JUNE Repair Cafe News

So many busy cafes in May, including new ones in Averill Park and in Greenburgh (above)--where over 100 guests had successful fixes including free screen repairs by Franzoso Contracting.

Photo credit: Rick Prokop

We're Closing Out May With One

Last Pop-up Cafe in Goshen

New cafes aren't born, they're made! Sometimes, we'll get asked to do a 'pop-up' cafe--a much smaller cafe where there are only a few fixers and stations available--to introduce the repair cafe concept to a new community. They're a LOT simpler to organize and are a great way to judge interest and recruit fixers. We're holding one at the Goshen Public library this Friday, May 31st, from 12:30pm- 2:30pm where we'll be fixing jewelry and electrical/mechanical items ONLY, but will also be able to answer any questions you may have about repair cafes. If you're not able to make it at that time but are interested in seeing a cafe in Goshen, let us know!

Want to Learn Jewelry Making and Repair?

Come Train with Us!

Jewelry repair coach and RCHV Coordinator Suzie Fromer (top right) shows new jewelry coaches Sarah Hettinger (bottom left) a technique to form a closed connection on a chain without soldering.

Photo credit: Rick Prokop

As our network grows, so does our need to 'staff' a very steady schedule of cafes in an increasingly large area. In particular, jewelry repair coaches have found themselves in extremely high demand and the end result is often not enough coaches available to fix jewelry at all the cafes. The good news is jewelry repair is VERY easy to learn--at least the basics are! If you want to learn to be a jewelry repair coach or assistant to a jewelry coach, PLEASE reach out to Suzie at fromer@sustainhv.com. If there's enough interest, we will set up a class, either on Zoom or as an in-person workshop if we can find a location that is central enough to those who are interested. Or you are always welcome to apprentice with Suzie or another jeweler at a cafe; after all, passing along skills is one of the main tenets of the repair cafes movement.


Other fields may have a steeper learning curve, but the same applies--if you like to tinker and want to learn how to do lamp or other electrical or mechanical or wood repair (we also really need more woodworkers!), please reach out and we will help team you up with an experienced repair coach so you can apprentice to be a repair coach with RCHV.

We're so excited to announce THREE new cafes starting up this June! Welcome to Claverack (Columbia), Saugerties (Ulster) and Warrensburg (Warrensburg/Washington)! We're also delighted to see the long anticipated return of the Beacon Repair Cafe, this time with the support of Fishkill, which will also be debuting its own cafe soon.

June 2024 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 Repair Cafes. Thank you!

Donate to RCHV

Repair Coach Corner

Terri Winterling, Jewelry


Repair Cafes: Middletown, Warwick, Montgomery


Terri has been volunteering as a jewelry repair coach at the Middletown and Warwick Repair Cafes since 2019, after retiring as the district accountant for the Pine Bush Central School District. As jewelry has been one of her hobbies for over 25 years, she thought she would give jewelry repair coaching at a café a shot. “My husband had been volunteering as an electrical/mechanical repair coach at the Middletown and Warwick Repair Cafes; he enjoyed his experiences so much that when I had more time, I decided to join him.” As the Orange County list of repair cafes has continued to grow, she has also added Montgomery to her roster.



The most frequent repairs she does at the jewelry station are restringing bracelets and necklaces, both on beading wire and elastic; she even has a handy tool her husband Ken has created for her to make glueing and drying the elastic knots a breeze. But her most memorable fixes don’t have anything to do with the kind of repair but instead are about what it means to the guest to have a cherished piece of jewelry back in working order. “My favorite repairs are pieces of jewelry that have strong sentimental value to the owners. They get emotional when they are able to wear something again that they value.” But like many repair coaches, when needed she also has fixed things that are outside her area of expertise. “I also remember repairing a shattered figure of Christ on the Crucifix. It had been in the man's family for generations and he was so upset that a grandchild had dropped it.”

In addition to repair café work, Terri also has her own jewelry projects in the works. She is an incredibly talented bead weaver and is always learning new jewelry making techniques. She sells her jewelry at Bertoni Gallery in Warwick and also posts it on her Facebook page Terri's Visions.


A dancer in her youth, Terri still loves to dance now that she has more time to do so. She also volunteers at Garnet Hospital and at her parish food pantry and does tax returns for a few lucky family members. But her all-time favorite pastime? Spending time with her family, especially her two grandchildren, whom I heard may be making their repair café debut soon as helpers for Terri and her husband Ken!

RCHV in the News

Hebron/Salem's first repair cafe was featured in NYVT Media. Pictured above from l to r, are: Randy Brooks, co-organizer and lamp repair coach; Jordan LaMothe, co-organizer and knife and scissor sharpening coach; and Richard Roman, electronic and computer repair coach.

Photo credit: Bonnie Brooks

"Letter to the Editor: Attend our next Repair Cafe" (Irvington RC, Greenburgh RC), River Journal, May 29th, 2024.


"The First Greenburgh Repair Cafe" (Greenburgh RC), Town of Greenburgh TV, May 20, 2024.


"Hebron-Salem Repair Café: Where Broken Meets Mended" (Hebron/Salem RC), NYVT Media, May 7th, 2024.


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