Sick of Starbucks? Get a free manicure by supporting your local café

The amount of Starbucks in Dublin city centre is pretty ridiculous.

In Friends you don't see Ross and Rachel et al running around New York bombarded with a Starbucks on every corner, they have most of their antics and conflicting discussions in their local café, Central Perk. It's an iconic establishment. The amount of Starbucks cafés in Dublin city centre lately, is a bit excessive. Every alley, every nook, cranny or hole in the wall seems to have a Starbucks set up. What happened to remaining loyal to your local café much like Central Perk, gaining a connection with your barista and appreciating a homegrown, independent business? During the hard times of the recession, it was supporting local businesses that revitalised our economy and that's what one Dublin nail bar Tropical Popical are trying to encourage in a new campaign. #Nailingcoffee, a campaign to boost the awareness of independent coffee shops in Dublin, features people uploading Instagram pictures of their nails wrapped around independent coffee cups with a chance to win a free manicure and Clement & Pekoe coffee, courtesy of Tropical Popical.

Drink Independent ☕️ Support your local coffee shop, it's important. Upload a pic of your nails wrapped around a cup of your fav hot stuff and #nailingcoffee @tropicalpopical.

In Dublin's fair city, where the nails are so pretty...... I stand with the @tropicalpopical gals in supporting local coffee shops like my neighbors at @proper_order_coffee_co instead of the chains at every corner. #NailingCoffee #SupportLocal #TastesBetterToo

In speaking to Her.ie, Andrea Horan of Tropical Popical told us how the idea was conceived: "It's not Starbucks I'm pissed off with, it's the continued growth of homogenization and automation purely for capital gains with disregard for local communities and produce. "So instead of just ranting on Facebook again and putting my friends through another ear bashing, I just wanted to celebrate the local, independent peeps who are doing their thing and brightening up my day. "Independents are usually experience and product driven rather than profit driven and for me personally, I just think that's a nicer way to live." Andrea Horan will be speaking more about this at the Socialise event in The Dean Hotel on May 5th. Lead image via Facebook