The Fixery gives old items new life
There’s a small group of volunteers at The Fixery in Cromer who are working hard to keep appliances, clothes and other household items out of landfill by fixing the broken and refreshing the old. Father and daughter team, Victor and Zali Konijn, lend their tools and their skills to the volunteer service, which is free for the public to use, looking to repair whatever item comes their way.
Operated by The Sydney Library of Things and supported by Northern Beaches Council, The Fixery has been running out of the Cromer Community Centre since July, and operates on the first Saturday of every month.
Victor brings his own tools and with a background in electrical engineering, is the man to see if an appliance or gadget is in need of repair. “That’s been a passion for all my life – of not throwing things out, but to see if I can either make it work for its original purpose or make it work for something else,” Victor explains.
He lives in Beacon Hill and started at the Fixery after seeing a notice in the council newsletter, and asked Zali, who sews for a hobby, if she’d like to volunteer too. The public book a time slot through the council website, listing the item they need repaired, and on the day the volunteers have 20 minutes to diagnose the problem and create a fix.
While Zali mainly mends holes in shirts and hems pants that are too long, the Chatswood resident finds the community connection is what brings her back each month. “A woman (came in with) an embroidered stool that her mother had passed down to her and her mother had recently passed away, so she really wanted to get that fixed so she could keep using it,” Zali explains. “I think that was a really nice thing to be able to do so she could keep the stool in her house looking fresh.”
Victor agrees that happy customers make it worthwhile. “The crazy thing is that people often say, ‘I feel like I should pay you, it’s a bit ridiculous to get this all done for free.’ And I always encourage them to pay it forward instead,” he says. “Just being kind to a stranger is a great way to pass on the goodwill.”
At The Fixery there’s a group of seven volunteers who between them can fix furniture and toys, clothing and shoes, small appliances, and costume jewellery. They can also sharpen knives and tools.
They always need more help, and people can choose to volunteer as often as they like. “You don’t need to have a crazy skill set,” Zali says. “Even if you can do a simple stitch or run something through a sewing machine, you’re valuable to a lot of people.”
See council’s website for bookings.