A new luxury beauty business centered on intentional service and expert braid artistry is scheduled to open in Montgomery, Alabama, in January 2027.
Located at 1111 N Eastern Blvd, the establishment—named 1:01 Luxury Braid Bar & Bottega—will bring an elevated, unhurried client experience to the state’s capital city. Salon owner Shatavia Portis will handle in-house services, offering shampooing and a wide variety of braiding techniques.
Portis plans to offer knotless braids, boho hair, stitch braids, and various creative combinations. She emphasizes that she specializes exclusively in braiding rather than general cosmetology, meaning she focuses entirely on natural hair without handling hair coloring services.
Building a Client Base From a Young Age
Portis brings over a decade of braiding experience to the new venture. Her journey into hair styling started early in life after her biological mother passed away when she was just a year old.
“I just honestly feel like doing hair came naturally to me.”
Growing up in a small town, she built a steady clientele as early as the ninth grade after posting photos of a friend’s braids on social media, sparking immediate local demand.
Now a business owner at 25 years old, Portis views her work as an outlet for personal connection and creative expression rather than a mechanical routine.
“I know people probably wouldn’t think it’s this deep… but as a braider, you do styles a lot of times to feed people’s personalities or even shape faces,” Portis said. “Once you get a relationship with your client, it’s so easy to have that creativity behind the chair because you know them.”
Future Plans for the Montgomery Location
Ahead of the official opening in January 2027, preparations for the business are already underway. A ribbon-cutting event for the space took place on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, offering an early look at the venue.
While Portis currently focuses solely on natural hair styling, she noted that she may eventually expand operations by renting out rooms within the facility to licensed cosmetologists.
