FixShop forms part of a wider social project – Fixperts, conceived by Daniel Charny at Kingston – to encourage people to solve everyday problems through design. The approach, also being trialed across Europe, gives individuals the insight & confidence to find solutions for themselves & others. FixShop is unique in its high street prescence & accessibility, demonstrating how Open Design benefits users & communities, ranging from broken household goods (supporting sustainability) to innovations for those excluded economically or through physical & mental difference/disability.
Part of a wider return to fixing/hacking products, rather than replacing them – a trend that is countering the commercial culture of obsolescence – it supports frugal & ‘long tail’ innovation in which seemingly con-commercial ideas (having small markets) have the potential to reach millions via the internet, & exploits the growing availability of Makerspaces to form a powerful tool for social & design change
Kingston University is a keen proponent of ‘thinking through making’; we believe fixing is the future, a design process that drives innovation, encouraging creativity & resourcefulness, & creating content that encourages people to use the power of fixing to solve everyday problems & share this knowledge to inspire new fixes.