Bring your broken items to the Repair Cafe

In 2009, a woman named Martine Postman, of Amsterdam, had an idea that would eventually spread across the world. With a passion for environmental sustainability, she envisioned a place where people could come together to fix their broken items, rather than sending these items to the landfill.

The idea, now called a Repair Cafe, has continued to grow and spread internationally over the years. Luckily for us, that now includes Prince Edward County thanks to Feral Folc and their group of volunteers. The Repair Cafe website, repaircafe.org shares more about the history and philosophy of the movement, as well as repair guides and tips and tricks.

Feral Folc approached the library two years ago about using the flex space at the Picton Branch to hold such an event, and we were thrilled – community collaboration, reuse, and knowledge sharing are key library philosophies that blend very well with the Repair Cafe model.

The flex space is a large, industrial-style room perfect for this type of work and it’s removed enough from the main library that a little noise and commotion is no trouble at all. From the very first year, the event was a smash hit, with people bringing a wide range of items for repair by knowledgeable volunteers and it continued to grow in 2025.

We’re thrilled to be able to host their event at the Picton Branch Library again this year, on Saturday, April 25 from 11 to 3 p.m. You’re welcome to drop in with up to five of the following item types needing repair: electronics, fabrics or clothing, household items, small appliances, small furniture and bicycles.

Volunteers will, when possible, repair the items and you’ll leave with something you can use again. There is no charge, but the group will accept donations of food or personal care items to the Library Community Pantry, or cash donations for the Loyalist Humane Society.

In addition to the Repair Cafe itself, we are excited to have a new offering for 2026. Thanks to the support of a donor fund through the County Foundation, we will be able to follow up the event with a series of workshops teaching hands-on repair skills. If you would like to join the movement of people repairing, reusing, and maintaining their items, these workshops will be a welcoming, no-experience required opportunity to learn how.

We will have a survey at the Repair Cafe for participants to share the types of skills they are interested in learning, so look out for that or find it on the library website at peclibrary.org. As part of this project we also hope to purchase some hand tools and other resources to keep on hand at the library for people to use and learn with. If you are interested in learning more about this series, reach me by email liz@peclibrary.org