by Caroline Hayes
As some of you will already know, we started in spring of 2024 with a Make Do and Mend service at the library where our volunteers offered a free clothing and textile repair service. This was so popular that alongside that we launched Cranleigh Repair Café in July 2024 at the Baptist Church where our volunteers undertook repairs to electrical, electronic and mechanical items as well as ceramics, tools, toys and bikes. Both services grew rapidly and in January 2025 the Make Do and Mend and Repair Café combined and we started the new year in a new venue, the Bandroom in Village Way.
Since the move we have gone from strength to strength, recruiting new volunteer repairers as well as extra volunteers to meet and greet and provide refreshments. Now in addition to the repairs we carried out previously we have repairers who can undertake clock, furniture and leather repairs and these extra services have proved very popular with our visitors.
In our first year we completed 510 repairs with 67% of items being successfully repaired. Our most popular items are vacuum cleaners and lamps but we have repaired a variety of items including much loved teddy bears, garden ornaments, bikes, clothing, knitted blankets, a cuckoo clock, a bird table, lawnmowers and many kitchen mixers!
All repairs are free unless parts are required but we accept donations towards the future running of the Repair Café and any surplus goes to Cranleigh & District Lions Club.
As well as repairs we have also introduced recycling and have been collecting a vast array of items such as blister packs, contact lens packaging, soft plastics and printer cartridges.
All of the items we collect can be recycled locally but in a variety of different locations and what we wanted to offer is one central place where you can drop off various items at the same time. We want to raise awareness of what can be recycled but also make it as easy as possible for people to recycle. For the latest information about the items we are collecting for recycling please follow our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/p/Cranleigh-Repair-Cafe
We are at the Bandroom from 9.30am to 12.30pm on the first Saturday of each month and prebooking is recommended as we are usually very busy. If you would like to book an appointment please send an email to:
We offer free tea, coffee and biscuits so come and join us for a cuppa and chat while your item is being repaired, or just drop in for a coffee and to see what we are doing.
We look forward to welcoming you.
