A repair shop specializing in lighting and other household objects is opening a new workshop in Ballard on Friday, Oct. 2.
We Fix Old Stuff will operate at 4818 14th Ave NW, sharing a building with the founders’ custom lighting company, Moon Moon Lighting Co.
The shop handles lighting repairs ranging from rewiring and socket replacements to fixture customization, electrification, finish work and more complex restoration projects. It also repairs and customizes other functional and decorative objects.
“Lighting is our specialty, but we’re happy to be your first call for other stuff, too,” co-founders Ashley Zaworska and David Nebert said in a press release. “If we can’t fix it, we’ll point you toward someone who can.”
Some of the shop’s more straightforward jobs include replacing puppy-chewed lamp cords, repairing flickering fixtures and adding dimmers to lamps. More involved projects may require the help of glassblowers, metal platers, and other specialists.
Recent projects have included reassembling a shattered heirloom ceramic platter, restoring a fire-damaged chandelier brought down from Alaska, and modifying European sconces for use in American homes. The shop has also coordinated the 3D scanning and recasting of a vintage refrigerator handle that could no longer be replaced.
Before-and-after of a fire-damaged chandelier
We Fix Old Stuff grew out of Moon Moon Lighting Co. Zaworska and Nebert already had the tools and experience to design, build, and repair lighting, and friends and family began asking them to fix other broken objects.
Earlier this year, the business was selected for a six-month Seattle Restored storefront in Lake City, where the founders tested the repair shop as a public-facing operation.
Zaworska is a Washington-licensed architect with a degree in architectural engineering. Nebert has more than 10 years of experience in lighting repair, restoration, design, and fabrication.
The Ballard location will be a working repair studio rather than a traditional street-facing store. Customers can enter through the We Fix Old Stuff entrance on the parking lot side of the building, next to the large loading door.
Pickups and drop-offs will be available from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Fridays and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The shop will close from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. each day. Visits from Monday through Thursday will be available by appointment.
Featured photo: We Fix Old Stuff co-founders Ashley Zaworska and David Nebert. Photo by Kyle Johnson