Revitalizing the Lost Art of Repair at the Haight NOPA Repair Cafe

Once upon a time, when things broke, we repaired them. Today, most of us briefly consider repair - then do some mental maths and realize the necessary tools would cost us more than just buying a replacement off Amazon. 

The Haight-NOPA repair cafe takes those additional costs out of the equation. Bring them all things broken, and their team of volunteers will try their absolute hardest to fix it - free of charge! 

“I love that this exists,” said Henry (29). He spotted the repair cafe’s February 28th session on a walk around the neighborhood. He immediately dashed back home and brought back two clothing items he’d been meaning to get fixed. The volunteer who helped him out turned out to be his next-door neighbor. They’d never previously spoken. 

It was a beautiful afternoon; even standing in line hardly felt tedious thanks to the cool breeze, an openness to conversation amongst patrons, and a surplus of baked goods provided by volunteers. When an item was successfully repaired, the victory was shared by all: 

“You ring a bell when a thing is repaired. And then on that cue, everyone knows something's been fixed — and everybody cheers," said repair cafe co-founder Claire Bonham Carter. 

Originally from London, Claire moved to SF after being sent here for a conference. 

“There was just something about it, it felt like a soul city for me, and I guess it turned out to be, because I’m still here,” she laughed. 

The cafe was Claire’s brainchild. The idea came to her via a friend who’d founded one of their own in London. She fell in love with the concept, and, after realizing that nothing quite like it existed in the city, set out to start one of her own. 

Her first step was to bring on her neighbor, digital artist Courtney Root, as a cofounder:

“She approached me with the idea because of the work I do in the community through my company People!Art!Music!” said Courtney.  

Through her work, Courtney has found that many people are seeking ways to contribute and connect with their community. The Repair Cafe seemed like a prime opportunity to help people scratch that itch. She now manages the website, social, and branding, and offers support on event days.

Their next step was to find volunteers - those with repair skills as well as people willing to do some administrative work. They put up flyers on lamp posts and in cafes around the neighborhood, and within a month, 40 people had signed up. The demographic makeup of the prospective volunteers surprised Claire; where in the London repair cafe, most were older retirees, here, they skew younger. 

“I think there are a lot of people who work in tech, who are mechanical engineers, and maybe they work from home a lot and don't have a place to get together with like-minded people," she said.

Armed with the knowledge that there were people out there willing to volunteer their time, Claire and Courtney went for it. Their first session was held at the end of October.

“I couldn’t have been more delighted,” said Claire. 

Out of thirty people, twenty-five came away with their items successfully repaired. Amongst them: a 1970s record player that belonged to someone’s father; a 100-year-old rosary that belonged to someone’s grandmother; a DVD player; lamps; and all sorts of different types of clothes. 

“Seeing all the unique items coming through and the joy the event brings people was so rewarding,” said Courtney.

Claire recounted one repair in particular that stuck with her - the longest repair the cafe has undertaken thus far. During the second session, a couple came in with a broken lamp. It took two repairers, a couple of trips to the hardware store, and almost an hour of work to bring it back to life. She remembers the couple’s patience and their willingness to collaborate in the decision-making as the volunteers figured out what turned out to be a somewhat complex workaround. 

“There was so much joy in it afterwards,”  she said, “I bet those people are gonna have that lamp as a talking point now in their living room. They're gonna say, 'We took it to this repair cafe, and Curtis and Justin worked on it for an hour — and look, we've got this new funky switch, but it's cool.”

A successful repair is as joyful for the volunteers as it is for patrons. The aforementioned lamp was one of volunteer Justin’s (27) first repairs - he was sitting in and learning from more experienced volunteers while taking trips to the hardware store as needed. Getting to be a part of the process, he said, was incredibly exciting.

“You get to see the look on people’s faces when you finish up, which is always really rewarding,” he said. 

Not all repairs end with the ringing of a bell and a cheer, though that’s oftentimes more a reflection of the item than the repairer. Claire, whose professional background is in sustainability, mentioned that cheap, convenient items are often incredibly difficult to fix. 

“The innards are sealed in plastic, so you can't actually get to them to repair them,” she explained, “it’s been made to fail.”

Most of the time, though, attendees walk away empowered, and not just on an individual level. There’s something equally powerful about discovering that the help you need is already all around you. That guy down the street might be a mechanical engineer, or your downstairs neighbor a whizz when it comes to clothing repair.

"It's really nice to rely on our community,” said volunteer Claudia Richardson, “for people to bring skills and be able to exercise those skills to help other people. To not have to employ a service or purchase something to get the good thing." 

Repair feels like a lost art, but really, it's only lying dormant. The Haight NOPA repair cafe shows just how light of a sleeper it is. A few friends of Claire’s couldn’t make it to a session, but just hearing about it put them in the mindset of repairing. 

“They were like, 'Oh God, maybe I'll just try and fix it myself then!' And then they’ve just gone and done it.”

The next Haight NOPA repair cafe session will be held on Sunday, April 19th, from 1:30-4pm, at the Park Branch Library, 1833 Page St. It’s free to attend. Find them on Instagram @repaircafesf or visit https://repaircafesf.org/ for more information.