Simply Repair South Lakes
Simply Repair South Lakes
Pop-Up Repair Cafe Kendal
Every second Thursday of the month
5pm – 7pm at Space 2 Create
What do we do?
Simply Repair South Lakes holds repair events where you can get clothes, small electricals, furniture, toys and other household items fixed free of charge. We bring together people with skills to repair and those who want to learn to repair.
Our aims
Reduce waste – Share skills – Improve wellbeing – Build communities
We live in a ‘throw away’ society where it’s often easier to buy new rather than repair what we have, and skills of mending and repair are being lost. Whilst we aim to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill we importantly provide an opportunity to bring generations together to share knowledge and skills.
There is an increasing amount of evidence to show that the repetitive, calming nature of crafting and repair can help with mental health and anxiety so another purpose is to work with community groups and schools to help address these issues. In addition our community activities help to combat loneliness by welcoming everybody and bringing people together.
Get involved
We started with free ‘pop-up’ events and also run courses from time to time including sewing, crochet, kintsugi and lampshade making. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for details.
We are an enthusiastic group of volunteers and welcome anyone else who might be interested in getting involved.
Find us on Facebook www.facebook.com/SimplyRepairSL
Purposeful business start-up support
Are you interested in setting up a repair or up-cycling related business? Give is a call or check out our Future Fixers programme.
For more information
Please contact Karen on 07854 751169 or karen@bentley-brown.co.uk
Please click below to sign up to our Newsletter to receive monthly news about Simply Repair events and other interesting stories.
Simply Repair is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and are part of the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership’s ambitious emission reduction programme to make Cumbria carbon neutral by 2037.
The Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership brings together over 70 organisations in the public, private, and third sectors and is jointly chaired by Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS) and Cumbria County Council.
To achieve its goal, the partnership will be delivering a range of projects and activities, many of which have been inspired and developed by local communities. A number of these community-led projects and activities, including (the Simply Repair South Lakes Café), have been made possible by a £2.5 million grant from the National Lottery Community Fund.
For more information about the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership, go to Zero Carbon Cumbria Programme – CAfS
Say Hello
SAY HELLO
Grab a coffee and contact me for a free informal chat.
07854 751169
karen@bentley-brown.co.uk
How I Can Help
Ethical Business
Purpose* is the heart of a successful business and the key to keeping you, your staff and your customers happy
I can help you find your purpose and develop a strategy which will have a positive and productive impact on you, your organisation, your community and your environment.
* Why you do something or why something exists – Cambridge Dictionary definition
I’m here for you if you find yourself in any of these situations:
- You want to start a purposeful business
- You care about your community and environment but aren’t sure how to integrate your values with your existing business
- You’re feeling overwhelmed and are struggling to focus
- You’ve lost motivation or direction in your business
- You want to develop meaningful, authentic marketing content
- You would like to recruit and retain the best staff
- You want to make more profit
- You need additional funding
Three ways I can help:
Positive Business Development Packages
A series of sessions to help you develop a bespoke positive impact strategy based on the People, Planet, Profit model. This might include staff training sessions to help embed the strategy in your organisation.
No business is the same and therefore no strategy is the same. I can help you see the big picture, clearly identify your values and strengths, fill any gaps and create the right strategy for your business.
Download my Positive Impact Strategy Guide to get started.
Purposeful Mentoring
You might be managing a new business or project, new to your role or are feeling overwhelmed by your workload. I can help you find your focus, grow your business confidence and achieve your goals.
Productive Fundraising Support
Whatever your funding needs, whether a business, charity or social enterprise, I can help identify funding sources, develop a funding strategy and write grant applications.
Contact me for a FREE initial phone consultation to discuss your needs.
07854 751169
Package costs start at £200 for 2 x 2 hour sessions.
If you are a charity or social enterprise please contact me as I offer half price packages to one or two not-for-profits each year.
Contact me for a FREE initial phone consultation to discuss your needs.
07854 751169
Package costs start at £200 for 2 x 2 hour sessions.
