CONWAY — Do you have a lamp that needs fixing? What about a tear in your clothes that you can’t seem to mend? Then Conway may soon have an option for you.

At the request of Town Administrator Veronique Blanchard, the town is exploring hosting a repair cafe, a social event where neighbors come together to repair clothes, appliances, bicycles and numerous other items, in the name of reducing waste, giving new life to objects and building community.

“I just absolutely love the idea and I think Conway, we have so many people that have retired but have so much talent, and it would be a really fun, social way to get people together and mix the generations,” Blanchard recently told the Selectboard. “I just wanted to put the idea in your head and think about it.”

Repair cafes began as a grassroots movement — promoted by an organization sporting the same name — in The Netherlands in 2009 before spreading around the world over the last decade. The concept isn’t new in Franklin County, either; Colrain’s Griswold Memorial Library has hosted several “Fix-It Days” in recent years. Less frequent versions have also been held in Greenfield, Montague and Northfield.

With 10 years of experience as the solid waste coordinator for South Hadley, Blanchard said she is quite familiar with repair cafes and other similar waste-reduction events.

She explained that typically, people are set up at tables denoting what skills they have and folks are free to walk up to a table with an object that needs repair. Once at the table, the expert will either repair the item themselves or walk someone through the steps needed to fix the object.

“I thought it would be a fun idea to explore in town and see if anyone was interested in trying it,” Blanchard said.

Repair cafes also fit the theme of another town staple: The Conway Mall at the Transfer Station. From April through November, people can donate clean and usable clothes, books, bedding and household goods that they don’t use, but don’t want to throw out.

Selectboard members signaled they are supportive of hosting a repair cafe in town and Blanchard said she will start looking for volunteers. While interested in the event, Selectboard Chair Philip Kantor joked that he would not be volunteering to fix anything.

“Give it a few trial runs and see if anyone shows up,” he said. “But look somewhere besides me. I’m good at fixing things, just so that the next person that uses it will think they themselves broke it — that is a special skill.”

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.

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