Last week, we chatted with the founder of Repair Café RVA, Jenny Kobayashi Malone, to reflect on the anniversary of the volunteer-led program . Read our Q+A, although we left out one part at the time. We felt this story deserved its own spotlight.
What have been your most memorable repairs over the past year?
Editor’s note: Kobayashi Malone recounted a few fond stories, one involving a defunct toaster that required a near-surgical sesame seed removal. Another — a treadmill that had never run a day in its life until the cafe’s volunteers stepped in. The final repair memory she brought up struck a chord.
“There was an older woman who brought in two items [to Repair Café RVA] that were really special to her. I think they belonged to her grandmother — a music box with a ballerina in it and an alarm clock with holes punched in it so light could shine through and have stars shine on your wall.
She came in and told us that she wanted an ‘ancient repair volunteer.’ ‘These are really old,’ [the woman said], ‘so I don’t want somebody who doesn’t value old things to look at them.’
We matched her up with [a volunteer], and he very painstakingly took the items apart and was able to find some spare parts in our box of supplies. I’m pretty sure he was able to repair both items.
You could see the way she held [the items] in her hands, that they were really special to her. In those cases, I feel like a thing is so much more than a thing when it connects you to a person, especially when it connects you to a person who might not be with you anymore.”
