Testimonials

When my neighbour mentioned the Repair Café at Dartington Village Hall, I grabbed my blunt shears—then paused. Could someone there possibly fix my old Dutch Dolly, who’d spent over 30 years hidden away in a box?

My name is Juliette Le Fevre, daughter of Antonius Johannes Le Fevre, a Dutchman of Huguenot descent. Born in Amsterdam in 1910, my father was sent to work in the tulip bulb fields as a frail boy, before joining Kieft and Son and being posted to London at eighteen—a move that horrified his family.

In that London office sat two small Dutch dolls perched atop filing cabinets, carefully out of reach. They stayed there throughout my father’s long career until his retirement in 1975, when he brought them home. The little boy’s legs had fallen off, and his sister disappeared soon after.

At the Repair Café, Michael patiently restored my childhood friend. Seeing my little Dutch boy sit upright again fills me with warmth and gratitude. Thank you, Michael, for mending more than just a doll—you restored a piece of family history.

Juliette

I just wanted to say a big thank you to Den who mended my bean-to-cup coffee machine. It was a very expensive machine which, as a pensioner, I certainly couldn't afford to replace. Den was very patient going through everything in a very methodical way to ascertain the problem with the machine which wasn't grinding the coffee. His patience won in the end!!

I am very grateful to Den and the team at the Dartington Repair Cafe.

Thank you and best wishes

Transition Town Totnes had a guillotine in the office which wasn't cutting cleanly, much to everyone's frustration.  A new blade was purchased and fitted but didn't solve the problem.  

I brought the guillotine to Dartington Repair Cafe.  Ray looked at it, identified the problem and five minutes later it was working perfectly.  A few days later I was cutting a lot of pages, all with lovely clean edges, what a difference.

Thank you to Ray and Dartington Repair Cafe from all those who use the guillotine on a regular basis.

The replacement part arrived promptly. Exactly the same as the original and I fitted it ok. Had a couple of goes taking it apart, bending the hands, which got caught up together and wedging the mechanism with cardboard to keep it in place. Now I'm happy to report it is working fine ! I have a sense of achievement and a relief to glance up to the bookcase and see the clock and the right time.

Thank you so much for your help, advice and finding the replacement.

With gratitude and my best wishes.  

SW