"We didn't want kids to just make something. We wanted them to understand why making something from what already exists is the most radical, joyful act they can choose."

Summer Holidays! Two words that usually send parents into a mild panic and kids into a whirlwind of boundless energy! This year, we channeled all of it — the chaos, the creativity, the noise — into something that genuinely matters. We took our Fashion Upcycle Camp on the road across London. And then, in a finale that still makes us a little emotional, we ventured beyond the city to the Turner Contemporary in Margate!

Here's what happened!

The Idea: A Camp That Travels

At Chillie Kids Club, we believe every child should have access to creative, hands-on experiences that connect them to the world around them. Not just the shiny, new-packaged version, but the real, messy, wonderful one full of things waiting to be reimagined! Our Fashion Upcycle Camp is the fullest expression of that belief. This summer, we asked ourselves: what if we didn’t just run workshops in one place? What if we brought the camp to the communities where children actually live? So that’s exactly what we did! Six locations. Six rooms full of vintage fabric, old buttons, unwanted denim, and kids who had absolutely no idea what they were about to create!

THE SUMMER TOUR — ALL SIX STOPS:

01 Portobello Road - Our Flagship, Notting Hill

02 Leyton - East London

03 180 Strand - Central London

04 Peckham - South London

05 Walthamstow - North East London

06 Clapton - Hackney

Every session looked different because every community is unique! In Peckham, kids raided our vintage haberdashery trays with the focus of seasoned market traders. In Walthamstow, we had a group of eight-year-olds debating colour palettes with a seriousness usually reserved for professional designers. At 180 Strand, surrounded by the building's epic industrial bones, the energy was electric — big space, big ideas, big mess! We loved every second of it!

Why Sustainability Isn't a Buzzword — It's the Point

Let’s be honest: the fashion industry has a problem! It’s one of the most polluting industries on the planet. The fast fashion model has trained an entire generation to see clothes as disposable. Buy it. Wear it once. Bin it. Repeat.

At Chillie Kids Club, we think the most powerful thing we can do is interrupt that cycle! And the best time to interrupt it is early. When a seven-year-old spends an afternoon turning a worn-out jacket into something they’re genuinely proud to wear, something shifts in them. It’s no longer just a jacket. It’s evidence of their own creativity! And once you know you can make something beautiful from what already exists, you start to look at the world differently.

That’s not a small thing! That’s a whole new relationship with stuff — with materials, with value, with waste. We teach children that things don’t have to be new to be worthwhile. That making is more meaningful than buying. That sustainability doesn’t mean sacrifice; it means imagination!

We align every session with the school curriculum — Design & Technology, Geography, Science, PSHE — because we believe this work belongs inside children’s education, not just as a holiday activity! The world these kids are inheriting needs them to think like this. We’re just giving them the tools!

And Then — OUT OF LONDON

A Pop-Up at Turner Contemporary, Margate

We’ve always known that what we do belongs in cultural spaces — alongside art, alongside ideas, alongside conversations that matter! So when the opportunity came to pop-up at Turner Contemporary in Margate over Half Term, it felt less like a surprise and more like an inevitability! Turner Contemporary is one of the UK’s most beloved galleries, perched at the edge of the sea in a town that’s become one of the most creatively alive places in Britain. It was the perfect setting for what Chillie Kids Club is really about: the idea that creativity is not a luxury, not a school subject, not something reserved for the few — it is a right, and it belongs to everyone, everywhere!

Children from the local area joined us for a full upcycling session, working with vintage trims, repurposed fabrics, and haberdashery sourced from our collection. The sea light through those gallery windows, the sound of scissors and chatter, and the occasional shout of “I’ve finished mine!” — it was one of those afternoons we’ll be talking about for a long time! This was our first connection to Turner Contemporary, and we’re very much hoping it won’t be our last. Watch this space!

Are We London’s Hottest Kids Club Right Now?

We’re going to be modest for approximately one sentence and then stop: we think something genuinely special is happening with Chillie Kids Club, and we’re not the only ones who think so!

In one half term, we ran workshops across six London postcodes and closed out at a nationally recognised arts institution on the Kent coast! We worked with kids from Notting Hill to Hackney, from Peckham to the seaside. We made hundreds of one-of-a-kind pieces from things that might otherwise have ended up in landfill. And we did it with a team that believes, deeply and without irony, that what we’re building matters!

The hottest kids club in London? We’ll let you decide! But we’d argue that a children’s workshop that spans postcodes, partners with world-class galleries, and sends kids home with something they made — and something they’ve learned — is doing something that no screen, no soft play, and no themed party package can touch!

We’re Just Getting Started!

Summer is coming! Book your spot now!