Daniel Laurence Home & Garden

You can't really visit Brighton and miss the Palace Pier which is a magnet to all visitors, not least because it is free and commands a good view of the coastal surroundings. If amusements are your thing then they have them a plenty and a variety of the usual seaside fare including freshly made doughnuts, seafood and ice-cream in no particular order.
If you walk along the pier and look West you will see the skeletal remains of the West Pier, which is worth walking along the promenade to see from a closer angle and maybe get a few pictures...along the way you will pass this shop....but don't just pass by, please come in and have a look around...the kids love the magic floating tap and the tropical seawater fish tank and there might even be something that catches your eye. JD
https://www.daniellaurence.co.uk/

I suppose the most famous building in Brighton has to be the Brighton Pavilion or Palace, part-time residence of King George lV...I suppose to him it was the equivalent of having a beach hut, albeit on a grander scale.
It is an imposing building and the architecture is obviously based on Indian design, while the interior houses an eclectic mix of period items, with a predisposition for 18th and 19th century Chinoiserie, but sadly these days either much of it has been sol...d off or; like so much National Trust property, it houses items that were never personally used or even in situ.
At £15 per adult and £9 per child it is a bit pricey and unless architecture, paintings and china are of particular interest, then it boils down to just another thing a tourist can tick off on their "to do in Brighton" list.
Personally I like the building as a landmark construction...even as possibly the definitive man-made structure within the boundaries of Sussex which combined with a fortuitous variation of weather and light can provide ample opportunity for memorable photographs.
What has this got to do with Daniels studio some might exclaim....well the busses stop in the Old Steyn by the Palace, and Daniels studio which is less than 5 minutes walk down on the seafront, is stocked with affordable and decorative items, along with some highly individual one off sculptures and in my opinion should be on that tourist list I mentioned earlier. JD
https://www.daniellaurence.co.uk/
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I was looking at some of the popular fish-themed sculptured wall-art that Daniel has made and are spread out across the studio and in particular looking at the latest circular offering with the iridescent leaf which you can see in the pictures below...it made me recall a line from PIED BEAUTY by the Jesuit poet Gerald Manley Hopkins
Glory be to God for dappled things – For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow; For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;... Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings; Landscape plotted and pieced – fold, fallow, and plough; And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.
All things counter, original, spare, strange; Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?) With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim; He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change: Praise him.
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Last week I highlighted the magnificent Silvered Metal Bulls Skull that hangs in Dans studio...this week I want to focus on another bull sculpture, but this one is compact on a base and made of copper metal, at a price of only £35 it has to be one of the best bargains on offer and a great item to give as a lasting gift. L30; H17; W10.
Once when I was in Israel I wondered why the Jewish tombs had stones on them, I asked a local Israeli who smiled and said stones last longer than flowers... flowers are a lovely colourful vibrant gift; especially to a lady, but I think there is a place for a very personal decorative item that like those stones will last far longer. JD
https://www.daniellaurence.co.uk/

Sometimes when you visit a shop that has many items displayed it is difficult to visualise a single item and how it might fit in with your own home decor...today I was wandering around Dan's studio and realised that although it had been on the wall for a number of days I had completely overlooked this magnificent silvered head of a large bull, so I took it down and shot a few pics on the shingle outside the shop to give a better idea of its artistic and decorative merits.
...The horns are detachable and make it easier for transport, this item is not on the website but can be ordered directly through the shop at £195 plus postage and packaging of just £8.00. This is the only one in stock at the moment so please ring the studio if you want to secure it. The distance between the horns is roughly 3ft/88cm and the height of the skull 50cm.
Brighton 01273 739694. JD
https://www.daniellaurence.co.uk/
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Some of our most popular items are also the ones that are hardest to source... this is for a number of reasons, not least that demand is so high and production is fairly limited... when this happens we have to wait and hope that our suppliers will be able to get hold of them again, but experience shows that sometimes this is completely arbitary.
The good news is that once again we have in stock the very decorative three gulls in flight polished aluminium wall sculptures, so if you have always wanted a set please visit https://www.daniellaurence.co.uk

It is holiday time once again and both Easter and Passover are being celebrated in the days ahead...This seems to be the start of better weather too, and winter is a fading memory as families go out for walks and love to browse what is on offer at local shops.
I thought it was a good opportunity to put up a random number of pictures of the interior of Daniels studio with a very good cross section of the decorative items on offer.
I have not gone for photographic excellence...... more along the lines of an impressionistic sweeping glance... they look much better up close and personal, and of course you have to imagine how any item would fit in with your own personal decor....which is half the fun of browsing.
In the first picture is Daniels unique one off Industrial inspired tower-light in a metal verdigris casing with a corrugated glass frontage...the light changes colour or can be set to remain illuminated on a single colour...this is a fine opportunity to acquire a skillfully hand-crafted utility sculpture that will be a focal feature wherever it is displayed.
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Shop lifters at work again today in the gallery. Please share and help catch the culprit!

