Thelma Madine

Thelma Roseina Madine-Akin
Born 1953 (age 64–65)
Liverpool, United Kingdom
Occupation Dressmaker, Wedding Plannee, TV personality
Television Big Fat Gypsy Weddings
My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding
[Thelma's Gypsy Girls]

Ms. Thelma Madine-Akin is a wedding dressmaker born in Liverpool. She rose to fame after appearing as the gypsy wedding dressmaker in My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, a Channel 4 documentary on Irish Travellers as they prepare for marriage. She is best known for her outlandish creations, including a palm tree wedding gown with Swarovski crystals.[1][2]

Early life and education

Thelma Madine grew up in Croxteth, Liverpool with her older brother, Tom. Her father was an engineer and her mother worked in catering. After she left school, she worked in wedding catering with her mother. At 18, she married Kenny Madine, a businessman with a successful glass company, and the couple had three children: Kenneth, Tracey and Hayley Thelma and Kenny divorced in 1999. Thelma remarried a year later in 2000, to Peter Akin their marriage was short lived and they divorced shortly after. With two divorces under her belt Thelma was low on money, so with a loan from her aunt, her divorce settlement money and savings she set up her wedding dress shop, Thelma has in recent years progressed to offering wedding planning services . Thelma continues to use her first husband surname in order to share the same name as her children. [1]

Career

With help from her mother and husband, Madine set up her own chain of children's clothing shops in 1982 called Madine's Miniatures in the Liverpool area. Business took off when she began designing Communion outfits, but a few years later business disintegrated and she was forced to close shop. In 1996, she managed to resurrect her business with financial help from her aunt and a business partner. She set up a stall in Paddy's Market still selling Communion clothes, specialising in christening outfits for girls. Madine's designs were inspired by the elaborateness of historical outfits. In 1997, a traveller woman who frequented her stall and had become her friend asked Madine to make a wedding dress for her daughter. After that, she received more requests and gradually attracted the attention of the media, including Jenny Popplewell, the creator and developer of Big Fat Gypsy Weddings.[1]

My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding

Madine initially declined invitations to appear on the Channel 4 show, My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, as she had done something similar in 2007 and did not like the way the traveller community had been portrayed. Eventually she agreed and the show became a success.[3]

Writing

In 2012, Madine published a book, Tales of the Gypsy Dressmaker, about her experiences with the traveller community.[3]

Figurines

In 2014, she teamed up with The English Ladies Co, china figurines designers based in Stoke-on-Trent, to create a range of figurines called Gypsy Wedding Dreams. Each figurine is inspired by Madine's wedding dress designs, and individually handmade by artisans, hence the unique appearance and high attention to detail.[4][5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 McKay, Caragh (10 March 2012). "The woman behind the Big Fat Gypsy Wedding dresses". The Telegraph. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  2. ↑ Donnelly, Sophie (5 April 2012). "Big Fat Gypsy Wedding dressmaker Thelma Madine My failed marriage sparked my empire". Daily Express. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  3. 1 2 Lee, Susan (29 February 2012). "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding Dressmaker Thelma Madine lifts the lid on her life". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  4. ↑ "New range of 'gypsy wedding' figurines launched by Camal Enterprises". Stoke Sentinel. 12 November 2014. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  5. ↑ "Gypsy Wedding Dreams Figurines". English Ladies Co. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
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