Channel Glazing is the kind of shop I would have happily gazed into for hours as a small child, transfixed by the shiny, glittering display flaunted defiantly by the window despite its unpromising surroundings. Situated on an uneasy compromise between shopping street, main road and residential area, it clearly doesn't trade much on the casual shopper, probably relying more on customers making a special trip. There it shines, both literally and figuratively. Where else in Brighton, or indeed Sussex, could you get a curly, cod-Victorian side table made entirely of mirror glass, or a smoked-glass chandelier that's stepped straight out of the 1980s? Admittedly most of the stock is comprised of things I would never consider allowing access to my house - in fact I might seek a restraining order on the gilt on smoked-glass lithograph of Pinocchio. However, there are a few more sensible bits such as pine-framed mirrors that don't look like they've been stolen from Liberace's dressing room, and they're all quite reasonably priced. The joy in this place for me though is the utter paradise of showmanship, glitter for glitter's sake, and the few glamorous trifles that cast the mind back to the decadence of the pre-war era. This truly is a human magpie's nest. Prepare to be dazzled. read more