Tell us a little about yourself.
I studied Materials Science in Oxford University and I’m still finding my way, career-wise. What I’d like to do is design and invent interesting products, so I spend lots of time in hackspaces working on prototypes.
When did you start repairing electronics and electricals?
My secondary school science teacher had given me a soldering iron when I did an after school electronics class. I still have it today and bring it to every Restart Party. It helped me replace a capacitor in an LCD monitor being discarded at uni. If there was a broken electronics item in the house it was a good exercise to break it open and deduce how it works. This sort of curiosity helps with fault finding skills.
Why do you attend Restart Parties?
I love helping people, I love learning and I love solving a puzzle. At Restart Parties I can do all three at the same time. I have made some great friends amongst the regular Restarters and it’s awesome to meet up and see how they’re getting on.
What is your favourite kind of repair?
I like hacks. They may not be pretty, and it’s a bit of a grey area for repair, but it’s cool to use the tools at your disposal and some creative ingenuity to improve something. Those fixes leave me with a good feeling.
What do you do when you are not Restarting?
I spend a few evenings in an open workspace/hackspace in my area. Use the few hours to develop something I’m working on that might use an arduino. I have a wild imagination with many ideas I’d like to explore, I hope one day I can use some of them to earn money.
What frustrates you (in life)?
Indifference. People don’t seem to care about things, especially litter and waste. A simple thing like hanging onto your rubbish until you get to a bin is not difficult.
What gets you out of bed in the morning?
A day that is different from my yesterday. It harder to keep sane when everything is the same (that could be a quote or something). A day where I exercise my brain cells and produce something creative is a good day.
What’s the first thing – one material thing – that you could not live without? (besides oxygen, food, water, and shelter and medical care)
My phone, but more so access to the internet. It’s the easiest way for me to learn something new.
Share something cool with us [preferably a link]
Here’s an instructable project I like: “Laser Cut Record”
Excellent interview, Faraz is a cool dude, met him at Create Space and he has got some great ideas and projects, love the laser cut record project too! Thanks