• DIY Dublin: Tropical Popical

    April 20, 2016 - By 

    In this installment of DIY Dublin we pop into Tropical Popical, a vibrant nail salon on South William street in the city centre, positively oozing with colour and kitchiness. Aidan Kelly Murphy chats to Andrea Horan about setting up the salon with her sister Michelle and the rise of creative nail art. Photos by Abi Denniston. How did the idea of opening a nail salon in Dublin come about? These ideas always come from a selfish need or requirement I think, especially when it’s not just a ‘Get Rich Quick’ idea. Myself and my sister were bopping around the States…

  • DIY Dublin: Mish.Mash

    September 21, 2015 - By 

    In the latest instalment of DIY Dublin, Joe Donoghue chats with the guys behind Dublin cafe and gallery Mish.Mash. Photos by Abi Denniston. So tell us a bit about how Mish.Mash got started? Who’s idea was it? Had either of you worked in service or hospitality before? The idea for Mish.Mash was always somewhere in the air. We both knew what atmosphere we would like to have in our café and what kind of café culture we would like to show and sell. Our experience was more than enough to start finally something without a “boss”. How is it running…

  • DIY Dublin: Nine Crows

    July 28, 2015 - By 

    In the latest installment of DIY Dublin, Benni Johnston catches up with Emma and Dean from Nine Crows, a boutique on Ormond Quay Lower specialising in hand-picked vintage clothing. Photos by Abi Denniston. Hi guys. Nine Crows is now well established as a go to place for great vintage finds and progressive fashion both the store and online but I’ve been aware of it in it’s many guises for some time. Fill us in on the background of the shop to present day. Emma: My grandmother left me tonnes and tonnes of vintage pieces that she had collected throughout the years,…

  • DIY Dublin: The Big Bang

    April 20, 2015 - By 

    In this installment of DIY Dublin, Loreana Rushe chats to John Hendrick, the owner and proprietor of The Big Bang in Dundrum shopping centre about what it’s like to run a successful comic book store. Hi John! First off, can you tell us about how you got into comic books? What appeals to you so much about them? That was actually my Mom’s fault. She used to get them for all of us growing up as kids to encourage us to read, from there it sort of, kind of escalated to being my favourite thing ever. I still read books,…

  • DIY Dublin: Love Supreme

    April 1, 2015 - By 

    In the very first installment of DIY Dublin, a new regular feature looking at some of the city’s most intriguing small businesses, organisations and individuals, Stevie Lennox samples the wares of a Stoneybatter institution in the making. I popped in for a chat with Ken Flood, co-runner and proprietor of the wonderfully-monikered Love Supreme, a café that’s been operating for just eight months in Dublin’s recently-thriving Stoneybatter area. Besides its simple, eye-catching – without being intimidatingly extravagant – aesthetic, what was instantly striking was the selection of freshly-made sausage rolls and pies heating behind the counter, and a generous selection of…

  • DIY Dublin: Homebeat

    April 8, 2015 - By 

    In the second of a new regular feature called DIY Dublin, we talk to various people setting up their own businesses and doing it for themselves in the heart of the city. Aidan Hanratty chats to Emmet of DIY, alternative space loving music promoter Homebeat about getting started, nurturing talent and the dynamics of space. Photos by Abigail Denniston. From home to Homebeat I’m from a little town called Newcastle West in Limerick, but I’ve been living in Dublin for the bones of about 15 years. I was in college in the late 90s/early 2000s when things were kind of horrible in…