“I’d like people to really reimagine what they think of as broken and not repairable and what they think of as repairable. Because a lot of stuff that gets thrown away is just the easiest stuff that we would love to fix. And we don’t get to because people think it’s too broken.” – Guy Jones
Guy is a chemist, repairer, fixer, manufacturer, tinkerer, collector, seller, and restorer, with the Repair Cafe.
Guy’s got the repairing bug. In his view, you have nothing to lose when you find something that’s been thrown out. Even if you destroy it completely, it doesn’t matter, and that can be very freeing. That makes it a valuable learning tool to develop your investigative skills. If Guy finds he can repair something at the end of that, it’s an extra treat. Guy feels a responsibility to find what he repairs a new owner, somebody who will really value it and use it. That journey is enjoyable, and every fix is different, from LED candles, bluetooth headphones, and fairy lights, to kettles and toasters. He takes something seen as broken and worthless, and in a half hour or less, can often make it work again, giving it a new life.
Guy is committed to regenerating. Our society extracts raw materials into new parts, parts are then turned into goods that are then used for a while but then ultimately so much value is destroyed as it is shredded to recover the materials to start again.By repairing these things instead of simply “recycling” them in this destructive way , we can restore, rebalance and tip the scales a little bit to stop the rapid degradation of value and reduce the raw materials consumed in this cycle.
For Guy, repairing is about teaching yourself. Just think about what’s gone wrong, get interested in unbreaking things, and start fixing bits and bobs of your own. Repair isn’t as hard as people might think it is. Guy recommends just giving it a try, looking up simple information online (there’s a lot of guidance out there!) and you’ll be surprised at what you can do.
