How do the everyday efforts to repair objects affect our relationship with them? Sharing stories of such effort and effect, we join forces with Knowle West Media Centre, who for over twenty-five years have been supporting people to make positive changes in their lives and communities, using technology and the arts to come up with creative solutions to problems and explore new ways of doing things. We draw on the expertise and network of the centre to bring together a number of community members and leaders to share their stories and knowledges of repair, and gather their views on what would constitute a repair-centred declaration for Bristol and Knowle West.

Agenda

10.00 – 11.00: Welcome and Introduction

11.00 – 12.30: Sharing, Discussing and Mapping: Stories of Repaired Objects, Histories and Values

12.30-13.00:  Lunch*

13.00-13.30: Group Work 1: Contributing your stories to the “Tales of Care and Repair” website

13.30-14.30 Group Work 2: Co-creating the Repair Declaration

14.30-14.45: Break

14.45-15.15: What next, commitments, close and thanks

*Teas/coffees/refreshments and lunch will be provided.

In preparation for this workshop please bring three photographs with you. They can be taken on your phone camera or another device but should represent an object that you have repaired either by paying for it (professional repair); doing it yourself (self/DIY repair) or even an object you could not repair (failed). If you cannot take a picture of the object/s then please bring it to the workshop and we will capture it for you.

What Happened?

The session opened with Teresa providing an overview of TALES OF CARE AND REPAIR, followed by Dawn introducing her work as an artist, maker and mender. The group (13 people) who ranged from 83 – 27 years were all experienced repairs with skills and knowledges ranging from mending and making clothes, to repairing vintage cars, to fixing laptops and upcycling furniture, including upholstery.

These activities were carried out in a mix of professional and hobby contexts. Given such rich experiences the group shared many stories of repairing objects, uploading a number to the TALES OF CARE AND REPAIR website.

With the session purposefully provoking a number of views on the ways in which Bristol could become more repair friendly, which we added to our EasyRetro board (live till 10th Nov 2021).

Much of what it would mean to create a ‘Repair Declaration’ for Bristol centred on providing infrastructure for repairing including encouraging young people to repair by bringing an awareness to it in the school curriculum, encouraging applied making skills in arts education. The secondary school arts teacher and textile artist who was participating spoken passionately about how hands-on making skills (metal and wood work; textiles) are slowly being removed from the curriculum, in favour of more computer based skills and how the current art school curriculum is outdated, in that it does not cover contemporary practices, such as those relating to repair. Others pointed to how home economics, which had been a stable in previous decades covered topics such as the care and repair of domestic appliance, including mending clothes. This was replaced by food technology, where again basic hand-based craft and repair skills were removed in favour of technology centric options. Many in the group agreed that an educational revolution, alongside a repair revolution was needed in order to address these missing skill gaps. They also noted how to make an economic case for repair in Bristol, it would be good to link it to local economic initiatives such as the Bristol Pound. 

Colleagues from Re:work in Filwood  – a social social enterprise engaging young people in vocational training (retail, carpentry, construction, catering and gardening) based in Knowle West, Bristol, noted how such manual repair-centred skills are vital for supporting young people to transition into more sustainable livelihoods. Not validating hands of skills is a disservice to those who choice to go down this route. Bringing back a in a pride is such skills out is therefore important.

Our senior repairs (Ted and Sheila), also noted how within their lifetimes (born for example in 1938) there was a radical change in the kind of skills that are valued. They also noted that how with the demise of U.K. manufacturing many such skills were also lost and that repairing could actually bring back an emphasises on such trade knowledges. Ted, shared how his mother taught him how to repair from daring socks, to mending shoes. His mother was a professional cobbler and he has a passion for repairing vintage cars. You can find out more about this work by checking out or section on local repairers.

Stories of how it was once possible to roam and scavenge in local scrap yards, which is now no longer possible for various health and safety reasons; or how dismantling used to be a valid and respected trade but is no longer viable because of the cheaply made goods; or how a second or third trade in scrap once helped people to easily repair goods has been lost at a community level.

Creating opportunities for trading and accessing tools (particularly those that might be only used once), scrap or spare parts, which is often an issue when it comes to repairing could make sense and was discussed by the group.

The group also shared how stories about how companies such as camping company The Great Outdoors and the shoe company, Dr. Martins, once used to have lifetime repair guarantees as part of their service but with the last decade or so they have stopped such offers. This was consider by all as a backward approach that should be brought back in, or that companies should be taxed for not providing such options.

Across the whole day, everyone was constantly sharing their stories of what they had repaired; tips for repairing and also sharing links to work, including inspirations from artists such as XXX, as well as the work of Michael Landy, whose work ‘Break Down’ (2001) was critically discussed both as a poignant example perhaps of one trying to break the chains of consumption, or the an attempt to cleanse oneself of their possessions but also as an act of destruction it was also consider by some as wasteful and privileged, where the intention behind it, was particularly political but more personal and therefore selfish.

In discussing what it would mean to create ‘Repair Declaration’ for Bristol, beyond the above points of valuing repair and placing an emphasis on it across all educational levels. Having regular and supported spaces through which people could meet, repair objects, share skills and tools and have access to a trust directory of local repairers was considered as all vital to embracing what it meant to creating vibrant local repair communities. This went beyond the notions of Repair Cafe’s, which are voluntary but to looking at financially support and sustainable spaces, where commitment from the council and other local networks and institutions was consider as necessary.