On Saturday, the Heritage Repair Station will be open from 11am-3pm in the former Veggie Boys premises at 278 King Edward St, in South Dunedin.
Heritage festival co-ordinator Jonathan Cweorth said the event would be a chance for people to bring in their broken appliances, old tech and clothes in need of repair for some expert help.
"The Heritage Repair Station is designed to build on the small but growing repair movement in Dunedin and also to integrate it into the wider concept of heritage preservation," Mr Cweorth said.
The local specialists providing help at Saturday’s Heritage Repair Station will include Stitch Kitchen for clothing, tech repair and recycling specialists Regear Library and local electricians.
The Free Shop in Green Island will have a selection of clothing available for people to access.
"The Heritage Repair Station is a new event for the heritage festival, and one we think matches our ethos of preservation and restoration," Mr Cweorth said.
"Repairing items where possible is very helpful in terms of waste minimisation as well.
"And also, there can be a lot of social history tied up in items of family heritage."
The event might foreshadow things to come. Plans are under way at the Dunedin Gasworks Museum to develop the old transformer building into a permanent repair space, Mr Cweorth said.
"Watch this space."
Stitch Kitchen co-ordinator Fiona Jenkin was delighted to have been invited to take part in Saturday’s Heritage Repair Station, saying the event was "right up [their] alley".
"It’s a great opportunity to help encourage awareness among people of how textiles can be repaired," Ms Jenkin said.
"At Stitch Kitchen, we see steady interest from people wanting to repair their clothing for a variety of reasons — saving money and to reduce their environmental footprint."
Along with helping people with specific repair issues, Ms Jenkin will give a presentation at noon on Saturday on keeping textiles in good condition, including stain removal and de-pilling.
"I will be sharing simple ways that people can maintain their clothing so that it stays looking new," she said.
The Heritage Repair Station is being run in conjunction with the Dunedin Dream Brokerage, which has helped with access to the empty former Veggie Boys space in South Dunedin.
The event will run from 11am-3pm on Saturday and bookings are not necessary — just come in with your broken items or textiles in need of repair.
Entry is free, optional koha.
