The Church Hill antique centre is fantastic. It's a big antique shop housed in an old church. I…read moredon't know very much about antiques, and I am normally put off by the prices, but I spent absolutely ages in here: there was a lot of great stuff, mostly very affordable. The jewellery and accessories were especially good; there was a gold bangle watch in there for only £25. Upstairs on the gallery they had a few 1930's fur stoles, mink and fox for between £20 and £40. Cheap as chips, considering! Plus the stuff was all laid out nicely in cabinets. I'm definitely going to come back when I need to buy some presents for people. You could get something really special at a decent price.

I found a copy of Milton's Poetical Works and asked "How much?" Because there are sections of…read moreconsignment items from various sellers and the price wasn't marked, the man at the front counter called the seller to see about the price. Her first answer was that the books were "prop pieces" but that she would be willing to sell the book for £5. Wow. It was published in 1862. I am happy to have found the book and happy with the service in this shop.

I must be a huge phillistine, because as I was taking notes of this Marston Barrett, one of my main…read morepoints, was that it is an "upmarket H. Samuels" Well to back myself up. It is to an extent. I mean they sell watches, and jewellery, and lots of them. There you go, just like H. Samuel...O.K. I am a phillistine. But more than that, this shop is a really great place to get some actually nice, fancy jewellery for your loved one's and I would say the style is more mother/grandmother than contemporary/girlfriend kinda thing. As well as the delicate necklaces and broaches, they also have a selection of silver trays and other family airloom type items, or just everyday cutlery for some (depends on how posh you are!).

This is a really pretty jewellers. I love the muddy green painted front and lovely stained glass…read moretrim on the windows. They sell a mix of contemporary, vintage and antique jewellery in all its enchanting forms- rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets. I particularly like their art deco jewellery- they always have stunning brooches, earrings, pendants and bracelets all in the classic deco shapes in diamond, sapphire, ruby and emerald. Very lovely to press my nose up to! I have been in to ask about their pearl necklaces (my mum was hankering after one for Christmas) and they were very friendly. Considering the chic factor in Lewes, the prices are reasonable.

Here we have something that you don't see every day - a traditional horologist restoring fabulous…read morelarger time pieces to full working order. The window display alone is quite a sight to behold and it's only in so doing that I realised that I don't believe that I've ever seen a place of this nature with a shop front at all. Of course from time to time you find the odd jeweller who can restore a watch or change a battery for you but to find a company who make it their business to take on full size 18th century Grandfather clocks is quite something else.

Si's sounds is the type of independent record shop that you can get to feeling really at home in…read more It has a great balance between loud exciting music and friendly personal service that gets you into the right mind frame to enjoy all that they have to offer. The whole place is a perfect little package of general home entertainment stocking games, music and comics all wrapped up with colourful and punky graphics. Si (the proprietor) is, in person, just as fantastic as the caricature of himself on the business card. With his red hair and portly stature he put me in mind of NOFX's Fat Mike, however where, were he Fat Mike, there would be a dry and cynical outlook on the world there is a friendly and sociable demeanour. The stock here is great too; the last time I visited they had a wall devoted to Bowie vinyls and a great section of modern rock. It is all I bit in the rock direction though as the name and graphics suggest, this is not the kind of place one might pick up a copy of say the Planets Sweet.

This record shop is an old-school independent music shop, owned and staffed by Si, whose visage…read moregraces the A board at the top of the road. From the look of him, and the majority of the stock, Si is a bit of an old-school rocker. I'd say the shop was about 60% vinyl and 40% CDs, which are not organised in any discernible fashion, except perhaps what he lumps in together; one label read 'Radiohead, Doves, Snow Patrol, etc.' I'm fairly sure I know some people who would be rather cross at the idea that Radiohead were somehow similar to Snow Patrol, but there you go. This is obviously a shop run by an enthusiast, for other enthusiasts, who like to spend a long time browsing. Although from what I know from watching High Fidelty, I thought all musos were OCD about how they organise their music collections. The CDs are fairly cheap, many were £4, which is good for an independent music shop. I think it would be a good place to come if you wanted to have a long chat about metal from the 1980s, or the merits of vinyl.

I got some nice patterned gloves here about a year ago, and wore them like there was no tomorrow…read more That was until tomorrow came, and I lost them. Boo hoo. Gloves, scarves and hats are the type of thing that Fat Face is good for, but other than that I wouldn't to be honest buy much of their clothes, as they are a bit unfashionable for my liking. It's the fleecey kinda things that put me off, or the parka coats that just look a bit wrong, and more like your dad would be likely to wear it after returning from a good days rambling. It's all comfortable and warm and well made, but I think their sense of design got a little lost in the soft layers of fleece that their warehouse must be full off.

I like Fat Face clothes. In the past I've bought casual trousers, shirts and a t-shirt for my…read moreski-mad nephew at Christmas. Today I bought my third pair of summer cotton crop trousers. My five-year-old black pair have faded and look shabby and lived-in - no longer a good look for work. My three-year-old khaki pair are going the same way. I got a navy blue pair of crops for £35. They're good solid cotton. The basic shape hasn't changed over the years. Fat Face just change the details. Although I don't buy into the whole "a bad day on the water/ski slope/hiking trail is better than a good day at the office" vibe, I like their style, their muted colours that look like they've spent time in the sun, and their use of cotton fabric rather than synthetics. This branch of the chain is pleasantly roomy with a generous sized changing room. The assistant came and, without being pushy, asked if I needed another size or style while I was changing. She explained I could buy the size they didn't have by mail order and return the garment to the shop if it didn't suit. Chirpy, friendly staff are just the icing on the cake.

