I started the earliest iteration of BPC in 2013 while teaching preschool-aged kids at a local discovery museum. At that time BPC was called Belle Hutchins, a tribute to my grandmother, and was more about good fabrics, colors and design. 

My first job at the museum was facilitating an art class for 2-4 year olds. I learned immediately that kids learn through their senses, that childhood is so cool because children are present in their bodies! I noticed how they reacted differently to sensory experiences; one could love rubbing their hands in slimy paint while another might touch it and begin to cry. One particular boy could not tolerate his sleeves getting bunched up under his jacket and would say "something's wrong”until his sleeves were pulled down (poor guy!). For him everything felt wrong because his body was uncomfortable! These young people taught me that life, in its most basic form, is a series of sensory events. We experience life through our particular physical bodies.   

Belle Hutchins became Body Philosophy Club when I started sourcing clothing from actual people's estates, from people who spent many years of their lives in the Bay Area. This often feels like interacting with the other end of a lifetime. And has always felt particularly special because this place is changing so quickly. Now a big part of this project is merging what I've learned from kids with what I am learning about adulthood and what I see and feel when encountering the objects that people leave behind when they pass away or transition out of their homes. 

I should say: I have never been in a club! I have never really understood philosophy! And I most often feel some level of discomfort about existing in a body! I do this because I enjoy making a place for people to find clothes that help them feel more like themselves.

Come visit us!

- Belle Bueti