Hi there, it’s us, Ally & Gem. We’re the passionate founders behind We Are Repairs, the home of the UK independent repair business community and repair directory that connects customers with local repairers.
We spent years in corporate roles – Ally in creative, Gem in sport – but craved work that sparked our values and nurtured the planet. That spark turned into action when we launched repair businesses in reupholstery and wooden furniture repair, saving items from landfill and bringing joy to our customers.
Ally’s small eco-business, Restoration Hut, was born out of a life-long passion for high-quality, handcrafted design which is kind to the planet. For the last six years, she’s worked hard to show her customers the power of transforming old and unloved wooden furniture into premium pieces to be truly treasured.
Gem’s business, Embrace Bespoke Upholstery & Design, focuses on creating upholstered furniture that truly reflects her customers’ stories. Whether that is lovingly restoring and reupholstering a family heirloom or creating a bespoke piece to fit in with their homes. Each piece is given the TLC & hands-on craftsmanship it deserves to make it last into the next generation.
We’ve loved building up our businesses, getting to know our customers and working on some incredible items of furniture (more on that in future blogs!)…But here’s what no one tells you…
Running a small repair business on your own? It’s hard.
No team. No one to help with the endless admin, the promotion of yourself and your business… the list is endless.
Not to mention the sadness you feel when you see quality furniture and homewares being thrown away and replaced with cheap chipboard and plastic imports. The huge mass manufacturing companies with multi-million pound marketing greenwashing adverts being believed in their claims ahead of hardworking honest UK business owners up and down the country.
That’s why we’ve created We Are Repairs – not just to help small businesses shout about what they do, but to build something bigger. A thriving community of Repairers, working together to grow their businesses, support each other and fuel a movement that puts repair before replace. To make access to the independent repairers that much easier for people.
What’s in it for you?
- If you’ve got broken homeware gathering dust, you can now find a skilled repairer in just a few clicks.
- If you’re a repair business: a Premium or Featured profile gives you personalised marketing, all for less than a couple of coffees a week. Find out more here.
Together, we’re building a movement that puts repair before replace, connecting repairers with customers and growing a sustainable repair revolution.
We’re standing up in the face of the throwaway society to build an alternative. One that puts the environment and local people at the heart of it’s success, not the bank balance of a billionaire.
We’d love you to join us.
Ally & Gem 🛠️✨
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