I started my record collection after getting a paper round aged 12 - now I have my own store

Claire, who moved from Dorset to Pelsall, Walsall more than three decades ago made her hobby a profession when she was 23 by wheelin' and deelin' in record fairs - before making the jump and setting up her own store in South Wales before brining it to the Black Country.

The veteran wax-dealer has been an ever-present in the city for the last 13 years, with her most recent store being located on Cleveland St, Wolverhampton, but before that was jetting around the world selling at record fairs and shows across Europe and even in the USA.

Speaking to the Express & Star earlier this week, Claire said that she'd built a loyal customer-base in the city, some who have been coming to the shop for decades and others who are new and regularly visit to add to their collection.

One of the best parts of the job - she said - is when one of her regulars asks for something that's a tough find due to how rare it is, and weeks or days later she delivers and manages to track the item down for them, noting it as a 'special moment'.

But it's not all sunshine and rainbows, as she sad some can get quite competitive for her stock and occasionally multiple people will be after the same record so she'll have sell it to whoever saw it first - while reminding customers to create a 'wish-list' and give it to her.

The wish-list is the customer's most sought-after records, and when Claire knows what it is she makes sure to do her upmost to get each one ticked off, but she 'can't do it' if she doesn't know.

A veteran in the city and a passionate collector, Claire said she enjoys her job so much because she's a customer as well, a collector just like her regulars and understands the passion involved in snagging memorabilia that matters for it's sentimental value.

She said: "For me this all started when I was 12. I got my first paper-round and they paid me £4.50 a week which was amazing because it meant I could pop to Woolworths and get a £3.50 record, that's really where my collection began.

"But funnily enough I did not really care who the artist was at the time, I loved the art, I loved picture disks so I would just buy the vinyl that looked the most interesting to me.

"I sort of had to start buying my own vinyl at that age because the only other person who had it was my brother and he wouldn't never let me see his, so I had find a way to make my own money.

"Now of course over time I found my music taste, I 100 per cent had my Madonna phase but Rock music really stood out the most to me - and what was even better was that usually Rock artists had the best designs on their vinyl so it was a win-win.

"Things got more serious when I was sort of 18 or 19. I would do record fairs to sell and swap my collection to increase it. If I could find two of the same records on the cheap I would buy them both and make my money back by selling one of them.

"Around 23 years old I opened by own shop in South Wales, then I did record fairs in Holland, Sweden and the US. Then I moved to the Pelsall, in Walsall, before deciding that I wanted to have a base again."

Once Claire decided that, she started making plans and bought a stall in Wolverhampton's Indoor Market 13 years ago, before sharing a shop with a 'chap' who sold vintage clothing and then opened Vinyl & Vintage.

Claire, said: "The process was somewhat straightforward, money is obvious, you need a good amount to start a business. But in the vinyl game you really need to know your customers, you need to know what music they like and whether or not you can get it.

"It was a big commitment but I'm very glad I took the risk because here we are today 13 years later."

One of the more-popular collectables nowadays is original posters, which Claire herself said is something she had really become passionate about collecting.

She said: "Posters are getting more and more popular, people seem to really like having those original pieces, it's about having and owning the real thing, ones that were hung up in the 1980's. There is just something about having the authentic art work from the time when it was produced.

"When you collect for a while and you have all the records, you ask yourself 'Ok, what's next?' and that's when things like posters and autographs come into the picture.

"Just be careful with autographs, the internet is full of fakes, all of ours have evidence and video evidence in some cases."

Customers chop and change, people move away, become less interested or just reach the peak of their collection, but that has not stopped or slowed down Claire's business, with decade-long regulars and younger audiences coming to the shop.

Claire said it's partly because of the variety of things the shop has to offer which can hit different demographics and keep customers coming back to see what is new and in stock.

She said: "Young collectors split into two categories, some come for the bargains and want to take advantage of the 15 records for a tenner deal to go home and play them all. Others just want to own the record before and won't even own a player.

"But for me, that is brilliant. Some just want to own the art and listen to the song on their computer. I think that's absolutely fine, They are still learning about vinyl.

"My regulars? I know what they collect and they come for the more unique finds. They have all the albums and now they want the limited edition Japanese pressed colour record which may have only been released once when the album first came out, and I do everything I can to deliver."