Mariposa

There’s something a touch Eyes Wide Shut about Mariposa.
An old fashioned antique shop in the Lanes, it’s been selling unique and chintzy figurines, ornaments, presentation plates, glass fruit bowls and lamps for the last two decades. The thing that dominates the walls and windows however, are an eye-​catching array of handmade, papier mache masks with decorative feathers, glitter, silk and paint effects. According to the owner, some people buy them just for display purposes whilst others snap them up for balls, special occasions and fancy dress parties.
Personally, I can’t look at them without thinking of Stanley Kubrick, Tom Cruise and amoral sex games with masked strangers.

This is a fascinatingly strange place, specialising in elaborate masks.
The range includes some wonderful examples of mask-​making: bright colours, elaborate decoration, full feathers. The prices aren’t as extortionate as you might expect either, and while some masks are pricey, others are available for under £20.
The only problem is — what the heck would one do with these things? I’d quite like to own one, but I very much doubt it would get much use. Perphaps as a wall decoration?

Mariposa is the name of a chain of women’s clothing in Canada (which is actually probably American) so I was intrigued by this new shop with a familiar name. The Mariposa in the Lanes specialises mostly in decorative masks — some were full-​faced with feathers and glittery paint, others were half-​size with handles, bringing to mind those fancy masquerade balls (Like Labrynth, but less goblin-​esque.)
Further inside the shop were decorative lamps, hand-​crafted figurines (mostly of women) and kitchen items like dishes and fruit-​shaped décor. I also noticed some animal statues squeezed in.
Really, the theme was hard to pin down, other than everything being colourful and handmade and quite price. Apparently, Mariposa will ship items all over the world — probably in several layers of bubble wrap.

I walked past Mariposa, stopped, doubled back, thought about going in, decided against it, walked forward again, stopped, and then thought what the heck and sauntered in. It really isn’t my sort of shop. I personally don’t understand the purpose of buying molded fruit bowls, or strange looking ceramics, but if you like that sort of thing this is definitely the place for you. They have a whole host of different ceramic items, statues, artisticly designed plates, bowls and other such superfluous household items, as well as a pretty good mask collection, which, surprisingly didn’t look too bad, even in comparison to some of the ones I’ve seen in Venice. Some of their other products I felt looked a little tacky, or over-​varnished, but, still, if you like this sort of thing, I’d recommend giving Mariposa a try.

This is a pretty unusual shop, long established in Brighton — it only sells elaborate china and giftware. Its extremely expensive — at the moment there’s a sale of about 40% on, and even so presentation plates are £60, lampshade and stand £135 or so.
There are smaller things too: cocktail stick holders, fruit bowls, spoon rests, candleholders, ceramic fruit, serviette holders — lots and lots of things!
There are Venetian masks, which are extremely intricate, all unique and obviously beautifully made. But again, very expensive.
Its not a small shop, not really, but it feels tiny, they’ve managed to fit in a great deal of merchandise and created a very special look. It won’t be to everyone’s taste — its not to my taste — but I acknowledge that its a special place, with its own atmosphere, a real talking point in Brighton.
It does have its own website, at
, they have a map and shopping facilities.
Recommended to browse, even if its not your cup of tea — it will be a great place to buy a gift.