RECORD Store Day is the one day of the year that unites more than 250 record shops in the UK and thousands globally. It's a celebration of their independence, unique culture and the art of vinyl.

Set up in 2007 to champion independent record shops, 12 years later it's still going strong as it celebrates not only the businesses that have stood the test of time but also the new generation of shops who have just opened their doors.

Hundreds of recording artists support the event by releasing exclusive vinyl records. This year includes releases from the likes of IDLES, Grandmaster Flash, The Rolling Stones and Courtney Barnett, with free live performances and parties also taking place up and down the country.

"It's brought me happiness running a record shop. I mean, I think it's a dream job!" says Colin Trueman owner of VOD Music in Mold, where the sight of queues snaking around the block each Record Store Day have become a common occurrence over the last decade.

"This will be the 10th year we've taken part in Record Store Day, so it's quite a landmark for us," says Colin. "I think the day has evolved and it has become a real celebration of the whole culture around a record shop and not just about selling records."

Saturday will see Colin's shop, which at just 67 square feet has been confirmed as the smallest record shop in the UK, spill out onto the street and into the Daniel Owen Community Centre, which will be hosting both a free record fair and live music from 9.30am, including appearances from soulful hip hopper Ennio The Little Brother and Welsh surf group Trecco Beis, and music equipment demos from Richer Sounds.

"It's a bit presumptions of me to expect the same queues we have every year," laughs Colin. "But I do know a lot of people who will be coming down."

In terms of what to look out for when it comes to the limited edition vinyl releases, Colin highlights a seven inch single by The Prodigy, Fight Fire With Fire, as one which will sell out quickly.

"There are some great David Bowie releases and some Tangerine Dream vinyl which looks really nice," he continues. "There are some great titles across the board this year and something for everybody. The list is much better than it was a few years ago."

VOD Music was recently chosen by BBC Radio 6 Music as one of just a handful of shops to sell records at the station's 6 Music Festival in Liverpool and after 10 years in business the little shop shows no sign of slowing down.

"It was really lovely to be part of something like that," he says. "I've been running record fairs since 2006 but then my wife saw this place to let in 2009 and that's when we opened. It seemed like a really exciting thing to do at the time!

"The difference in running a small shop is you don't order the same amount of stock, so margins are probably tighter than bulk buys. Luckily I think people don't mind paying and supporting the shop rather than going to one of the major chains.

"There's a lot more younger people coming in and I think they seem to want to own something rather than just having digital downloads. Every week is great in here because you meet different people with different tastes in music and you learn from them as much as you tell them."

The special allure of vinyl remains a key selling point for Colin and other enthusiasts, and with sales of the once forgotten format at a 25-year high, he's not alone.

"The advantage of vinyl is you can actually sit down and listen to an album in its entirety rather than just cherry picking tracks," he says. "It becomes like an experience and you are just engrossed in the music rather than having any distractions."

With Record Store Day continuing to grow and VOD Music well and truly on the musical map, might Colin be tempted to move to a bigger premises?

"I don't think so!" he chuckles. "It just works here in Mold, which is a small town. Maybe if you were in a city you'd need somewhere a bit bigger but lots of my customers seem to like it small and discourage me from going any bigger, so the future plans are to carry on what I'm doing but hopefully improve because you can always improve and besides I think the people here would be really upset if I got a bigger shop!"

For more information go to www.vodmusicnews.blogspot.com