I first got interested in memorabilia and autographs when my Grandfather took me to my first Newcastle football match as it was Kevin Keegans debut v QPR. He asked if I wanted to wait afterwards as we could meet the players when they came out. We waited and then they all came out and they all kindly signed our programmes before heading home.
This got me hooked and from that moment on I must have got thousands of autographs over my teenage years on every programme and photo I could get my hands on.
I collected autographs from that point and over the years have gained valuable experience in collecting, including harsh lessons of being conned when I was younger.
I evolved this passion more through my thirties and into my forties as I started hosting my own events with celebs and attending signing events with the stars. It is at these events that I have got to know a select few trusted memorabilia dealers and agents whom I would go to for help.
My “hobby” became so big that it had to become a sideline business years ago as I was starting to provide items for charity auctions and corporate events and I have always loved the side of the business where I can give an item for free to someone who isn’t expecting it or where I know it will make a real difference.
I am lucky enough to have worked in the charity sector for over 15 years now in fundraising and I have seen the very positive impact my donations and items have made over the years. (See my charity and community page)
I want to use my passion in memorabilia to search and find the best items to then create fantastic displays for people to purchase and keep forever as they are generally good investment pieces, but obviously this is never guaranteed.
The biggest concern everyone has and quite rightly is around authenticity but wrongly too many people think that if it comes with a certificate of authenticity it must be real which is quite wrong because anyone could print a certificate out when you think about it. The key is to buy from a trusted source and don’t be shy to ask any questions. I am always happy to answer questions and I suggest that people walk away if they are still in any doubt.
I obtain a lot of my signatures myself via private signings but I also utilise a very small number of very trusted suppliers who host signings themselves with the stars.
I will also look at the top reputable auction houses in the UK and USA but you need to be careful with auction houses also as many don’t have or seek expert authentication so quite often fake stuff goes through auction (the ones I use have in house authentication teams).
I have been doing this long enough now to know what I am doing but I am not an expert as I am always learning but I use experts if I am in doubt as the last thing I want is to buy or offer something that isn’t right.
This site is a glimpse into what I do and I am trying to get a range of items to cover most tastes but this will take time so please let me know if something you are looking for isn’t there yet (see my brokerage page)
I spend so many hours researching items and I always enjoy the end result, unless I miss out on something I wanted.
I have learned over the years that there is no such thing as cheap when looking for the higher end memorabilia but there is good value, especially around future value or value once made up into a beautiful display.
You will see on this site that there are many displays where an autograph page has been made up into a large framed display and this is where the skill comes in because it is quite easy to do this wrong.