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Ipswich Repair Cafe

What is a repair cafe you ask?

A Repair Cafe is a gathering of volunteers who offer to consult on and possibly fix items that would otherwise go to landfills.

A person who has an item that needs to be fixed can bring it to the Repair Cafe and one of the volunteers can assess if the item is fixable and how to fix it. Not every item can be fixed at the event, you will be given next steps to fix the item. Also, did we mention it is totally free?

We are looking for Fixers for our next Repair Cafe!

The next repair cafes will be:

Spring of 2026

We are looking for Fixers for our next Repair Cafe! If you like to fix things and have skills you think will be useful please fill out this form bellow for more information!

sewing, electrical, bicycle, caning, jewelry repair, ceramic, wood repair, etc.

Repair Cafe Volunteer Form

Previous volunteers

Jay

Small Electric Household Items

He can repair broken lamps, small appliances, vacuums and more. All efforts will be made to keep your item out of the landfill and working for years to come. Please keep in mind that some items requiring new replacement parts will not be able to be fixed that day.


Charles

General Bicycle Consultations

General bicycle assessment will be provided with emphasis on: overall condition, safety, maintenance issues, replacement part(s) recommendation, drive train, brake, and comfort adjustments.

Chris

Anything with Wheels Consultation

Louise

Do you need a small repair to your clothes or other fabrics? Or even just a button re-attached? Louise has her sewing machine ready to help. Please note, that zippers, or thicker materials like a heavy fabric or leather, depending on the issues she will be able to consult, but not repair. Keep your clothes ready to wear for years to come!

Having trouble with your technology? Students from Essex Tech will look at phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, printers, etc. Fill out the form here to reserve a spot

Jay Duchin

Small Electric Household Items

He can repair broken lamps, small appliances, vacuums and more. All efforts will be made to keep your item out of the landfill and working for years to come. Please keep in mind that some items requiring new replacement parts will not be able to be fixed.


Charles Smith

General Bicycle Consultations

General bicycle assessment will be provided with emphasis on: overall condition, safety, maintenance issues, replacement part(s) recommendation, drive train, brake, and comfort adjustments,

David Benedix

Bicycle Tire Consultations

David will assess your tires for issues and maintenance

Elaine/Essex Tech Students

Computer, Printer, Phone, or Tablet for a Free Evaluation  

Bring in your computer, printer, phone, or tablet for a free evaluation. This service will give suggestions to help improve the performance, increase the storage of your computer, and extend the life of your system.

  • If your system is just not performing like it used to, bring your tower, desktop or laptop computer in for an evaluation.
  • If you are considering trashing your PC and getting a new one, let us run some utilities to help the system run faster and longer.
  • Are you using Antivirus or Antimalware Software?  Hopefully, but if not, let our student technicians install free software and run some scans to possibly remove different types of infections and improve performance.
  • Looking to upgrade memory to get your system running faster? Recommendations on purchasing RAM, and then help to install it.
  • Are your files backed up? They can make recommendations for local or cloud-based backup options.
  • We can help with phones, tablets, and printers as well

Fabric Repairs with Sewing Machine

Louise

Small Electrical Appliances

Greg

Bicycle maintence

Chris

Next repair cafe: Spring 2026

Check out our fixers and book you appointments here!

Louise

Do you need a small repair to your clothes or other fabrics? Or even just a button re-attached? Louise has her sewing machine ready to help. Please note, that zippers, or thicker materials like a heavy fabric or leather, depending on the issues she will be able to consult, but not repair. Keep your clothes ready to wear for years to come!

Rules for fabric repair:

2 item limit per person

no zippers

30 minutes per person

It is recommended to bring the button that is missing, if you need a hole repaired please bring desired scrap fabric (ex. denim) and if you need something repaired that is a specific color, it is recommended to bring that color thread (if you care about it blending).

We are no longer taking reservations. Thank you to all who signed up!

Greg

He can repair broken lamps, toasters, vacuums and more. All efforts will be made to keep your item out of the landfill and working for years to come. Please keep in mind that some items requiring new replacement parts will not be able to be fixed that day.

We are no longer taking reservations. Thank you to all who signed up!

Dan

Daniel is here to fix your wooded pieces.  Make an appointment for minor repairs to wooden items, wobbly legs, or to get advice on a woodworking project. He can also do minor electrical repairs, such as fixing a lamp!

We are no longer taking reservations. Thank you to all who signed up!

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IPSWICH

Public Library

  • 25 North Main Street, Ipswich, MA 01938
  • 978-356-6648

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