our mission
Our slogan – “Finding the missing R” – captures 720 Repair’s mission perfectly. Decades ago, our culture cherished and encouraged repair of broken items. In many cases, repair was the only practical option. With the growth of hyper-scaled manufacturing, global shipping and supply chains, and expansive telecommunications and computing power, replacement items have become cheaper and ubiquitous. In many cases it has become easier to “toss it and buy new”. As a result, our culture has evolved into more and more of a disposable society, where broken items are thrown away and new replacements are purchased.
This is especially true for smaller appliances. Larger items – like washers and dryers, cars, and our houses – still support a repair economy, simply because they have much more value than the cost to repair. If the door latch on your front door breaks, it would be silly to buy a whole new house just to get a working front door. Of course, the homeowner would find a way to repair the latch. With a smaller appliance – like an old toaster or an iron – the situation is the other way around the cost to repair is often more than replacing the broken item. In this case, a reasonable person would simply buy a replacement. Our mission is to provide an easy alternative to this vicious cycle.
Repair Over Landfill
The problem with our throw away culture lies below the surface of the decision. Where do our unrepaired, broken items end up? Usually in a landfill. This point isn’t even considered in the repair decision. An economist would say that the cost of disposal isn’t taken into account in the decision to repair. If the cost of disposal was included, the balance scale would often swing the other way. The rest of us – who are not economists – would simply state the obvious: throwing away thousands of toasters, irons, clothes, etc makes a big mess of our environment. That can’t be good.
An Alternative Approach
720 Repair is driven by the intention to open up other options for these difficult to repair items. One option is for the owner to fix it themselves. The bulk of the cost to repair an item is labor. If an owner repairs an item themself, the labor rate is zero! They’ll probably need a little help, though. A little bit of knowledge about how the item should work. Maybe a specialized tool or two. A little encouragement. That’s where 720 Repair can help. Come try out a repair circle. Check out our blog. Ask a question. If you’re interested in repairing something, we’re here to help!
finding the lost 'r'
Our Story
Gordon has spent his life designing, building and maintaining complex systems. In his career, he has been an engineer, chief technical officer, project manager and product manager. He has worked on fiber optic digital telecommunications systems, built cable TV digital video systems, developed and certified digital TV applications, implemented operating systems on cable and satellite TV boxes, helped standardize and develop time-sensitive Ethernet products, designed and built custom cars, and managed and developed systems based on Internet of Things architectures. Across this wide spectrum of activity he has kept a common thread: Understanding how systems work and using that knowledge to design, implement and maintain them.
In addition to his professional career in engineering, Gordy has been tearing apart things his whole life to better understand them, re-build them and make them new again. From wobbly yard furniture built from his father's scrap wood pile, to repairing bikes for himself and his friends, to rebuilding a first-period colonial house (originally built in 1656), and on to keeping several households and shops operational, Gordon has been fiddling with gadgets for his whole life. He loves it. And he's good at it.
Gordy retired in fall of 2024 and continued his passion for understanding and working on technology by starting his own repair business, 720Repair. In this new endeavor he is focused on expanding the philosophy of repair to the greater Santa Fe community. His company provides instruction and encouragement for folks to repair their stuff rather than dispose of it and buy new. He supports this mission by operating a small appliance repair shop to keep those coffee machines, toaster ovens and other small appliances working in tip top condition.
Please join Gordy follow his "heart" by pitching in to repair your appliances and give them a new life.
Our Story
Gordon has spent his life designing, building and maintaining complex systems. In his career, he has been an engineer, chief technical officer, project manager and product manager. He has worked on fiber optic digital telecommunications systems, built cable TV digital video systems, developed and certified digital TV applications, implemented operating systems on cable and satellite TV boxes, helped standardize and develop time-sensitive Ethernet products, designed and built custom cars, and managed and developed systems based on Internet of Things architectures. Across this wide spectrum of activity he has kept a common thread: Understanding how systems work and using that knowledge to design, implement and maintain them.
In addition to his professional career in engineering, Gordy has been tearing apart things his whole life to better understand them, re-build them and make them new again. From wobbly yard furniture built from his father's scrap wood pile, to repairing bikes for himself and his friends, torebuilding a first-period colonial house (originally built in 1656), and on to keeping several households and shops operational, Gordon has been fiddling with gadgets for his whole life. He loves it. And he's good at it. Gordy retired in fall of 2024 and continued his passion for understanding and working on technology by starting his own repair business, 720Repair. In this new endeavor he is focused on expanding the philosophy of repair to the greater Santa Fe community. His company provides instruction and encouragement for folks to repair their stuff rather than dispose of it and buy new. He supports this mission by operating a small appliance repair shop to keep those coffee machines, toaster ovens and other small appliances working in tip top condition.
Please join Gordy follow his "heart" by pitching in to repair your appliances and give them a new life.
Gordon has spent his life designing, building and maintaining complex systems. In his career, he has been an engineer, chief technical officer, project manager and product manager. He has worked on fiber optic digital telecommunications systems, built cable TV digital video systems, developed and certified digital TV applications, implemented operating systems on cable and satellite TV boxes, helped standardize and develop time-sensitive Ethernet products, designed and built custom cars, and managed and developed systems based on Internet of Things architectures. Across this wide spectrum of activity he has kept a common thread: Understanding how systems work and using that knowledge to design, implement and maintain them. In addition to his professional career in engineering, Gordy has been tearing apart things his whole life to better understand them, re-build them and make them new again. From wobbly yard furniture built from his father's scrap wood pile, to repairing bikes for himself and his friends, to rebuilding a first-period colonial house (originally built in 1656), and on to keeping several households and shops operational, Gordon has been fiddling with gadgets for his whole life. He loves it. And he's good at it. Gordy retired in fall of 2024 and continued his passion for understanding and working on technology by starting his own repair business, 720Repair. In this new endeavor he is focused on expanding the philosophy of repair to the greater Santa Fe community. His company provides instruction and encouragement for folks to repair their stuff rather than dispose of it and buy new. He supports this mission by operating a small appliance repair shop to keep those coffee machines, toaster ovens and other small appliances working in tip top condition. Please join Gordy follow his "heart" by pitching in to repair your appliances and give them a new life. Beyond his professional expertise, Gordy has been passionate about repair since childhood. Whether rebuilding bikes, restoring a colonial house, or fixing household gadgets, he’s always found joy in taking things apart, learning from them, and making them new again. In fall 2024, Gordy retired and founded 720 Repair, a business dedicated to spreading the philosophy of repair to the Santa Fe community. Through his small appliance repair shop, he encourages others to fix rather than dispose, helping to extend the life of everyday items and reduce waste. Join Gordy in giving your appliances a new life and embracing the power of repair