From a spring kickoff in Italy to a summer full of hacker camps and Maker Faires, iFixit tools and the Street Team showed up at events across Europe this year. Different places, same idea: repair knowledge grows when people share it. Come along for the ride and meet some of the Street Team members who make it happen.
iFixit goes to Italy!
Our first stop was Hackaday Europe in Lecco, where hardware hackers, makers, and repair-minded people came together around open technology and creative problem-solving.
Soon afterward, iFixit tools were back in action with Restarters Milano for a hands-on soldering workshop in Cesano Boscone.
Inspired by the success of this first workshop, we held another one at Repair Café Pavia. Despite the June heat, participants of all ages practiced soldering before building LED spinning tops from around 15 components each. Everyone’s top worked, and the afternoon ended with a friendly competition to see whose spinning top lasted longest.
Thanks to Alberto, Sergio, and Daniele for making it happen.
Meet Sergio
Sergio’s passion for repair started in childhood.
I wanted to understand how toys were made and how they worked. Taking them apart was the fun part; the challenge was putting them back together and making them work again.
His father, a former auto electrician, could repair almost anything. Sergio eventually added electronics and computers to that tradition.
What he likes about representing iFixit is the simple idea behind it: helping ordinary people repair their own things.
For Sergio, repair reduces waste and consumption, but also creates opportunities to learn, collaborate, meet people, and solve problems together.
You work together with people and try to solve practical problems with them.
Repair communities on the road
At a local community gathering, Ángel ran into a familiar face from Leuven’s Repair Café scene. Although Ángel had only recently joined the iFixit Street Team, the other repairer already knew the initiative, and even knew our CEO Kyle personally.
Their conversation quickly turned to a workshop the Leuven repairer organizes with KU Leuven, where students learn that repairing their own devices is possible with the right guidance and resources. Alongside support from experienced repairers, they use iFixit guides, YouTube videos, and specialist forums to find the information they need.
iFixit tools supported Electronic Amulets workshops as part of Humboldt-Universität Berlin’s Sonic Cyberfeminism(s) course. Participants turned circuits into personal talismans while exploring technology, sound, and the idea that we can be creators and fixers—not just consumers.
At Tübix in Tübingen, Leonardo represented us and gave a lightning talk on how we’re trying to make repair knowledge scalable—from community contributions to AI. We also sponsored prizes for Hacker Jeopardy.
Chigozie joined the Hardware Hacking Area at EMF Camp in the UK. iFixit provided tools for a hands-on badge modification activity, where attendees could reuse parts of their 2024 badge for the new 2026 version. Chigozie also spoke with visitors about iFixit, repair, and the Right to Repair. The hardware hacking didn’t stop there: the tent also hosted a wonderfully nerdy FreeCAD E-Sport Speed Run Challenge, where participants raced through three ten-minute CAD challenges—from recreating a small box to modeling an EMF badge expansion and even a Club-Mate bottle.
Finally, Tobi, Jasper, and Anna represented us at Maker Faire Hannover. Our stand near the entrance saw a constant stream of visitors, and the soldering activity was a particular hit, with kits disappearing quickly throughout the weekend.
Thanks to everyone who helped make this summer’s events happen!
Meet Ángel
Ángel is a long-standing contributor to the Spanish iFixit community, both as an author and moderator.
His repair journey began with a bicycle and a bread maker. Looking for alternatives to unnecessary replacements led him to local Repair Cafés, where he not only found the right tools and advice, but soon started helping with other people’s repairs too.
Since then, repair has become as much about people as devices. Ángel has represented iFixit at events such as hardwear.io in Amsterdam, meeting others who share the same enthusiasm for repair.
For him, that is what the Street Team is all about: meeting people, exchanging ideas, and picking up new tricks and confidence for the next repair.
And now?
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And if you’d like to step behind the table yourself, share your repair skills, or tell us about an event near you, the iFixit Street Team is for you!
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