If you are a charity or social enterprise please contact me as I offer half price packages to one or two not-for-profits each year.
What I do with others
I work with other like-minded people to provide additional services for you, your staff and your business.
Environmental Management Scheme
Learn more about how you can minimise your environmental impact and make a commitment for the future. My associate at Green Small Business can help you develop a certified Environmental Management Scheme (EMS) for your business. An EMS will help you stand out from your competitors and provide you with the necessary paperwork to tender for new business.
Email Karen for more information and a DISCOUNT CODE.
Personal & Staff Development
You and your staff are your greatest assets and are worth investing in. I work with DSB Training and Coaching to help you and your people increase personal effectiveness through the proven methods of TIFF and Functional Fluency.
The Growing Club
I am a trainer for The Growing Club CIC’s growth programme for women running micro-businesses. This ethical business training course uses a creative and alternative model that has received much acclaim.
Any questions?
Grab a coffee and call me on 07854 751169 for a free informal chat, or email me at karen@bentley-brown.co.uk
My Story
My Story
Hi, I am Karen Bentley-Brown, founder of Bentley-Brown Associates and passionate about helping people to grow good business.
For the past twenty years I’ve been helping businesses and charities to develop and thrive. I enjoy nothing more than reading about or, even better, visiting businesses that have found a way to improve the world we live in and at the same time as making a profit… Actually there is one thing I enjoy more that is sharing those ideas (See Positive News). Over this time it has become clear to me that the organisations who look after their people (staff and customers), and their environment, are the most successful; to put it bluntly they are more sustainable AND they make more money.
You could say that I’m a bit biased as I have always believed that we should leave the planet in a better way than we found it, both for people and wildlife. One of my early memories is joining WWF’s ‘Panda Club’ as a child in the 1960s after hearing about the plight of giant pandas (I’m pleased to say that they have recently been taken off the ‘endangered species’ list). In my later life I was privileged to work for WWF as one of their Regional Managers before moving on to fundraising and development roles with other environmental organisations including the National Trust.
As my work began to merge with the ‘for profit’ world I always carried my environmental hat with me. At first it was under the guise of ‘saving the planet can save you money’… This is true but it isn’t a very authentic business model and I knew there was a better way to do business. Since becoming a freelance business consultant and coach I’ve had the opportunity to work with a wide variety of businesses both large and small and have developed a template that works for all organisations based on John Elkington’s Triple Bottom Line or People, Planet, Profit model.
Put simply, if you look after your people and your planet you will make more profit. But there are an infinite number of ways to do this and I’d be delighted to help you find the best way for you and your organisation to develop and tell your positive impact story. ☺
My Community
- Freelance Business Advisor for Cumbria Chamber of Commerce
- Trainer and Business Mentor at The Growing Club* CIC
- Founder of Simply Repair South Lakes*
- Trustee at Cumbria Action for Sustainability
- Member of Institute of Fundraisers
- Member of the Lake District National Park’s Business Task Force
- Member and Founder of Kendal Brewery Arts Centre Business Club
Simply Repair
Find out more about the repair revolution in South Lakeland.
Positive News
Head over to my blog for positive case studies and good advice.
Home
Business Development
with a Positive Impact
Good for Business
My name is Karen Bentley-Brown and I am passionate about helping people to grow good business. For twenty years I’ve been helping businesses and charities to thrive.
What I do
My Positive Impact
- SUPPORT LOCAL - I use local suppliers and support small businesses as much as possible
- ETHICAL OFFICE - I use ethical suppliers for tea and coffee, recycled paper and pedal power for meetings where I can
- MINIMAL WASTE - I go paperless where possible, use reusable cups and bottles, and recycle all waste
- GREEN HOSTING - My website is powered 100% by renewable energy
- RENEWABLE ENERGY - My office is 100% powered by renewable energy
- COMMUNITY - I volunteer my time and give at least 1% of my profit to Simply Repair South Lakes and other chosen charities
- OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENT - I plant or sponsor trees every year