Harry Potter memorabilia going under the hammer for Epilepsy Society

Michele Finch, co-founder of toffs.com, the replica football shirt company, has pledged to donate 10 per cent of the proceeds of an auction of film and music memorabilia to Epilepsy Society. The items include original dress making patterns for Quidditch outfits designed for Harry Potter actors, gold discs featuring recording artists including Billy Ocean and radio interview tapes with Sir Elton John. The auction takes place on 28 February at Ewbank Auctions in Surrey.

A long-time supporter of Epilepsy Society, Michele, 64, was first diagnosed with absence seizures when she was 11 years old. She recalls that while parents took her to the see the doctor, her epilepsy was never discussed at home, and she was encouraged not to talk about it. Michele was able to manage her epilepsy successfully for many years taking medication. While she didn’t like to tell people about having epilepsy, she did notice that stress could trigger seizures. 

 She co-founded https://www.toffs.com/ in 1990 with her former husband Alan who had been a music promoter. Their shirts appeared widely on TV including Eastenders, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks and many football clubs stock them. 

Eleven years ago, when the business was going through a hard time and her marriage was breaking down, Michele experienced a huge seizure and ended up in hospital for over a week. As she had not been able to get help until her youngest son had returned home, she had been waiting for 18-20 hours before getting medical attention. 

This has had a massive impact on Michele as she experienced considerable memory loss, has depression and can no longer drive. Following her seizure she had to retire from the business. Michele misses the cut and thrust of running her own company but she now needs to live, as she describes it, a calm and simple life. 

Fundraising is also a family affair as Michele’s son Tom took part in Ride London to raise money for Epilepsy Society in 2018. 

Asked what inspired her to raise money for Epilepsy Society, Michele said: “The charity does marvellous work making people realise that epilepsy is a life-long condition. I want to challenge stereotypes that you thrash around if you have a seizure. 

“I used to hide my epilepsy but now I want more people to talk about it, to learn about the many different types of seizures there are and how it is so individual.”

Deborah Bourne, Director of Fundraising and Marketing at Epilepsy Society said: “We really appreciate Michele’s support and generosity in donating 10 per cent of the auction proceeds to Epilepsy Society. It’s a fascinating collection of entertainment memorabilia and we hope that lots of people want to bid on the items. 

You can find out more about the items up for auction today at Ewbank Auctions