The Restart Project was born in 2013 out of our frustration with the throwaway, consumerist model of electronics that we’ve been sold, and the growing mountain of e-waste that it’s leaving behind. By bringing people together to share skills and gain the confidence to open up their stuff, we give people a hands-on way of making a difference, as well as a way to talk about the wider issue of what kind of products we want.

Fiona Dear (she/her) is Co-Director, UK Strategy and Operations at Restart Project. Fiona is a long time climate campaigner and particularly loves community campaigning. She tries to buy nothing new so is into upcycling and repair, she gets a bit obsessive about her upcycled bathtub pond in spring and organises a local playstreet. Fiona leads on UK campaigning and operations at Restart.

Mark Phillips is a photographer based near London, UK. His photography is largely focussed on ‘constructive’ stories about people and groups taking action to address societal problems; emphasis being on the environment and sustainability. Current projects focus on the importance of repair and reuse as a response to waste and to creating a more sustainable future. 

He originally studied engineering, has a PhD researching innovation and social ecosystems, developing multi-perspective approaches to understanding emerging and complex systems. That research now informs his  photography projects. His work has been published online and in print in various major newspapers and magazines and at exhibitions in UK, Europe and USA.

Mark is a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society (FRPS).  He is currently Chair of the Documentary group of the Royal Photographic Society.