November's Repair Fair Recap!

Holy smokes - Repair Fair on November 15th was SO much fun! Give the photos a scroll to see for yourself.

A ton of y'all showed up with your clothes, bicycles, appliances, jewelry, furniture and more. Many thanks to all of you who gave your beloved stuff a second life, and many thanks to our super handy volunteer fixers who kept that beloved stuff out of the landfill. 

Impact

  • 81 attendees brought their beloved but broken items.

  • 21 fixer and support volunteers generously shared their time and skills.

  • About 87 items out of 118 items were fixed and given a second life. That’s a 74% fix rate!

  • 98lbs of electronics recycled

  • Once again, lots of hot dawgs & cookies served!

Some of the Fixes

  • 1940s Toaster

  • Mechanical egg beater

  • A stuffed animal

  • Music box

  • Adult trike

  • Coleman kerosene Lantern

  • Chrome and leather chair

  • 5-in-1 Record CD tape player

  • Robot Vacuum

STORIES WE HEARD

“…my small side table got fixed. This was my grandma’s table that was dear to me, and it was so great that it was able to be fixed. The person helping me helped me understand the process and tools being used."

"I had a necklace with a lot of sentimental value fixed. It was broken for years, and now I'm wearing it today! I could have taken it to a jeweler... but I just kept forgetting. Having something that is community-oriented, free, and scheduled finally got me to get this necklace fixed—so glad you all did this fair!"

"My favorite wireless lamp! It fell off of a table... I use it all the time and didn’t want to throw it away so it could end up in a landfill with a battery inside. Drew and Jesse took it apart, figured out what was wrong, and got it working in about 10-15 mins. I was amazed!"

“I have an LED sign that says 'Feel Good' in my store... Recently, a customer broke the wire and I was devastated... but the Repair Fair saved it!! I can encourage people to feel good once again!""

"My favorite jacket had a pocket that I was having trouble repairing... the people at the library helped me replace it. They were fantastic. I plan on replacing the other pocket in this jacket on my own and I feel confident doing that now."

More Than Just Fixin’ Things

These events are about more than simply fixing stuff - they aim to challenge consumer throwaway culture and encourage resourcefulness and reuse. They help share practical skills and build confidence so our neighbors can take on their own projects. We hope that Repair Fairs show that a community can come together to fix, build, and create the things they need.

What's Next? Get Involved!

Weren’t able to make our first event? Still have some broken stuff you don’t want to part with? Want to volunteer to help people fix and build things?

Thanks so much all - we’re stoked to see you at the next one!

Share The Tools Community Quotes

Did y'all know a percentage of all your tool library, class, open workshop hours, and gift bucks purchases go toward helping folks and orgs afford tools?

As a non-profit, a chunk of our total revenue, gold memberships, and your donations hangout at a big pool party called the Share the Tools Fund which gets distributed via financial assistance, and these quotes are from recipients.

Want to throw some extra bucks into the pool party? We have a rolling fundraiser through the 2025 that you can donate to now.

Thanks for helping your community!

Volunteer at the DTL!

Want to get tools in the hands of people who need them, feel that primal sense of accomplishment, AND meet cool people? Volunteer with the Denver Tool Library!

There’s a bunch of different ways you can lend your time including organizing, being a regular core volunteer, helping out at events like our Repair Fairs (this Saturday, btw), and more! Learn all about it at denvertoollibrary.org/volunteer where you can also sign up for a volunteer orientation.

Questions? Reach out to our volunteer coordinator Amanda who has been doing an AMAZING job rallying people: Amanda@denvertoollibrary.org

Thanks all!

Volunteer with Us

New Tools You Can Borrow!

🚨 Pretty New Tools Alert!🚨

We just got some new tools that you can borrow, including:

⚙️Grizzly Track Saw

⚙️Two Makita Angle Grinders

⚙️Bosch Orbital Sander

⚙️Ryobi Portable Orbital Sander

Thanks to your support via donations and membership fees, we’re able to regularly add high-quality tools like these to our inventory. Get these nice shiny new tools plus 6,000+ more with your Denver Tool Library Membership (only $150/year!).

Get a Membership

Updates! Handmade Holiday Class Gift Guide

Updates on our Handmade Holiday Gift Classes - they’re filling quick! Not listed are all the gifty classes that have already sold out (believe me, I tried to include them - it’s total chaos).

Don’t wait until last minute and get stuck picking out some Amazon junk just to find out that you already bought your dad fancy nuts three years before (true story). Instead, We’ve compiled a list of classes where you create a piece of art made with 100% genuine love that you can give to someone on your holiday list. Best of all, it’s sort of a selfish gift because while they get whatever you make, you get the skills to build another during our Open Workshop Hours.

Classes, Dates & LINKS

First Skill Share! Weds, Nov 12th at 6pm

Join us next Wednesday, November 12th from 6p-7:30p for our first-ever DTL Skill Share! We'll have a few tool librarians and members sharing about their recent projects, ranging from van buildouts to electronics repairs. There will be plenty of time for questions and mingling, so come learn a new skill, get inspired, and meet some rad people!

Skill Shares are free events where anyone is welcome to meet and mingle with fellow members and tool librarians and learn more about what projects they are working on. Each event features a few short presentations from community members sharing their projects, lessons learned, and inspiration, followed by time to chat and connect over N/A beverages. No tool experience required!

Learn more & Register for Free

We're Accepting Food Donations

The Denver Tool Library is accepting food donations for the Athmar Recreation Center in District 7. You can drop off food in the black bin located in the front office anytime during our regular open hours or when you come in for your class.

Priority Donation Items:

✅ Snacks, ready to eat items (dried fruit, nuts, protein bars, instant ramen, popcorn etc.)

✅ Canned items (beans, veggies, fruit, tuna, etc.)

✅ Shelf-stable items like pasta, rice, flour or nut butter

✅ Infant food, formula, and diapers

✅ Unopened hygiene products

✅ Household items (i.e. cleaning supplies)

✅ Reusable bags

The following items cannot be accepted:

❌ Perishable items such as eggs, dairy products, fresh/frozen meat

❌ Prepared meals

❌ Opened packages of food

❌ Clothing

Thanks all!

1pm Early Close on Sat, Nov 15th for Repair Fair

The Tool Lending Library will close an hour early at 1pm on Sunday, Aug 17th for our Repair Fair.

Repair Fairs are free events where community members can bring broken everyday items, such as toasters, bicycles, pants, and more, for free repairs by local volunteer fixers. These fairs offer a chance to learn valuable repair skills, reduce waste, and connect with your neighbors. No repair experience is required as our volunteers will guide you through fixing the items you bring in (limit two items per person please!).

To register to attend or volunteer, go to denvertoollibrary.org/repair-fair