From the moment Nikki Marie moved to East Helena with her family in 2022, she knew she wanted to open a salon in town. But quality, affordable spaces were hard to come by.
A longtime hairstylist and lash extension technician, Marie found so few available shops that she considered buying a house and converting it into a salon. But they were all out of her price range.
She worked at Helena’s Sugar Salon for two years before opening her own salon in a basement space near Helena High. On the rare occasions when she found an appealing East Helena space, she’d also find herself behind a handful of other prospective tenants.
Finally, last November, Marie came across a listing for a space near her home on Canyon Ferry Rd. The rent was steep, but she decided to meet the owners, Blue Mountain Builders, a Clancy-based construction and design firm.
The two parties hit it off, Marie negotiated a more manageable price, and signed the lease. Then Blue Mountain offered something extraordinary: to redesign and rebuild the space to accommodate Marie’s vision, free of charge.
“I want a sense of community where I know and I live by the people that I’m servicing,” said Marie. “In Helena, you’re just a fish in the ocean. There are so many salons and people. In East Helena, it’s a little bit more close-knit, more personable, we’re all tied in so close together.”
Marie and Blue Mountain developed roughly eight designs before settling on their choice. In January, Blue Mountain began knocking down walls and connecting piping to accommodate the hair-wash stations. They finished the work in early March, days before Honey Beauty’s grand opening.
The space is economically designed, with the three hair wash stations conveniently tucked into a back alcove behind the reception desk. In the center of the room, two gold-trimmed double-sided mirrors divide a set of four chairs. The lash table is tucked in a small, private room on the back wall. The clean white hair stations, ruddy, clay-colored seats, and gold-accented furniture give the salon a warm, millennial minimalist feel.
Marie was hoping for “cozy, kind of modern, not crazy scale and fancy,” she said. “Hopefully, when people come in they’re like, ‘Oh, it feels like it’s warm here.’”
As for how Blue Mountain benefited, the firm’s designer Jolene Dobyns explained that collaborations, even ones that fail to provide revenue, are good for business.
“It’s always good to have a good reputation of being able to work with people,” she said. “Anytime people come here, they’re going to see our name. And it’s great for her to be able to say ‘They really helped me.’”
She also had kind words for her new partner, Marie. “She has a sweet personality that’s easy to want to get along with,” said Dobyns, adding that her sister, a fellow hairstylist, encouraged her to work with Marie.
Marie seems to inspire fondness and loyalty (She’s also looking to hire two hairstylists and offering $100 to anyone who helps find them). Visitors to Honey Beauty’s grand opening were mostly clients who’d been visiting Marie in Helena for years. One little girl handed her a vase full of a bright bouquet and a card with the words “You’re a star!” on the envelope.
Customer faces lit up as they entered the space, and one young woman’s mouth literally fell open as she checked out the new lash room. East Helena resident Whisper Percival was impressed by Marie’s willingness to try every trend she and her daughter brought to her, ensuring she secured the colors and lash shapes they wanted before their appointments.
But what keeps Percival and her girls coming back is the bond. “She’s genuinely caring,” Percival said of Marie. “And if she wants to move to Bozeman, I guess I’m going to Bozeman.”
Marie considers relationships the core of her business. “I know when my clients are fighting with their husbands, or if their kids are being naughty, I know everything,” Marie said, comparing her role to that of a therapist.
Liza Walltzig, another East Helena client, began coming to Marie for eyelash extensions when she worked at Sugar Salon, and eventually decided to let her cut her hair as well.
“I love her personality, she’s so sweet,” Walltzig gushed, adding that she also hoped to build up the local community rather than drive to the Capitol. “I’d rather support local businesses.”
Marie looked forward to finally living and working in the same place.
“I’m excited that when I pick up my kids from school, I will recognize people, and they’ll recognize me,” she said. “They’ll be able to put a face that’s in the community to a business.”
