👷 Show you care: repair 🌍
Plus our recipe, playlist and collective tips of the week
So we’re back with the Part Two that we left you hanging with at the end of last week’s ’sletter, when we mooched on all things ‘renewal’ and showcased loads of old stuff that’s been made so much better by artisans and activists you might not even recognise it (hands up who got those trainers?).
This time we’re digging into ways to give a longer life to something you already own and adore.
Whether it’s going the whole hog, getting yourself your own Kintsugi kit and Zen-ing out while fixing your broken mugs and plates, learning how to repair your knits (way cooler than it sounds when you watch Evvia of the sweet Loupy Studio doing it), or turning to professional clothing-rescuers at places like The Seam and The Original Pattern – giving your personal, special, memory-infused things a longer life is one of the ultimate things you can do in the fight to live light.
Because – as spotted in this Re:directory post this week – decluttering and giving your top cast-offs to charity shops is not ideal, actually. Especially at this time of year, when they’re pretty overwhelmed, as so much of it can end up on the road to rags-ville.
Much better, in the words of Orsola de Castro, the mending-muse of our think-piece pick below, to aim to ‘radically keep’. “The only antidote to throwaway culture is to keep," she says. "So I am an obsessive keeper."
And making sure you keep as well as you can, so your belongings don’t end up in need of real assistance, is the canniest approach all-round. Maybe don’t wash things if they don’t quite need it yet (officially not revolting anymore). And pick the most low-impact drycleaners out there (like Blanc Living in Marylebone, or the surprisingly happening Steam Room, below).
Though obviously it’s not just about clothes. You can take your electronics casualties to one of the nearly 150 regular community Repair Cafés in the UK (sidenote: this TikTok story of a restored 1901 lamp, originally given to @appletoothpaste’s great, great granny for switching on the electricity in her town, is a 16-second tearjerker).
And it’s not even just about stuff. We at BRiMM are in the repair business, too. Mending how we think about the future and remapping how we get there, on a much more enjoyable ride.
Which leads us neatly onto… Part Three in this 're-trilogy', next week. Because even repeat cliffhangers are fun. And if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? (But if it is – you know you'd better ;)).
Tune in, team up and let's turn the tide.
Team BRiMM
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Former designer and repair revolutionary Orsola de Castro has been working at changing the way we think about what we're wearing for decades. Her 2021 book, Loved Clothes Last, is packed with practical ways to do just as it says on the cover: make every great piece live longer (skip to the end of this Guardian article for some of her top tips). For example, find skilled folks – like the ones we mention in this ’sletter – to do your fixing for you, if sewing/sharpening/retuning ain’t really your thing. A loved book that will last, too.
Haggerston’s Steam Room is way more than a dry cleaners. For starters, the longtime family business uses planet-positive techniques and products (ie, steam). They also take a more bespoke approach to each clean (‘going beyond the labels’), specialise in raw denim care, test fabrics and have an inhouse tailor who can rescue anything that looks ‘a bit not so well’. Oh – and owner Tony is on a mission to give the metaverse a good clean. As really good steamcleaners do.
Meet the friendliest knife geeks you’ll ever come across at these sister stores in Coal Drops Yard and Stokey. Born in London’s weekend markets, Kitchen Provision’s MO is to serve up the sickest culinary kit and then help us lot keep it slick. Get blunt blades sharpened while you wait, drop them off and pick them up, or you can even send them over. And keep your eyes peeled for the irregular group sharpening sessions too.
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Second-hand HiFi and turntable specialists AudioGold are as warm and nostalgic as their name suggests. The team’s ready and waiting to fix up all manner of sound-making machines, from WiFi radios to gramophones. As they say: “Audio Gold is not about junking perfectly good kit to Land Fill, but weeding out the weak links in your system and replacing them with something special to bring the whole thing to life.” (Just try not to get distracted by their mega refurbed valve amps and all the props they lend to film crews.) South London more convenient? Try ‘sonic doctor’ Mike in East Dulwich.
This elevated roast sweet potato recipe with almonds, dates, mint, tahini and optional chilli flakes is utterly lush. (A little too lush for our kid, but maybe your small people will have a higher threshold for such luxuriance.)
MUSIC FOR CLIMATE OPTIMISTS
There are nods to the themes of renewal, repair and living forever in this week’s playlist from Harriet, founder of Hotel, Mike, which we adore. But we mainly love just how many bangers there are, from so many different decades.
FROM THE COLLECTIVE
Fraser shared slappy, low-impact outerwear label greater goods – we’re digging their collab projects so far // James got us excited about regenerative agriculture doc (yes) Common Ground – starring Donald Glover and Woody Harrelson and screening in a UK cinema next month – after he raved so much about the same filmmakers’ last release, Kiss the Ground // And Sam hooked us up with the British Beauty Council’s clever little map for finding all your nearest empties’ recycling points in a nano-second
WHAT’S BRiMM AGAIN?
We’re building a shop, journal and collective to prove that living within limits isn’t living less – and to put the profit to work for the planet.
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