January Repair Cafe News

Mechanical/electrical repair coach Ken Winterling solders a connection on a lamp at the Middletown Repair Cafe on December 20th.

(Photo credit: Suzie Fromer)

Repair Cafe Academy Launches in January with Jewelry Class in Hastings

In January, we are starting a trial run of "Repair Cafe Academy," a series of low-cost classes for teens and adults to help us train new repair coaches and assistants. We’re being hosted for free by the Makers Hive, a makers space in Hastings-on-Hudson in Westchester County.


The first class will be for jewelry repair on Sunday, January 11th from 2-4pm; link to sign up is here. The class is priced at $25 to cover materials and teacher’s time, but if students commit to volunteering at 2 repair cafes, it is only $10.

 

We know this is far for a lot of you (but it is open to anyone). We are hoping to grow this program next year to keep up with demand for coaches. If anyone has a location which would be willing to host a class like this for us at no cost, please let us know. We are fine-tuning the other classes and are thinking of offering:


  • Electrical/mechanical soldering basics
  • Lamp repair
  • Sewing machine troubleshooting/repair


Follow us on Facebook or Instagram for timely information on these and additional classes.

January cafes start off the year bright and early, on January 3rd in Hyde Park! The season continues on January 10th in Stanford, which is now offering knife sharpening and scissor sharpening in addition to welding. Welding and zipper repair will also be available at New Paltz.


PLEASE NOTE: welding is always subject to cold temperatures and heavy precipitation.

JANUARY REPAIR CAFES

January 2026 Repair Cafe Calendar

For more information, visit our online calendar.

Help us keep Repair Cafe Hudson Valley going strong! Please consider donating at the link below. Donations go to our fiscal sponsor, the 501(c)3 Sustainable Hudson Valley, but will be earmarked for RCHV if you make a note saying it is for us. Thank you!

RCHV IN THE NEWS

New Kingston resident, new woodworking repair coach and professional woodworker Eric Clingen restores an angel to tree-topping resplendence at the December Kingston Repair Cafe.

(Photo credit: Suzie Fromer)

‘Innovative business sets out to solve major problem with household waste,’ The Cool Down, Dec. 25, 2025.


"Repair Cafés build Community while Cutting Waste," Times Union, Dec. 22, 2025.



"Repair Cafe draws Crowd," The Photo News, p. 2, Dec. 12-18, 2025.


RCHV Coordinator Suzie Fromer was featured on Kingston Radio's "La Voz", translated live into Spanish, December 4th, 2025.