The Vegetarians [Bay Area Group]

Repair Café
Willow Glen High School Theater/Cafeteria
2001 Cottle Ave, San Jose, CA 95125

Repair Café is a free event all about repairing things. We have tools, materials, and volunteer experts to help you make any repairs you need on clothes, furniture, small appliances, bicycles, crockery, electronics, lamps, toys, and lots more. Our goal is to extend the life of everyday items and keep them out of the landfill.
How do I get something fixed?
Bring it to a Repair Café! Our volunteers love a challenge so if you can carry it in we’ll do our best to get it back in service for you. We have electronics experts who love to solder, woodworkers who love to glue, sewing experts who love to stitch, and bike mechanics who love to grease things.
Sometimes we can fix it, sometimes we can identify the problem and send you home with a plan, and sometimes it may be time to recycle an item. But, we’ll have a good time and know we are helping the environment by extending the life of the things we love.
Experienced tinkerer? Born organizer? Just want to learn? You can help, even if you’ve never used a screwdriver before you can make a difference.
Sign up and help us save the planet one repair at a time. We are always looking for people who can troubleshoot and repair, help organize events, or even work on this website. Want to learn how to repair? Come hang out and shadow a fixer at one of our events. Contact Maia at: maia.coladonato@gmail.com
Students: ask about our apprentice program! We’ll pair you up with an experienced fixer who will help you build your troubleshooting skills.
Please, stop by the sewing machine area and say, "Hello" to me, Joy.

• Important!
Please call the day before the event to confirm your desire to attend. If no one confirms, I willl cancel the class.
408 449-6506 cell phone.

Free!

You can help the planet by keeping some things out of the land fill when you bring them to my sewing clinic for repair. I will repair them for free.

I have repaired dresses, pants, blousses, coats, blankets, pillow cases, a sports bag, reusable shopping bags, a lamp shade, and a pair of slippers. I have created a lamp shade and an apron without a pattern. I instructed a woman on how to make a square dance skirt without a pattern (her friends were amazed) and one on how to sew a cover for an outdoor piece of furniture. The woman who made the cover insisted upon buying the amount of material that she had computed, but with my suggestion, she had so much left over that she made a cover for the outdoor grill. I altered clothing for a woman who lost 40lbs so that she could wait to buy more clothing until after she reached her goal weight.

I will help you repair your clothing, teach you to use your own sewing machine, or repair your clothing for you depending upon your skill level. Some people left things for me to repair and picked them up the next month.

During one clinic, we repaired two pair of pants, one pair of shorts, one blouse, one sports bag, and one reusable shopping bag. I taught two men to hem their own pants. I did much of the sewing, but they measured, cut, and ironed.

One woman lost 40 pounds and wasn't ready to invest in new clothes, so we altered her wardrobe. Another woman brought more than a dozen pairs of pants to be shortened. We shortened four or five each month until they were all done.

Just bring what needs to be repaired and any parts or pieces (button, replacement zipper, decal to be sewn on, etc.).

Bring everything that you want sewn and I will tell you what can be done. If we can't finish this time, we can do more next time.

I hope to see you soon!

We play board games afterwards. We stop at 5 PM for a vegan potluck.

Questions? Call me at 408 223-7776 (Land line - No text messages).

Let's have some fun!!

Please call the day before to confirm that you are coming. If no one confirms that they are coming the event will be canceled.
Call (408) 223-7776 land line or (408) 449-6506 cell phone.

Join our Vegan Potluck at 5:00 PM, If you don't know what to bring, bring fruit or a salad or just call me for suggestions (no honey, eggs, dairy, mayonnaise, gelatin, or meat). If you want to share your snack with the hostess, keep in mind that I have several food allergies (wheat, cinnamon, green bell peppers, water cress, parsley, and chocolate) that might prevent me from tasting your tasty treats. Raw fruits and veggies are great!

Or join us for games at about 6:00PM or 6:30 PM.

We usually play games like "Tsuro," "Ticket to Ride," "Splendor," "Transamerica," "Cable Car," "6 Cubes," "Take a Chance," "Blokus," and games brought by you and others. Please bring your favorite game to share with us.

I enjoy teaching people how to play games, come and learn a new game or play an old favorite. I prefer games that are easy to learn, end for everyone at the same time (unlike Monopoly), and last 30 to 60 minutes. I also have a few that last 15 to 20 minutes. You can bring your own game. Longer games are less popular, but we did have a three-hour game of "Power Grid" played at the other table while I played "Ticket to Ride" and three other games. (Warning, "Cards Against Humanity" will not be played here.)

Schedule:

5:00 PM - Potluck
6:00 or 6:30 PM - Board games
10:00 PM - Time to go home, unless we're having too much fun!

I post this event with another meetup group, so I usually get three to five people attending.

(408) 223-7776 land line or (408) 449-6506 cell phone.
If you are reading this after noon on the day of the Meetup, call to let me know that you want to come and what time you think you will arrive.

My place is across the street from an empty lot. Your GPS will say that I live in the empty lot.