Brighton. Right on.

Yes, yes, I know, EggMag has been stocked in Brighton for about 14 months. But I’ve got to be honest, the team have been so busy we’ve never managed to get down there for more than a couple of hours at a time. So, it was with great delight that I accepted an invitation to stay in the Brighton Artist’s Residence Hotel.

I arrived early (and before the hordes from London) so had some time to mooch with my Brighton-based buddy as my guide. We did the obligatory stroll along the seafront, visited one of the many delis serving properly good food, then checked into the hotel.

You can’t fault the location – it’s one block from the beach and if you have a room on the front, you’ll have a sea view across the square. Each room in this young and quirky little hotel is unique and painted by hand by different artists. Our rooms looked very sweet, although the artwork was a bit rough round the edges (literally), which made it a little messy I thought. But the idea behind the hotel is a good one: they rent the basement studio out to up-and-coming artists who then exhibit their work in the gallery and reception area. The proprietors are also making steps to eco-up the place, so it’s all in all a happy place to stay.

There’s plenty to keep you busy in Brighton: it genuinely is like a mini-London and I can’t think of many towns this size that would have such an interesting arts, shopping and music scene. Even Proud (as in Galleries) have an amazing ballroom here, hosting a programme of brilliantly boho and vintage-inspired events. There are plenty of little independent shops – like the lovely FAIR, which stocks some EggMag fashion favourites such as Bibico, Nancy Dee, People Tree and Bourgeouis Boheme – and a plethora of pubs and bars. We had a pint in The Dorset on North Road, and later headed to the characterful and laaarge Lion and Lobster pub.

Morning came with it a bit of a hangover, but luckily, my ‘breakfast in a bag’ courtesy of the good people at hotel, sorted me out: a super-soft croissant, Innocent OJ and a pot of yog. All good.

So. Summer’s here now (hopefully) so get your cheap advanced tickets from Southwest trains and get down to the seaside.

Find Your Feet ethical fashion show

I was gutted I missed the We Are What We Wear event at London’s Mint Leaf restaurant on Sunday 15th March, a fund-raiser organised by the very worthy Find Your Feet charity. EggMag’s very own Zoe Robinson styled the show using labels such as Ada Zanditon, Junky Styling and People Tree. Lou Dartford (who writes our natural beauty pages) was on hand doing make-up as well and the result was very special as Amelia proves on her blog. Well done to everyone involved.

For more about the charity, visit their website.