Time for a rebirth in bricolage

Bricolage, in case you don't know, is a fancy French word for tinkering, fixing or doing-it-yourself. And I think it's time for a rebirth in bricolage.

Tell me this hasn't happend to you: you buy a new VCR or DVD player. Right after the warranty runs out, like clockwork, said product stops working. You take it to a repair shop. They say, "It'll cost more to fix it than buy a new one." So what do you do? I know what I do. I buy a new one.

So that brings me back to bricolage. I've been tinkering with a lot of things lately. I've been resisting the urge to run out to a big box store and buy new things every time something breaks. Recently the folding handle on my hair dryer broke. The blower part still worked fine, but it was like blowing my hair with a wet noodle. Don't tell my husband he's right, but dang, if that wasn't fixed with a little bit of duct tape.

Now I know I don't have the expertise to go and fix my VCR. But maybe I should just pay the guy to fix it next time instead of buying a new one. For now I'll do what I can on little projects with Captain Duct Tape. I do enjoy the resourcefulness and creativity it takes.

What do you think about fixing, tinkering and bricolage? What are some of the things you've repaired on your own instead of replacing? Any professional bricoleurs you'd recommend?