talkmagic.co.uk

Hi all!

I was in Brighton today and happened to stumble upon a Magic Shop!

Since when was there a magic shop in Brighton??! It appeared from nowhere

As it turns out, the shop has been there in James St for a few months - the owner also runs the tattoo parlour next door, had the extra shop space, loves magic and thought 'why not'.

I don't think I need to spell this out to Brighton-based magicians, but I will anyway...

A local bricks-and-mortar magic shop gives you the opportunity to see products first-hand, rather than just buying on blind faith that the online video at a mailorder site is fair and accurate.

A local magic shop is a great place to browse and find out about stuff you might not have heard of before.

MOST IMPORTANT:
A local bricks-and-mortar magic shop is a life-saver if you suddenly discover that you've run out of essential consumables (flash paper, mouth coils, paper tears, what-have-you). Or have lost your swami. Or have got your sponge balls mucky...

I want this new shop to do well, thrive and be a success. And my concern for its wellbeing is pure self-interest for all the reasons listed above.

So, I'd like to encourage all Brighton-based magicians to do the following:

1. Visit the shop at 80 James St

2. Buy stuff. I don't care if it's a couple of quid cheaper online. This guy's trying to get a business off the ground, and it's one that will be good for all of us.

3. Let him know what kind of thing you buy regularly.
- are you always replacing your swami? Or sponges?

At present, he seems to have stocked up on all the 'cool new tricks' from companies like Alakazam, which is fair enough, but it doesn't really set him apart from anyone else.

The more customers he gets, the more clued-up he'll become on what poeple want, and the more savvy he'll be about buying stock that moves fluidly.

I want this shop to do well.

And, if you're Brighton-based, so should you.

There's a basic website here, but it tells you very little. Your best bet is to pay the shop a visit in person.

End of sermon...

Pete

I'll check it out. I'm based in Horsham so it's not too far down the A23 to visit.

Thanks for the heads up!

I'm not in Brighton, but I wish I had a local magic shop, so I'll go to this one sometime I think.

I'll be in Brighton next month so I'll drop in and spend some £. Like you say, use it or loose it. I'm a huge fan of bricks and mortar shops - they give you that little something else. Thanks for the heads up

And James Street is the best place for a shop...very cool area...

I visit Brighton regularly as my daughter lives there. It has so many interesting shops I have always thought that it was a natural for a magic shop.

Well done to the enterprising owners, I will be calling in next time I am in Brighton.

I'll certainly try to pop in.

Thanks for this information. I have updated the directory of UK magic shops, see:

http://magicgizmo.com/home/magic-shop-locator/UK.html

Sounds cool will pop in next time I'm there

@mruetz

Oooh! A free advert, ta very muchly!

oh I love Brighton and a magic shop just gives me another excuse to pay a visit.

Stourbridge is lovely too! Well it's above average. If it's not raining, and it has a magic shop too! Can't quite think what it's called at the mo.....................

I popped into the Brighton shop a couple of times in April and the owner is a really nice guy. Had a good chat with him and he clearly has the enthusiasm that will hopefully help him succeed.

I m not even at "amateur" level so by no means an expert but he had a decent selection of tricks that will suit all tastes. He was more expensive than the internet but not by a huge amount and if i was local I would much rather go into a real shop than shop on line.

(and i m not sure if it was his partner but the American lady who was working there was worth going in alone haha)

Very verry very dissapointed. My week long visit to Brighton was reduced to 2 days :/ But I kept the excitement going at the prospect of a visit to a real magic shop (I'm 2.5 hours drive from my nearest shop). Imagine my utter dissapointment then at the fact that for my brief visit to Brighton the shop was closed!?! I had little over £300 (from the reduced accomodation bill) burning a hole in my pocket and a list of goodies I could see thru the window that I was taken with but they never opened and no opening times on the door to suggest when they would open (actualy that isn't true it just said 1 o'clock and when I went back at 1 they were just as closed as they were at 2, 3, 4 and 5.20pm

So from what I've seen through the window they have a nice range of tricks and props but as for the service or the knowledgable staff????
A real shame.
If the owner of said shop is listening - opening times would be a good start and next time I'm in Brighton I'll still look you up.

My experience is that sporadic opening times is the start of a slippery slope. It's certainly gives the impression of an owner who's sort of given up and thinks "what's the point of opening, no-one ever comes in". I really hope this isn't the case and that this was a one-off. Imagine the guy's disappointment at missing out on the moolah burning a hole in your pocket!!

By the way, I once owned a record shop and eventually stopped opening because no-one came in and I couldn't face another 8 hours sat in a shop on my own (this was pre-wasting time on the internet, although I did have a wireless if I remember correctly). Trouble is, if you don't open up you can be assured that no-one will be shopping with you!