Hi, I'm Annie, the founder of Memories in Music. This is the story of how, and why, the company was created. To tell it properly, I'll have to take you on a little trip, back to when I learned to love music, because that is where Memories in Music really began. Music became a passion of mine early in life, and it all started with one man.

When I was 8 years old I walked into my grandmother's living room and heard the most amazing music coming from the stereo. It was so powerful I completely forgot why I had come in from playing outside and just stood there awestruck. It only took a few seconds of listening before I figured out the reason for my awe - it was the guitar playing. I was so mesmerised by it I walked over and sat down in front of the speaker to be as near as I could so I wouldn't miss a single note. It affected me so deeply I didn't move for the whole album, and I remember wishing that I could crawl inside the speakers to be nearer to this magical guitar. It felt like discovering a treasure box full of sparkling and beautiful jewels, and it was all mine!

All these years later, I still feel that way. My childhood wasn't great, and this music meant the world to me. It tapped into all my emotions and let me express them, it made me dream of better things, and gave me a love of life, which are amazing gifts to receive when you are trapped in very difficult circumstances. I promised myself that one day I would find a way to thank this guitar player for the incredible talent he shared with the world because it made a big difference to me.

That magical guitar belonged to Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page. Jimmy gave me so much with his playing. His music made even the most awful moments brighter, and through him, I learned to love a wide variety of music because whenever he mentioned something that he liked, or was influenced by, of course I was on the case to buy it! He was the person who opened the door to a musical universe and gave me so much joy; but he always remained the brightest star in that universe.

"I always take a chance, I can't just play safe. Dancing on the edge of the precipice...you gotta live like that. Better to live one day as a lion than a thousand years as a lamb, y'know?"

- Jimmy Page

Apart from the music, my other great joy was to hear the stories of fans that had seen Led Zeppelin live, something which I was never able to do. Over the years, I talked to many fans and saw their memorabilia. I loved every minute I could spend listening to their stories and seeing what they had kept - tickets, flyers, programmes, T-shirts, badges - I was fascinated. Those fans made me feel like I was a part of their experience when they shared those things with me.

Now fast forward to 2008. It is the 40th anniversary of Led Zeppelin's formation, and I decided it was high time I made good on my wish to thank my hero Jimmy. I thought of all the fun times I had looking at the fans' memorabilia, and so I organised an exhibit of Led Zeppelin memorabilia. I knew other Zeppelin fans would love seeing it just like I had. I wanted a venue that had a connection to Led Zeppelin for the display, which I knew would be difficult, but my search ended when much to my delight, Knebworth House, the place where Zeppelin had played in 1979, donated the use of their family library to me for the exhibit. They also graciously let it run for an entire month. Collectors from here in the UK, the USA, and Europe loaned me their treasures, wonderful fans came to see it, and fantastic people donated items for me to sell to raise money for charity. Two very special people also helped, two other heroes from my childhood - Zacron, the artist who created the cover of Led Zeppelin III, and the photographer Frank Melfi. When I was young I spent hours playing with the wheel on LZ III, and gazing at the concert photos taken by Frank Melfi, daydreaming. They both contributed to make the event a success and their involvement was so amazing for me! I didn't think it could get any better, but it did when Jimmy himself signed a painting and an entertainment system that had been donated for contest prizes - I was over the moon!!! I decided giving to charity in Jimmy's honour was a great way to thank him for what he had given me, so the profits went to charity. The whole event was amazing and I was so glad I took the risk to do it despite being very nervous about the whole thing because I had never done anything like it before.

"I don't know what it is, when you hear something, a musical work, and something appeals to you in it, you say, 'Well I really like that' but what is it? It's a certain magical thing about it. That's what I'm trying for in a musical way - to produce something that will reduce someone to tears or make them very happy."

"It's the fans that create the magic, not us the musicians."

- Jimmy Page

After the success of that event, I received many emails and phone calls from people who wanted me to do it again, and many offers of help. I started thinking that if so many people had enjoyed this exhibit, fans of other musicians would enjoy a tribute to their favourites too. I thought of all the money that could be raised on behalf of charities if I could organise this fan power, and so I decided to make the Led Zeppelin 40th Anniversary Tribute into a non profit company and keep going. The title of my Knebworth Exhibit was 'Memories in Music', which became the name of the company.

I'm really looking forward to recreating our experience at Knebworth that summer for fans of other musicians, and leaving a fan archive behind full of their stories and their memorabilia for fans of the future. I know in the future there will be a sad and scared little girl like me, who will one day happen upon Jimmy and his magic guitar playing, or some other music that will reach her, and it will change her whole life for the better. She'll want to hear the stories I heard, and see the memorabilia I saw. Whatever I can leave behind for her and all fans, that's what Memories in Music is all about - and to thank Jimmy Page. All the activities of Memories in Music are dedicated to him, and will benefit Task Brasil's Casa Jimmy in his honour. Thanks Jimmy.

"So many people are frightened to take a chance in life and there's so many chances you have to take. You can't just find yourself doing something and not happy doing it. If you're working at the factory and you're cursing every day that you get up, at all costs get out of it. You'll just make yourself ill. That's why I say I'm very fortunate because I love what I'm doing. Seeing people's faces...makes me incredibly happy. Genuinely."