'Only so much space': Why a P.E.I. man has a passion for repairing things

Since he was very young, Thomas Mears has been fascinated with the idea of being able to repair things.

"My father came from a generation where if something broke inside the house and nobody repaired it you just didn't have it anymore," Mears told CBC P.E.I.'s Mainstreet.

"When I was a young kid I used to see my dad repairing the TV whenever it broke down or the radio or one of my toys or whatever. And I'd watch him and I thought, 'Man, that is so cool. How does he know how to do that?'"

Mears never did learn from his father. He grew up to be a sound engineer, and when musicians complained to him about broken down gear, he remembered his father, and wondered if he could follow his example.

It turned out to be easier than he thought, and he had advantages his father never did. In addition to books and magazines, there is a huge range of online resources for doing these kinds of repairs.

"In a way it's not that unique," he said.

"I think almost anybody could learn to do this sort of stuff. If you just read the right things and apply yourself and are curious about it, the information is out there."

'So much satisfaction'

As he grew deeper into the hobby, he began to collect the specialized equipment needed to do the repairs, and developed a love for the way the old equipment was put together.

"There's all these different elements that provide so much satisfaction," he said.

"When you turn it on there's big dials and they make nice, satisfying rotational movements and clicks and thunks. When you look inside of this old vacuum tube equipment and there's things that look like light bulbs and they glow and they're bright orange and they give off heat."

People have suggested to him he should open a business and devote more time to repair work, but he doesn't believe it's possible to turn back the clock to a time where people truly valued fixing things.

People, he said, are too focused on wanting to buy the next new thing. But it is an attitude that concerns him.

"It isn't sustainable," he said.

"There's only so much space on the planet to throw garbage, really. There's only so many resources to build things with."

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