Advertising stock they don't have, taking money for orders they can't fulfill and utterly wasting…read morepeople's time, avoid.

There aren't many shoe shops where you know the shoes you are buying are definitely high quality…read more I know the main wish is to find shoes that look great and stylish. And my goodness they do that too. But these are always so comfy as well and that's worth a great deal more than you'll pay :) it's lovely. And the staff are so kind and unobtrusive, they let you get on with things or will become a little more chatty if they see you'd like some help. I hope I'm not alone in getting a little flushed and flustered when there's someone watching over you whilst trying shoes on... But these guys leave you to it, in a comfy leather chair until you stand in front of one of of many helpful full length mirrors. (so you don't have to cavort around an entire lap of the shop in shoes that aren't (yet) your own and are so embarrassed you can't really tell whether you like the shoes). They will last. They look great. And the shop is so pleasant I wouldn't go anywhere else.

Gossypium is a fabric and cotton shop, specialising in cotton throws, clothes and the like…read more Ethically made, sourced and fairtrade, this is a great place to pick anything you need in terms of cotton. It seems a strange thing to focus on: I'm never sure what to look for when going in. However, it is a great place if you know what they stock. I had a quick look in when looking for some new clothes, and found Gossypium's stuff very nice. It looks very good on, although it is a bit stiff (100% cotton isn't very stretchy), and is a bit on the expensive side. Nevertheless, it is nicely made, often with quirky designs and the like, and a great addition to any wardrobe. I can't quite recommend Gossypium as much as I'd like to: the fairtrade and ethical sourcing here is commendable, but it also means you can push the price up. This is actually one of my bigger niggles: why do have to pay so much more for ethically sourced, fairtrade and organic stuff? I can't cost £2-3 each time to do all of that! Anyway, I like the sentiments, and the stuff on offer is great, if a little out of price range.

Selling organic, fair trade cotton yoga wear, bed lined and kids clothes, Gossypium is the kind of…read moreplace that attracts and reviles me at the same time. Obviously fair trade and organic = good. You can imagine that the people that shop there regularly have lovely, ethical, happy family lives. But something about the fact that they specialise in yoga wear, and that in my fantasy of the clientèle everyone is shiny and ethical and liberal, and probably bakes organic cookies with their happy healthy kiddies at the weekend, after picking them up from their bassoon lesson and taking them for a walk in the woods just makes me feel a bit sick. It's just a bit too smug. But then this negative reaction is probably just a manifestation of my unresolved middle-class guilt issues. That's one of the problems of being liberal and having a humanities degree from an era where everything is post-modern and 'meta' - you develop liberal sensibilities, but alongside it you develop a self-critical, self-reflexive awareness which means that you simultaneously feel smug and hate yourself for it. And then you analyse it in circular thought processes like these. It's very dull, and going into shops like Gossypium just dredges it all up when I could have been happy enough watching Gossip Girl and thinking about nothing. Er... anyway, back to Gossypium. The other thing about the target market is that they generally have a bit of money to spend, and, as part of their ethical lifestyles are more likely to splash out on a yoga top that will last them longer and therefore be less wasteful. As a result you are looking at about £20 for a plain tee, £40 for a patterned top, and so on. Plus they have started doing these boxer shorts which they dye after making them, rather than dying the fabric then putting them together - something about a less wasteful process, but the end result is, they look second hand. A bit gross for underwear items.

Just rang this gentleman to ask about watch repairs and he advised me that he retired from watch…read morerepairs in 2014.

From the owner: I carry out all clock repairs. I am now a visiting clockmaker covering the Brighton and Hove area…read moreand most of mid-Sussex. I repair all types of clocks, English, French and German and I specialise in the Atmos by Jaeger le-Coultre. All repairs receive a three year guarantee.

Ever wanted a suit that makes you feel like a million dollars?…read more If the answer is yes, book an apppointent at Gresham Blake. They specialise in stunning, bespoke and made to measure suits for men and women. Remember the black and white pin striped suit Heather Mills wore in the court case against a certain Beatle? That was a Gresham Blake. As well as offering individual and customised suits, their Brighton shop sells off the peg suits, shirts, silk ties, cravats and cufflinks.They also do a lovely range of silk hankies with ladies in various states of undress. I'd love a black suit with skull and cross bones in the lining but I'm not sure my budget would reach to both arms....

Gresham Blake is Brighton's most famous bespoke tailors, and for good reason: it offers a huge…read moreamount of different materials and cuts to create your perfect suit, as evidenced by the hundreds of testimonials from local and national celebrities. It's almost too pricey for the common Brightonian, but prices do start quite low, and can be even cheaper if you buy off the rack, and there are some very nice items on there as well! There's even a women's section: everything you might need from a bespoke tailors, really. The main problem here is price: these aren't prices for mortals, I feel. Still, when you enter the shop, you are treated well, even you don't hand over an American Express Gold card upon entry. However, without the necessary cash, much of what Gresham Blake offers will forever be closed to you. I wish I had the cash to get a tailor made suit here, I'd go for something really original and different (definitely some shades of pink), but that will remain a pipe-dream for some time, I feel. If you have the cash, though, you could do much worse!