Around 1988, when I was five years old, my father came home with a VHS of a film I had been stubbornly refusing to let him rent for months. I didn’t care if it had a “huge ewok” in it, like the ones on the cartoon series I watched, I didn’t want to see a film chosen by my father. The film of course was Star Wars, and after a few more protests (“I told you I didn’t want to watch that!”) the film was put on. Moments later, as Darth Vader made his entrance in the opening scenes, I was hooked for life.

My collecting started out with the vintage toy line as I was hungry to recreate the adventures I had seen on screen. As I grew older and started to attend shows and conventions in the search for the final items to complete my toy collection, I noticed a few actors would regularly attend these events. In 1998, at Empire Day IX in Cheshunt, England, I took my first step into a larger world and began a Star Wars autograph collection.

More than 15 years later, that collection has expanded into what you see on these pages, encompassing not just Star Wars but other film and television franchises I fell in love with along the way. Collecting has been a wonderful journey, I have had the privilege of spending time with many of the people who created these films and their personal stories and history continue to fascinate me. I have worked behind the scenes for various conventions and spent several years working for the Kurtz/Joiner Archive, set up by ANH and ESB producer Gary Kurtz to preserve artefacts from his films and career.

About this site

The site’s name has several meanings. It is the title of the first episode of the Star Wars radio drama, which is one of my favourite pieces of Star Wars and ranks above several of the films in my opinion. The episode expands Luke Skywalker’s back story and includes the infamous scenes between him and Biggs Darklighter that were cut from the film. A transcript of these scenes, signed by Garrick Hagon, was my first ever signed item from Star Wars, won in an auction at Empire Day IX in 1998. Finally, what better way is there to describe the 40+ year phenomenon that is Star Wars? A film that changed Hollywood forever and continues to capture the imaginations of children and adults alike. Star Wars surely was A Wind To Shake The Stars.