Episode 41 Sandra Goldmark – Fixup and Fixation

About Sandra Goldmark

Sandra Goldmark is a designer, teacher, and entrepreneur whose work focuses on circular economy solutions to overconsumption and climate change. She is an Associate Professor of Professional Practice in Theatre and the Director of Campus Sustainability and Climate Action at Barnard College, and the author of Fixation: How to Have Stuff Without Breaking the Planet. Fixation uses a series of objects she fixed in her pop up repair shops to chart a clear path to a more sustainable and equitable pattern of consumption for individuals and businesses. Sandra has designed sets and costumes for theatres around the country, and is a co-author of the Sustainable Production Toolkit, a comprehensive guide for theatres to implement circular and sustainable design and production practices. In 2013, Sandra founded Fixup (formerly Pop Up Repair) and began operating short term repair shops, and educational repair and reuse events, around New York City. Fixup employs local theatre artists, stagehands, and technicians to repair broken household items, diverted over 10,000 pounds of goods from landfills, and has received coverage in the New York Times, BBC, MSNBC, Wall Street Journal, WNYC, and Salon.com. Sandra asserts that our massive, global system of consumption — our use-and-discard culture — is broken. She wants to make it easy for people to take care of what they have, reduce waste from new manufacturing, and create local jobs. Sandra has a BA in American History and Literature from Harvard College, and an MFA in Design from Yale School of Drama. www.sandragoldmark.com