Second Thursday at NextFab: Repair Fair & Michael Ferrin in the Gallery

In the NextFab Gallery:

View the work of the 2023 Museum for Art in Wood x NextFab Winter Residency Fellow Michael Ferrin. The residency is designed for artists in Greater Philadelphia who work in the medium of wood and is a collaboration between the Museum for Art in Wood and NextFab. An exhibition of the work created over the two-month-long program will be presented at the NextFab North Philadelphia location.

Michael Ferrin is an artist from Southwest Philadelphia. Working primarily in wood, he employs his training as a furniture maker and his education as an artist to explore the connection between spirituality and craft; his relationship to place; and how power shapes, and is reinforced by, narratives about craft history. Michael’s interests range from the influence of Muslim arts on European medieval design vocabulary to the visual landscape of Philadelphia’s public transit infrastructure. He has recently been incorporating Persian khatam marquetry into his work.

Rolling tours of NextFab will be available, and light drinks and refreshments will be served.

Philly Fixer’s Guild

We will be welcoming the Philly Fixers Guild’s Repair Fair back to our spaces to help you fix and repair, fix, and assemble your tricky items. Why replace it when you can repair it? This urban volunteer repair outfit will help you fix your stuff, free of charge, and they’re ready for the challenge. Got tangled jewelry, IKEA furniture that needs assembling, or a vacuum cleaner that’s on the fritz? Sit down with one of their volunteers and they’ll help you hands-on with fixing it. While they do have some limits, they encourage a read of their ground rules before bringing in your items. Reserve a spot here.

Guidelines:

Their talented volunteer fixers love the challenge of repairing everyday things. However, we have some limits and guidelines so things can run a bit more smoothly:

• Guests are required to stay with their item and participate in the repair (dropping an item off for them to work on defeats the purpose of the Repair Fair)
• If you already know your item needs a particular replacement part, order it early and bring it with you to the fair
• As long as you can carry the item in, we will do our best to get it repaired
• There will, of course, be some things that cannot reasonably be fixed or might need a part ordered. In these cases, a fixer will recommend the best course of action. Usually, they will be able to supply you with info on part numbers and repair steps so you can complete the repair at home on your own!

Can’t make it to the Repair Fair? They don’t want you to miss out on repairing your favorite possessions! For that reason, their “ASK A FIXER” email link can be used with details of your broken item. A Fixer can then offer some advice and guidance on how to make the repairs on your own time.

Disclaimer: The Philly Fixers Guild exists to help people repair their personal items and educate the community in general troubleshooting, diagnosis, and repair. The guild volunteers are not necessarily professionals or licensed in any way. Any repair work undertaken at a fair is done as a “Good Samaritan” effort and is for educational purposes only. No repair made at a Repair Fair carries any warranty, promise of reliability, or guarantee of safety.

What are Second Thursdays?

For 17 years, the Crane Arts Building has hosted monthly art exhibitions, performances, and openings on the Second Thursday of every month. Similar to First Fridays in Old City, but not wanting to compete, Second Thursdays was created to highlight the creative community of the North Philadelphia neighborhood – and well it stuck!

American St. is becoming a booming street for artists, makers, and creatives of all types, and we invite you to come out to be a part of this. Between the Crane Arts Building and the Clay Studio, the NextFab building at 1800 North houses eight businesses that will also be opening their doors on the second Thursday of every month. At 1800 N. American St. the creative work ranges from restoring historic neon, sourcing salvaged materials, empowering artists, building bicycles, supporting artisan businesses, a gorgeous floral market, and a restaurant mixing up amazing cocktails. All are welcome to this open house-style event!

• • The Resource Exchange
  • Sor Ynez
  • Keystone Bicycle Co
  • Beaty American Salvage
  • Center for Creative Works