So, what is this all about?
Repair Café’s are free community events where you bring your broken but beloved items and volunteer repair coaches help you fix them.
Besides the obvious money saving, Repair Cafes help keep stuff out of the landfill, promote connection, collaboration, skill-sharing and community self-reliance… and they are so much fun.
The Evanston Repair Café is co-sponsored with Climate Action Evanston (formerly Citizens’ Greener Evanston), and we proudly support Evanston’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan.
Ready to give us a try? Find that broken item you never threw away and sign up for a slot that matches the type of repair you need.
Once at the Repair Café, our volunteer fixers will work with you to repair your beloved item there and then.
If spare parts are needed, the volunteers will let you know so you can purchase them and either fix the item yourself at home or come to the next Repair Café to co-repair it with us. If you already know what spare parts your item needs, bring them with you to maximize the chances of getting it repaired on the spot.
What can I bring?
Note: not all categories are available at every Repair Café. Check the registration form for details and availability.
- General Repair: Small electrical appliances, toys and small furniture. Includes common household items (lamps, toasters, fans, blenders…), gluing of wood, ceramic and plastic.
- Basic Sewing/Mending: Clothing and other textiles. Please wash before bringing item.
- We focus on repair, not alterations. We do not hem, take in/let out seams, add darts, lengthen or shorten clothing…
- Zippers: We can try to repair the slider, but we do not replace zippers.
- We do sewing machine troubleshooting
- Basic Jewelry Repair: Restringing, replacing clasps, links… No soldering available.
- Electronics: Electronics are often complex repairs. Bring your item so we can diagnose it and find out what spare parts you need in order to fix it. More often than not, we will be able to co-repair it with you. Bring it fully charged and with all its cables. Sorry, no TV sets or VCRs.
Additional repair categories (check date for availability):
- Bikes: We handle basic repairs such as slipped chains, loose bolts, stuck seats, handlebars.
- Paper and Book Conservation: Guidelines and advice on care and maintenance for your books, paper art and photographs.
- Knife Sharpening: Bring a knife or a pair of scissors to have them sharpened.
- Basic Visible Mending and Sock darning: Bring your item and, ideally, any thread you want to use to learn how to darn your socks or mend your garment.
- Musical Instrument Consultations: Get advice on any stringed instrument problems, discuss instrument parts, when/how to replace strings, humidifying, cleaning, tuning, care and repair, referral suggestions for most instruments, and music theory questions.
We cannot guarantee that our Repair Café volunteers will be able to fix your items or even leave them in the same condition in which you brought them.
If you have any questions about the event, your repair or what spare parts to bring, please contact evanstonrepaircafe@gmail.com.
When and where does the Evanston Repair Café take place?
Robert Crown Community Center Lobby – 1801 Main St., Evanston, IL
- Second Saturday of each month from 10 AM – 1PM
- Fourth Tuesday of each month 10 AM – 12PM
Where do I sign up?
All upcoming Repair Cafés are listed on the Library’s event calendar.
Please sign up for ONE time slot per event. We will delete multiple time slots for the same person on any single date.
Registration for upcoming events will open one month prior to the event date.
Would you like to volunteer?
We are always happy to have new volunteers. You don’t need to be an expert in the field or be available for all the events dates. If you’re the handy person that friends and family turn for help you are our perfect candidate. Contact evanstonrepaircafe@gmail.com for more information.
