On the Mend

Whilst hungrily hurrying through the inner north suburbs of Melbourne yesterday afternoon I passed On the Mend and just had to go in. I needed a set of my keys cutting anyway but I was excited to see a repair store offering something different to the usual repair and alteration corner in the dry cleaners.

I popped in and met the friendly staff who fixed me up a set of keys straight away. The open workspace behind the counter is a hive of activity and colour with many bags and shoes in various states of repair filling the surfaces. Repaired items waiting for collection by caring owners hung in brown paper bags, and machines whirred and spun.

My joy at finding On the Mend inspired me to share this place through my blog. Having skilled repairers in our communities helps us to keep the items we love for longer. This is great news for us, keeps the repairers in business and keeps our broken accessories out of landfill and in our lives - win win win!

I'd love to see pictures of your local repair centre, please share with #RepairNotReplace

For tips about how to keep your garments and accessories for longer check out Love Your Clothes

The Clothing Exchange

The Clothing Exchange is a Australian initiative, coordinating volunteers to run exchange events in councils around the country to promote swapping over shopping. I volunteered to help out at one event in North Sydney at the Coal Loader Centre for Sustainability last month and was impressed by the venue, the turnout (between 40-50 women), the food and drinks provided and the volume of clothing that was swapped! Definitely the best clothing swap I have been to and I even managed to find a dress for myself in the small pile of clothing that was left over at the end of the night.

The Bower Reuse & Repair Centre Co-op

Another brilliant thing about the Addison Road Centre, in addition to Reverse Garbage and the Sunday market is the Bower Reuse and Repair Centre Cooperative. Check out their website for more information and you can also follow them on social media.

Addison Road Market

The best stall of them all...
Responsibly Gorgeous, made in Marrickville.

Reverse Garbage

I've been working at this awesome place, Australia's largest creative re-use centre! Check out the Reverse Garbage website and social media for more info and the latest stock updates.

Addison Road Organic Market

Every Sunday, the wonderful Addison Road Community Centre hosts an open air organic market, attracting many people to enjoy the delicious goods from the stalls and laid back atmosphere. The awesome Reverse Garbage was also buzzing with people on Sunday, a brilliant day all round! Check out the Addison Road Community Centre website for more information.