing it into the garbage. We’re trying to keep stuff out of the landfill, keep stuff out of the garbage.”

However, at the Repair Café Toronto volunteers are always looking at the good sides of their relationships. The sense of support and community extends to the volunteers.

“I love it, I really do,” Hayes said. “I feel like all the other volunteers are excellent. It’s so unique to me. I’ve never experienced anything quite like the repair café.”

The café has other job roles than repairers. Bev Swerling, a greeter at the café, recognizes the meaning of her job.