Posted on: Tuesday 23 January 2024
The Torfaen Repair Café can now repair broken ceramics thanks to a new volunteer.
Lynn Heather, 67, from Blaenavon, has joined the volunteers at café to repair broken china pieces such as ornaments, jugs, and bowls.
Lynn said: “Forty years ago when I was living in London, I met a woman who was restoring broken ceramic pieces professionally for museums. I found it fascinating, and asked if she would teach me.
“She gave me basic training into the skill in exchange for 100 hours of assistance. I cleaned the studio and tools, laid out items ready for repair which were often broken into many pieces, mixed glue, fillers, and learnt how to mix paint.
“I enjoy the process of piecing items back together because each piece I fix has sentimental value to its owner. I am good at applying patience, and have a good eye for colour matching, so when I saw the Repair Café was looking for volunteers I thought I would offer my help.”
Councillor Mandy Owen, Executive Member for the Environment, said: “It’s lovely to hear that the Repair Café is attracting more volunteers, especially ones who can add something new to the list of items that can be repaired.
“I would like to thank everyone who work at the Repair café for their hard work and dedication, and I would like to encourage residents to seek them out before throwing away any small items which are broken. There could be a simple solution to fixing it.”
The Repair Café is located in Pontypool Indoor Market and is open Wednesdays and Thursday between 9.30am until 12.30am.
Small items, such as ceramics, kettles, toasters, and small vacuum cleaners, can be taken to the shop for diagnosis and free repair, if it can be done onsite.
Since opening in October 2022, the Torfaen Repair Cafe has repaired 193 electrical items and prevented another 32 items from being thrown away by recommending replacement parts.
Find out more about the Repair Café
The Torfaen Repair café is part of a network of repair cafes know as Repair Cafe Wales.
Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer at the café can contact Ian Pearce on IanPearce@wastesavers.co.uk or 01633 281287 / 07824991667