Meet the producer giving discarded film props a second act
In November, I got the chance to sit down with Kate Allan, co-founder of the Brixton-based PropUp Project, an incredible organisation who recycle and repurpose used film and TV props.
Behind the scenes of the entertainment industry lies a show-stopping secret: its role as an A-list polluter. According to industry reports, the average television show or movie in 2022 generated around 240 tons of waste – enough to fill over 90,000 cinema popcorn bags.
Of this waste, half came from the disposal of props, sets, and costumes. In fact, the first thing Kate Allan, 37, noticed when she began her career in the television industry as a runner was the overflowing prop cupboards. From barely worn costumes to brand new furniture, her task was to organise items that would likely end up in the landfill.
“Living in London, you walk past a lot of people sleeping rough,” Allan says, speaking to me from her office in Brixton. “And there’s the stark comparison with these bulging props cupboards. There’s so much stuff that hasn’t been used or won’t be used ever again.”
When Covid brought television production to a standstill, Allan, now a producer in comedy entertainment, found her chance to pursue an idea she’d been thinking about her entire career. Teaming up with co-founder Emma Chaplin, 36, she launched PropUp Project in 2021, redistributing sets, props, and costumes to those in need.
Their first client was a production company they’d worked with, who paid them to clear out a storage unit in Somers Town. “We didn’t know anything about it, but it turned out to be one of the most deprived areas of London,” she says. “It became quickly apparent that these items could benefit so many different charities right on the unit’s doorstep.”
By February 2022, Allan and Chaplin quit their producer jobs and gave themselves six months to get PropUp off the ground – they were successful. The Brixton-based company is now approaching its fourth year, and recently took home the Sustainable Impact prize at the BeLambeth Awards.
It was important to Allan, who has lived in Brixton for ten years, that the local community benefit from PropUp. “We bring items back from wherever we’ve been, and people deliver stuff to us, which then go out to the Lambeth community,” she says. “When you work and live here, and you love Lambeth so much, these are the people we think of first. It’s close to our hearts.”
One of Allan’s most memorable jobs is kitting out a carer’s common room, where busy local carers could come on their breaks to be together in a warm, welcoming space. PropUp rescued sofas, plants, and decorations from production studios, but also MDF and timber from set flats, which were used to build the structure of the space.
After 13 years in television production, where even the smallest prop can help tell a story, Allan understands how ordinary items can make a big difference. PropUp has donated over 28,000 items nationwide, from furniture from the set of The Big Breakfast to boxes of belts. “We had this large box of belts that would have been from extras,” she says. They donated them to Ace of Clubs, a homeless charity in Clapham, who explained that belts were like ‘gold dust’ to them, because homeless people could make donated trousers, which are often the wrong size, fit more comfortably. “It was quite an eye-opening discovery. Just something like a box of belts went so far.”
Beyond donating props, PropUp regularly welcomes the local community to explore their Brixton office, where they store an array of costumes and accessories from past productions.
They have had people from refugee charities and Bounce Back, who help with the rehabilitation of ex-offenders into work, come to get a hold of smart clothes for job interviews. Allan describes this as almost a shopping experience. “Everyone has a favourite colour or style, and they get to come in and choose what they like, which is sadly a privilege for them.”
In December, PropUp hosted its second ‘Twelve Props of Christmas’ sale, offering Londoners a chance to purchase a piece of film and television history (while I’m curious about specific titles, Allan explains that most are protected by NDAs). Their inaugural event raised over £1000 for the organisation, supporting them in continuing their vital outreach.
“It’s a really inclusive, caring community in Lambeth, and I’m so proud to have started PropUp here,” Allan says. While switching career sectors wasn’t initially on the cards for her, she credits PropUp’s success to the locals around her. “It makes me a bit emotional, because I can’t see us going anywhere else. There’s a lot of good going on behind the scenes.”
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