Repair Cafes at The Bower
What is a Repair Cafe?
A repair cafe is a place where skilled repairers meet non-repairers to teach them skills to fix things. Repair Cafes originated in Europe, and the Bower was the first to bring this concept to Australia. To come to one of our repair cafes, you need to bring your broken item and we’ll put you on the path to fixing them. Please note this is a free advice service, not a guaranteed repair. Come along, have a cuppa and our skilled repairers and volunteers will do their best to help. Generally we are only able to look at one item per person.
Electrical Repair Cafe @Banga
Bring a piece of electrical item to fix with one of our volunteers, learn to safely dismantle, identify issues and take home a renewed electrical.
Facilitator: The Bower Electricals
When: Every Wednesday, 1-4 PM & Every 1st Saturday, 10 AM – 12 Noon
Cost: Free or donation (suggested $5 – $10 per item)
Where: Banga Community Shed, 3 Joynton Avenue Zetland (or Green Square)
Clothing Repair Cafe @Banga
Learn to sew a dropped hem, de-buttoned shirt, dodgy zip, torn, frayed or holey thing in this community repair program – where people who can sew, assist people who think they can’t!
Facilitator: You Think Sew
When: Every 2nd Saturday,10 AM – 12 Noon
Cost: Free or donation (suggested $5 – $10 per item)
Where: Banga Community Shed, 3 Joynton Avenue Zetland (or Green Square)
Bike Repair Cafe @ Banga
Get out your cobwebbed frames and get back on the road with the bicycle tune up program where volunteers help you build, maintain and repair bicycles.
Facilitator: Bicycle Garden
When: Every 3rd Saturday,10AM-12Noon
Cost: Free or donation (suggested $5-$10 per item)
Where: Banga Community Shed, 3 Joynton Avenue Zetland (or Green Square)
Mobile Repair Cafe @ Banga
Refurbish, diagnose complicated repairs and get comprehensive advice on your old smart phones for faults.
Facilitator:The (Re)Connect Project
When: Every 4th Saturday,10AM-12Noon
Cost: Free or donation (suggested $5-$10 per item)
Where: Banga Community Shed, 3 Joynton Avenue Zetland (or Green Square)
Furniture & Electrical Cafes @ Parramatta
When: Last Saturday of the month, 10AM – 12Noon
Where: The Bower Parramatta, 10 Hunter Street, Parramatta 2150
Concerning furniture repair in Parramatta: Please note that parking on Hunter Street is free for fifteen minutes only, so you can bring your item in quickly to see if it can be fixed. If so, you can park in the Justice Precinct Car Park for $3 an hour on Saturdays. Please also note that bike repair is not available at Parramatta.
Furniture Repair Cafe @Redfern
The Redfern Repair Cafe allows you to use the Bower’s workshop, have access to our tools and to have the guidance of a skilled woodworker. If you have a broken piece of furniture or timber project but no space to work on it, or no confidence to do it on your own, this is for you. If you’re interested in working independently on a repair project, with supervision from a skilled woodworker, consider our Saturday repair cafe.
When: Every Saturday, 11 AM -1 PM
Where: 107 Redfern, 107 Redfern St Redfern
Paid Repair Services
We also provide repair services. This service allows you to drop your item off and have it repaired by the Bower for a fee. If you have wood furniture you’d like us to fix, please contact our woodwork team on woodworks@bower.org.au or click through to our Furniture Restoration page.
If you have electrical items you’d like us to fix, please contact our electrical team on electricalrepairs@bower.org.au. Electrical repairs are done at our Green Square location, the Banga Community Shed. If you have electronic repairs you’d like us to fix, click through to our Electronic Repairs page