Castor + Pollux

A fab design gallery/​bookshop/​boutique on the Brighton seafront. Chock full of quirky prints and designs (including lots of Rob Ryan — a personal fave). Absolutely delightful.

I quite enjoyed spending 10 mins in this shop browsing their collection of books, postcards, jotters and other items. I especially liked the children’s section for ideas to buy present for those under the age of 10.
You probably all know somewhere like this near where you live: slightly pricey, nice stuff you either want for yourself as a special treat or will buy for someone else as a birthday present. There are not exactly any bargains to be had here but it’s all very nice and if you’ve got a bit of spare cash you might be tempted to buy something.
Otherwise, just pop in to shelter from the strong winds.

Great shop selling an eclectic selection of all that is stylish and arty! The have a great range of greetings cards, old-​school toys, ceramics, jewelry, books, and artwork.
They also have a gallery at the back displaying art work from a selection of local artists.
A great place to come for an unusual gift or a little treat for yourself. Fairly pricely but you pay for quality. If anybody wants to buy me a gift for my upcoming birthday — please do your shopping here!
To top it off, this shop is located right on the seafront, it doesn’t get much better than this!

I’ve walked past this place so many times, dismissing it as another one of those ghastly little places which sell rubbish from the tribe of artistes-​manqués who seem to have colonised Brighton: my mistake.
It was, therefore, a delightful surprise to be drawn in to an exhibition of prints by Charley Harper and to find not only a very nicely put-​together collection of works by both Harper and local artists (the real thing!) but a superb bookshop — easily better than the sneering pretentiousness of Magma in London — staffed by helpful and friendly staff.
Who can say what marvels I’ve missed over the years? I’ll certainly be visiting here more regularly now.

Castor and Pollux, the Gemini twins, are regarded as the patrons of sailors, so it is appropriate that this gallery-​cum-​shop faces out to the sea and is filled with marine light. This year’s festival exhibition, occupying the long gallery, features printmaker and designer Paul Catherall (from May 15); also in-​house are Julie Doucet’s linocuts depicting the grotesquery of New York; and gallery owner Mike Levy’s pottery featuring saucy sailors and naughty nauticals no doubt the twins would approve.

Mike and his boyfriend, the guys who started up this little gem a few years ago, should run ‘How to be tasteful’ courses, for their shop is a Fingal’s cave of colourful treasure. Disappearing off to India and returning with funky blown glass jewelry is just one of their talents for in here you’ll find a thriving gallery of Brighton artists’ work exhibited, as well as a raft of Vintage and Phaidon type coffee table titles. Check out too the retro posters for Penguin books with original covers from titles like Deliverance, On the Road and Brave New World. There are Moleskine books too, as well as postcards and high luxe nick nacks. If only there were more shops like this on the sea front.

Castor and Pollux is a cute, artsy shop on the seafront. It’s quite large, but cluttered and a bit difficult to manœuvre through, but who can be in a grouchy mood when the ocean is RIGHT THERE? Not me, recovering prairie girl.
One half of the shop is more like an art gallery — drawings and paintings displayed on the wall, with unframed copies available for lower prices. Some of the artwork looked strangely familiar to me — and I recognised the name Quentin Blake as the illustrator for Roald Dahl’s books. Neat!
The rest of the shop is an arts and crafts-​y gift shop: magnetic poetry, art supplies, jewellery ranging from kitschy to elegant, day planners, journals, posters and some large, colourful art books. A selection of greeting cards is also available, and Christmas items have been discounted — decorations and holiday knick knacks.
The shop has a nice, laid back atmosphere and a wide variety of items if you don’t mind getting close to strangers while you work your way around.

Owned by the lovely Mike and Robert, Castor + Pollux is a cool design emporium that sells unique and distinctive textiles, lampshades, pottery, jewellery and homeware. It also stocks a fantastic array of art, design, travel, food and photography books by the best international publishers from Thames & Hudson to Chronicle Books.
The shop also doubles as a gallery exhibiting and selling limited edition prints and canvases by talented artists and illustrators, like Johnny Hannah and Paul Davis. If you’re interested in finding about forthcoming exhibitions, drop into the shop or log onto Castor + Pollux website and sign up for their newsletter.
Right now, I’m pining for the white horse lamp they sell. Sadly, the piggy bank is empty.