A coffee grinder, a lamp, a vacuum and an old sweater were just a few of the things local fixers mended this weekend at free repair meetups in Portland and South Portland.

South Portland’s Sustainability Department and Waste Reduction Committee held its first repair fair Saturday at the South Portland Library on Broadway. Repair meetup group Ripe for Repair holds semi-regular fairs around the Portland area, including one on Sunday at Odd Fellows Hall in Woodfords Corner.

The South Portland library was packed on Saturday with people hoping to give their broken and damaged items a new life.

Among them were Nick Lisac, of Portland, and his 3-year-old son Russell, who got a beloved remote-control monster truck rewired at the event.

Melissa Motzkin and Sam Snider at the South Portland Repair Fair on Saturday. Volunteers were helping people fix their clothing, lamps, electronics, small appliances and jewelry. Motzkin told her neighbor Snider about the event and they both decided to volunteer. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

“It broke maybe five days before I saw the flyers (for the repair fair) … I had put it in the back like, ‘maybe I’ll fix it eventually,’” Nick Lisac said. 

Electricians, seamsters and handy-people of all kinds volunteered a few hours of their time to tinker on the household items.

Susan Parmelee, South Portland sustainability program manager, said she was thrilled by the number of volunteers who answered the call and by the turnout on Saturday.

“We have our city’s Climate Action Plan, One Climate Future, and a big portion of that is waste reduction,” Parmelee said. “And part of preventing waste from going to landfills is fixing it so people hold on to it for longer and just expanding the lifespan.”

Parmelee said a grant from the Natural Resources Council of Maine made the event possible and helped the city provide snacks and supplies.

Volunteer clothing mender Melissa Motzkin, of Cape Elizabeth, got to work behind her sewing machine at the fair Saturday. Motzkin said she’s been sewing on and off since she was a kid.

“I discovered garment making at the beginning of COVID, and I just love making clothes,” said Motzkin, who teaches sewing through her group The Mend Collective. “With that comes this awareness of what you’re buying and how you use it and wanting to have things that last.”

Michael Hetzel works on a lamp at the South Portland Repair Fair on Saturday. Volunteers were helping people fix their clothing, lamps, electronics, small appliances and jewelry. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

Ripe for Repair‘s meetup Sunday drew dozens to Woodfords Corner. The group invites people to bring broken items like textiles, small appliances and bikes. They can either use the space as a place to do the repairs themselves or seek help from any of the handy craftspeople in the room.

Organizer Ali Mann said Ripe for Repair has been bringing people together in the spirit of fixing for almost two years now.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone come in with something that we can’t try to fix,” Mann said.

The Bicycle Coalition of Maine and Portland Gear Hub combined forces to tune gears, adjust brakes and fix flats at Sunday’s repair meetup.

Mark, who declined to give his last name, shows Russell Lisac, 3, the broken wire in Lisac’s remote control car at the South Portland Repair Fair on Saturday. Volunteers were helping people fix their clothing, lamps, electronics, small appliances and jewelry. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

Thomas Hargrave of the Bicycle Coalition said events like this allow mechanics to teach basic upkeep and repair skills to bike owners. The organization’s bike experts also offer their services at free repair events in Brunswick and Bath, he said.

“A lot of (the repairs) is stuff that they could learn how to do … and they could do it themselves if they want,” Hargrave said.

Ashlinn Killeen, of Portland, and her family brought some clothes from home to mend themselves. Killeen said she loves having a space to get repairs done.

“There’s a lot of little repair tasks that end up on your to-do list, and it’s nice to have an official place on your calendar, and then to be able to make it a community or a social event makes it more likely that you’re going to go,” Killeen said.

Ripe for Repair is planning two more meetups at Woodfords Corner, on the last Sundays in February and March. Parmelee said the city of South Portland will likely hold more repair fairs in the future, based on the positive reception of Saturday’s event.