Teaching to Repair the World
The Repair Shop
In Britain, as well as Australia, there is a popular TV show called The Repair Shop. The show is set in a rustic barn, home to a guild of expert artisans. Each belongs to a different craft tradition: woodwork, jewelry making, textile repair, and more. These skilled exponents of different crafts also have diverse identities in terms of race, gender, generation, and sexuality. In every episode, three guests arrive—sometimes on their own, sometimes as a pair—bearing an item that has fallen into disrepair. These possessions have little financial worth, but they have great sentimental value. The craftspeople are not only skilled. They are also personable. They take these artefacts and talk about them with their clients.