MEET OUR REPAIRers: PAOLO RIGIROLI
20/11/2024
By Katie Schuster
At the Repair Café, we are lucky to have a dynamic team of skilled repairers who offer their time to us and the community on a voluntary basis. So, it is a pleasure to take the opportunity to showcase each and everyone of them - the superstars of the Repair Café - who they are, what their expertise includes, and what they love about being a repairer.
Here, we are delighted to introduce Paolo Rigiroli who joined the Repair Café in April 2023 and has since fixed an impressive 80 items, or more!
In 2018, my wife and I moved to the UK, wishing to be closer to Italy (where my family still lives) and eager to explore this fantastic country. Work-wise, this was just a transfer, as Electronic Arts also has a Guildford office. So, I'm still working in video games, although I have since transitioned into management.
In 2020 (in the middle of the pandemic), we moved to Haslemere - which we absolutely love. After running out of things to do around the house, and wanting to connect to the local community more, my wife randomly discovered an advert for the Repair Café, looking for menders. This was the opportunity I always craved. I found a wonderful group of kind and talented people who do great work in the community and I felt immediately among friends.
TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF.
I was born and raised in Italy, where I got a master's in Biomedical Engineering. After uni, a job opportunity brought me to Vancouver, Canada, where I joined Electronic Arts as a Software Engineer. I worked there for nearly 18 years, as an animation engineer for several sports video games (including NBA Live and FIFA). Even though I developed professionally as a Software Engineer, I remained very interested in electronics and anything mechanical and practical, including DIY, cooking, sewing, and of course doing repairs around the house and for my friends.
WHAT BROUGHT YOU to Haslemere?
TELL US ABOUT THE KIND OF REPAIRS YOU DO!
My repair experience is primarily in:
Electrical
Basic electronics
Household small appliances
Lightweight mechanical
I learned by doing and through formal education. I grew up with the coaching of my uncle, who has a background in electronics, and my dad, who has one in mechanics. I was always encouraged to try fixing things, broken by myself or someone else. So, this ultimately taught me a lot about how things work and why they're designed in specific ways.
Since joining the Repair Café, I have seen more broken things than in my entire life! And fixing them has taught me a great deal. In addition, I have learnt a lot thanks to the tips and tricks from other menders who are very generous with their knowledge sharing.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT BEING A REPAIR CAFÉ REPAIRER?
I enjoy being a repairer because I value technology, the research that went into it, the design, the materials used, and, of course, its usefulness in bettering people's lives. When something complex breaks, it's often because one or two of its simplest parts failed. Finding them is exciting to me. Plus, there is no risk as the item would otherwise be thrown away, and the reward is that the item can be saved from landfill while also sparing the owner the replacement costs.
People's gratitude is also extremely rewarding. For many, it’s incredibly exciting when we return their loved items back in working order and which have been given a new lease on life. That, alone, is priceless!
Paolo’s FAVOURITE REPAIRS:
A 30-year-old Dyson DC01
An iconic machine - the first upright bagless vacuum cleaner that launched the Dyson brand. This machine's only problem was that the cable had been bent one too many times. These machines are so strong and simple in their design that they have very few points of failure if used properly. And this one had been! I remember I took the machine home, and this was the only time the owner called me the day after to ask me: "Is it going to make it?". And I could tell the gentleman: "Yes, it's ready for pickup. And no charge!"
A 25-year-old Roberts radio
The radio already featured an FM decoder and amplifier microchip. So, I could determine that the chip and a power regulator had failed - both replaceable items - and replacing them worked. The really surprising thing was that as I was scanning for the first FM radio station, the first song that played was Handel’s ‘Hallelujah’. I will never forget that!
