our story
Madina Clothing began from an idea Emma and Amie had whilst in the Gambia volunteering at the charity WYCE. After seeing first-hand the great work WYCE do for the locals they knew they wanted to help further. Both Emma and Amie had clothes hand-made by the local tailor whilst on their trip, these clothes received much love from friends and family back home. They then realised there was a gap in the market for Western style clothes made from beautiful African fabrics.... this is when they asked me to get involved. They told me all about the great work WYCE do for the local community and showed me the clothes they had made... how could i say no?!
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The idea
So our plan was to get clothes and jewellery made in the Gambia and sell them at festivals around the UK, donating 10% of our profits to the charity WYCE. In doing so we would not only help the charity WYCE but we would also create an income for the local businesses in and around the village of Madina; including the fabric supplier, tailor and jeweller. We also brought fabric back to the UK as Amie is a very talented seamstress and she would make a range of accessories for us to sell too.
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Becoming a business
Madina Clothing was set up to help the charity, that was always the main objective. We hadn't imagined we could take it that step further and create a business... That was until we discovered The SPEED Plus project. SPEED Plus is a six month business start-up project part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), who aim to help create new businesses in the West Midlands. As Emma was a student at Coventry University we were eligible to apply for the grant. After submitting our business plan and completing an 'XFactor' type audition, where we presented our case, we were extremely proud to be accepted. The course not only supplied us with the funding to buy our market stall and equipment, it also gave us the opportunity to attend workshops which, furthermore, gave us the confidence to start our business.
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Festivals
Our first summer together as Madina Clothing saw use attend seven different festivals and events. We had such great feedback from our customers that we knew we were on to a winner! Many people ask us how they could stay in touch away from the events and thats when we realised we needed a website... so here we are!
To say we are proud of where we are now is an understatement, not only do we love what we are doing, we are helping people in return. This is all possible thanks to our fantastic customers, we are truly grateful to you all and you should also feel proud. You're not only buying new clothes, you're helping others, you're...
MAKING CLOTHES MATTER.
Thank you for taking the time to visit our website.
Love Claire x