Very windy weather down on Brighton Seafront over the last few days with the sea frothing in a demented torment and huge waves lashing relentlessly against the shingle shore. Yet through it all is a powerful compelling beauty.
I met a man from London in the studio who saw the weather forecast, booked a hotel and rushed down to Brighton with his camera hoping to get some dramatic shots of the turbulent conditions...he wanted to capture one of the moods that Brighton is subje...ct to.
Daniels studio has recently had a few new editions which include these leather mice and a leather Bulldog that make fun and slightly unusual gifts being very reasonably priced at £10 and £35 respectively.
https://www.daniellaurence.co.uk/
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Part of the attraction of Brighton which undoubtably includes shopping for that unusual gift, fish sculpture, household item or water feature at Daniels studio, is also the opportunity to take a memorable photo to show others commemorating your walk along the Promenade.
This is also fun at night when everything looks different a little mysterious and other worldly turning the mundane into an alternate reality...in the distance is the i-360.
https://www.daniellaurence.co.uk/online-s tore/

Most people are familiar with the Peanuts cartoons and characters by Schulz... I remember one that stuck in my head with the kids lying down on the grass staring at passing clouds and telling each other what they saw, all of them were dramatic, decriptive and highly imaginative...then it came to Charlie Brown's turn and with an agonized look on his face wanting the earth to swallow him he blurted out, "I see a doggie...."
Well I love watching clouds, and although I don't have Sky television I have access to free Sky outside, and the other day I saw this forboding crocodile form over the rusting remnants of the West pier. J
https://www.daniellaurence.co.uk/

Today has been a pleasant day down on Brighton Seafront with more activity than there has been for a few days and it looks as if there will be a decent sunset once again....however I am posting a couple of pictures taken yesterday morning with the insipid sun backlighting the Palace Pier and everything in subtle muted tones making it especially moody and atmospheric. J
https://www.daniellaurence.co.uk/

When people discover Daniel Laurence Home and Garden down on the Seafront in Brighton I often hear these main things over and over again:-
!. Wow I never knew this was here.
2. This is the best shop I've visited in Brighton.
... 3. Do you accept card payments?
4. Do you ship abroad?
5. Can we order online?
Well it's true, many people who either live here or are regular visitors to Brighton haven't realised the shop exists, or what an eclectic mix of items are stocked, including small gifts, iron garden ornaments, water features, clocks, sculptures, paintings, prints and Daniels three dimensional wall sculptures that have become a center piece and talking point in a growing number of homes.
We think this is certainly up there with the best shops in Brighton.
Yes card or cash payments always accepted
Yes we ship abroad.
Yes you can order online, and many items include free postage to main-land UK destinations.
So here are a few shots; of what are on the walls and shelves. J
https://www.daniellaurence.co.uk
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Sometimes at this time of year the weather on Brighton Seafront is atrocious with a combination of gale force winds and cold biting rain that lashes your face and drenches your clothing.
Daniel Laurence's Studio is open every day of the year, but today the wind is so strong nothing can be put outside and apart from a few hardy joggers and the odd well insulated, resolute determined walkers it is devoid of the much needed shoppers and browsers.
So this is an unabashed plug f...or the website which carries many more items than are available in the shop including some very interesting and unusual sculptural works, furnishings and gifts...all of which include free shipping to mainland UK.
I include a photo of a section of the shop, and another of the current landscape. J
https://www.daniellaurence.co.uk/
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The ducks are cold... shivering and waiting for the right person to come along and adopt them....for a small sum!
J
https://www.daniellaurence.co.uk/online-s tore/

Well a little snow finally fell in Sussex, of course public services ground to a halt and panic buying had already been initiated.... almost as if world war 3 was about to commence rather than a light snowfall.
By this morning the temperature had risen and what little snow there was melted away like a fallow deer in the undergrowth. However I managed to snap a shot of the white stuff on the beach before it vanished, with the skeleton of the ubiquitous West Pier in the back...ground.... I also couldn't resist a slightly later shot of the Palace pier....ok ok so some gulls got in the picture as well. 😎
https://www.daniellaurence.co.uk/online-s tore/
J
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Even on wet and windy days or icy cold with frost and snow, there is always a trickle of determined regular customers making a beeline for Daniels studio shop because they have previously been in and seen items they like, or have browsed the website and seen something new and perhaps a little quirky that they have a space for.
Today into the photographs you can see a bronzed metal Alligator next to one of the water features, these sculptures look especially good when placed ...next to a reedy pond or small lake as they consist of just a half body and really look as if they are climbing up onto the bank.
Easiest way to tell the difference between a Crocodile and an Alligator is by the smile.... a Croc will have teeth showing when his mouth is shut, the Alligator will not...hence the song "Never smile at a Crocodile...", they are the ones with the toothy grin.
James
https://www.daniellaurence.co.uk/
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At this time of year there are two main natural attractions that in conjucntion together make Brighton a unique place to visit, the first is the spectacular sunsets, and the second is the murmuration of starlings that attracts people from across the UK, and often spurprises and astonishes foreign visitors.
The difficulty is in capturing this event and getting a still shot that makes the twisting and turning in unison flight of the birds look as if they have joined the dots in... a childs colouring book and formed a hidden image. I've tried a few times but not been successful, but here are a couple of shots anyway.
Of course there is another attraction that although not a natural phenomena is getting widespread acclaim, yep you've guessed it, I'm talking about https://www.daniellaurence.co.uk/online-s tore/
James.
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