Repair Cafe Frontenac looking good after kick-off cafe in Sharbot Lake

Craig Bakay | May 29, 2019

The organizers of the first-ever Frontenac Repair Cafe on Sunday in Sharbot Lake only had one complaint.

“We had plenty of fixers — we could have used more breakers,” said Derek Redmond. “A sunny day is not the best; we probably could have used a rainy day.”

But other than that, they did manage to fix nine items for 10 people, including sewing machines, speakers and Karen Burke’s candle holder.

“I’m so pleased,” she said.

“We had seven or eight fixers and four greeter/guides,” said Peter de Bassecourt. “But the day before, we only had three fixers so it worked out well.

“It’s nice, good to start off with less panic.”

He said it was a good turnout, even if there weren’t any bicycles, which he was expecting.

“The whole idea is that things just don’t have to go in the landfill,” he said. “Although, it’s educational too. I learned how to thread a surger.”

Fellow organizer Mary de Bassecourt said that Repair Cafe Frontenac is different from other cafes in that it is a “traveling circus that sets up in different locations around Frontenac County.”

To that end, the next Repair Cafe is scheduled for Bellrock Community Hall, June 23, to be followed by Perth Road United Church on July 28.

“And it’s looking like North Frontenac (Ompah) will come on board soon,” she said. “One visitor today remarked that the logo is the same one she’s seen in her home country of France.”

Another point worthy of note is how quickly this venture came together. The first meeting was March 19, meaning the repair cafe came together in just a little over two months, she said.