A neighborhood repair cafe

Bring it broken.
Take it back
mended.

recycle.cafe is a Saturday-morning gathering where volunteers, neighbors, and curious tinkerers mend toasters, sew loose buttons, sharpen knives, and share skills over strong coffee. Nothing is too small, no question is silly, and every fix begins with a conversation.

Open Saturdays · 10–14h
Where Workshop on Linden Lane
Cost Pay what you can
Station 01
01

Mend

Visible mending is not damage hidden — it is care made beautiful.

Our textile bench is run by volunteers who love a torn sleeve, a fraying hem, or a moth-bitten sweater. Bring your wounded wool and we will sit with you while you stitch a sashiko patch, darn a sock, or learn to thread a sewing machine. The bench is open all four hours; pieces over five mends count as a clinic — please book ahead.

  • Hand sewing, darning, sashiko
  • Buttons, zips, hems, patches
  • Vintage knitwear consultations
Station 02
02

Fix

Toasters, lamps, kettles, blenders — small electricals that just need a poke.

Our electronics workbench is for appliances that have stopped working in mysterious ways. Bring it unplugged, label it with your name, and a fixer will work alongside you to diagnose the fault. We replace fuses, swap cords, resolder loose joints, and explain what we are doing as we go. About two of every three items leave working again.

  • Small kitchen appliances
  • Lamps, radios, fans, hairdryers
  • Bicycles by appointment
Station 03
03

Share

Coffee, conversation, and the accidental wisdom of strangers.

The center of the room is a long communal table where neighbors wait, drink coffee, and tell each other about the kettle they finally fixed in 1998. We keep mismatched cups on a shelf, bread from Mira's bakery on the counter, and a small jar where you can leave a coin if you can. Conversation is the actual product. Repair is the excuse.

  • Free coffee and bread
  • Mismatched cup library
  • Leave-a-tool, take-a-tool shelf
Station 04
04

Learn

Workshops, demos, and the slow apprenticeship of asking.

Once a month we run a longer workshop — knife sharpening in February, bicycle wheel truing in March, sourdough rescue in April. Sessions cap at twelve people and run for three hours; participants bring their own tools or borrow from our shared shelf. Smaller drop-in demos happen at the long table whenever a fixer is feeling chatty.

  • Monthly long-form workshops
  • Drop-in skill demonstrations
  • Library of repair manuals
Station 05
05

Gather

Potlucks, plant swaps, and the long quiet seasons of tending.

Twice a year we close the workshop for a Saturday and just gather — a spring plant swap where neighbors bring cuttings and divisions, an autumn potluck where everyone brings a dish made from something they almost threw away. These are unstructured days. There is no program. People drift in, eat, talk, leave with a tomato seedling or an idea.

  • Spring plant and seed swap
  • Autumn leftover potluck
  • Volunteer tea on first Sundays

Community Board

Notes pinned by neighbors this month

Bring your broken kettle

Saturday March 22 — three of us will be on the electrics bench all morning. First-come, first-served.

— Petra

Sewing circle Thursdays

Every Thursday at 19h, upstairs room. Bring your own project, leave with friends. Tea provided, biscuits hopeful.

— The needles

Free knife sharpening

Old Tomas is back from his trip. He will sharpen kitchen knives this Saturday — please wrap the blades in newspaper.

— front desk

Looking for a sewing machine

Anyone have a working old Singer they no longer use? My daughter is starting at the college. Trade for jam.

— Ana, flat 4

Tomato seedlings — free

San Marzano and a few cherries. On the windowsill in jars by the front door. Take what you can grow.

— Marco

Bicycle pump available

Track pump on a chain by the side door. Both valve types. Please don't take it home.

— the cafe

Lost: brown wool cardigan

Left on a chair last Saturday. Has a sashiko patch on the left elbow. Sentimental, please ask at the desk.

— Yusuf

Lamp fixers wanted

We are short two volunteers on the electrics bench. Soldering experience welcomed but not required — we will teach you.

— rota

Bookbinding demo

April 12, 11h. Repairing softcover books with thread and cloth tape. Free. Bring a tired paperback.

— Lía