Two years ago, I became a Potterhead. I’ll admit that, growing up, witches, wizards and the like were taboo in my house. Things like Dungeons and Dragons were outlawed from even really being discussed. When Harry Potter first debuted in September of ’98, I was just getting back from being in the Army, and I had my interests in other arenas at the time. My old mentality was “wizards = bad”, so I had no desire to read the books or see the movies (even though I was HIGHLY intrigued). Fast forward to 2011 and Deathly Hallows Part 2 is debuting. I covered the opening night for a YouTube show I was filming at the time, and I have to say, all of those Potterheads – those who had waited in line from 5AM until midnight to watch their childhood proverbially come to a close – overtook me with fandom like you wouldn’t believe.

I had to be a part of that. I had to get what THEY got. I had to understand. So I threw myself into the movie series (I know, I know, I should have done the books first, but I was desperate). I acquired every movie leading up to Deathly Hallows Part 2 to catch myself up to speed. Watching every movie just in time to catch Deathly Hallows Part 2 in the theater, on the final night of its theatrical run for its last show of the night. I was the only one in the theater. And I admit, the series was over and I felt a bit of “loss”. It was surreal. I had just put myself into this world of magic, friendship, love, and loss. And I was hooked.

I’m finishing the reading of the books now. And AJ, my co-host for RetroACTIVE, is a master craftsman who just so happens to be a fan of the series as well. Dude does amazing work. I stopped by his house recently and what do I find on his dinner table? 5 freshly created Wands. And they are each unique in their design, and beautiful! I held each one and gravitated towards one in particular and… well… I have to say it’s WELL worth the $40-ish that it costs for one of your own (All are handmade and vary in price). The only thing I regret is that I don’t have hair so that when I picked up this particular beauty, my hair could stand up on end like Harry’s did… And… enough exposition by me… you came here for the pics of the Wand!

Want to contact AJ about purchasing your own wand? Shoot him an email at aj@berkshireguitars.com. And if you don’t want a wand but would like a custom guitar? Check out his family’s business at www.berkshireguitars.com as well. They do AMAZING work!