EATONNOTT
Brighton’s most colourful artist and designer, Jess Eaton, hit national headlines in May with her Roadkill Couture collection for Brighton Fashion Week. Now she’s hitting the high street, in collaboration with renowned tattooist Jon Nott, with a combined shop and studio. EatonNott, at 26 Preston Road, is packed with oddities from the Roadkill collection, plus skeletons, taxidermy, medical and military equipment and general Victoriana – the perfect place for a “where the fuck did you get that?” gift opportunity or more general Ikea-avoiding home décor.
THE SIDEWINDER
The Sidewinder, in the heart of Kemptown, has always had a great outdoor space, but now they’ve outdone themselves with the unveiling of a new garden area provided by the good people at Tanquery gin. What’s more, they’ve got a new chef and menu on board, a new range of beers and, thanks to Paul Jonas from Tru Thoughts and Phil Marten of Turin Brakes fame who run the place, a ramped-up live band booking policy including Turin Brakes themselves, Fip and Jennifer Left. Definitely worth a visit if you haven’t been for while, or even if you have.
RADIO FREE BRIGHTON
This is the brainchild of Jackie Chase at Under the Bridge Studios, offering members of the community the opportunity to broadcast their own shows live across the internet. The Reel Review Show is the latest, a film review half-hour presented by Mark Booth and Jonny Russell who cast their collective eye across cinema’s biggest hits and most sensational flops. Tedium is their enemy, diversion their master – tune in on Friday nights at 7.30pm at radiofreebrighton.org.uk or listen to the podcasts at soundcloud.com/thereelshow.
THE CHANGING ROOM
Here’s a nice idea for updating your wardrobe – The Changing Room is a new clothing agency outlet at 146 Islingword Road who will punt out your old clothes (providing they’re clean and not all ripped and stuff), and give you back half the cash. There are vintage pieces amongst the stock, but it seems to be mainly day-to-day gear for all ages, kids included. Check out the website at thechangingroombrighton.co.uk for more details.
BIG BEAD BOUTIQUE
We like re-appropriations of Brighton legends for high street premises names – it used to amuse us to get our hair cut at Fatboy Trims. This one’s nomenclature is just as obvious; a bead shop just up from Churchill Square at 12 Dyke Road. It has a big vintage feel about it with a range of pearls, cameos and swallows as well as a handmade selection, and there’s also a vintage headband collection for the growing White Mink fraternity out there. Cast a beady eye at bigbeadboutique.co.uk for more info.
BELOW
If you’re out there living an urban lifestyle, then a store dedicated to its requisite apparel, art and accessories will be right up your street, especially if your street is also Church Street. Tricky-to-find brands like Sixpack France, Palace Skateboards and Pro Keds all make an appearance, and the shop’s part of a one-room boutique hotel called the Harrington, which promises chandeliers made of Lego and wineglasses. Go Belowstore.co.uk for further investigation.
HOTEL PELIROCCO
The Pelirocco on Regency Square has launched a new room; ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land’ was designed by Brighton duo Ridley and Dowse, who are a jeweller and print designer respectively. They’ve done stuff for Harrods, Boxfresh and Wayne Hemingway before, and this represents further confirmation of their ace work. Check it out on the top floor, or just hang out in the Peli bar, which is always a neat place to get the right side of a few cold drinks anyway.
PLATFORM TRAINING
We get a lot of CDs sent to SOURCE from people who’ve made their music on a laptop – the fact that you don’t need huge banks of equipment anymore means pretty much anyone can do it. But not everyone really should… Platformtraining.co.uk are running week-long courses in Logic Pro 9, which will teach you about recording, editing, effects and all the tricks you’ll need to elevate your game to the review-worthy. It’s 30 hours of cranial hard drive cramming for £250 – sounds worthwhile.
WORDS BY MARK BOOTH, NICK COQUET, JESSICA MARSHALL MCHATTIE
PHOTO BY KEVIN MASON
