Familiar face take over Portfolio space in Five Points with a sweet new twist

When Tzima Brown opened her Sunrise Artisan Bath and Body store in Five Points three years ago, folks sometimes had trouble finding it.

The store was tucked away on tiny, one-way Santee Avenue just across the street from Yesterday’s.

But now, Brown has relocated to busy Saluda Avenue, in the space occupied for 39 years by Portfolio art gallery. The store even has a presence on Devine Street because of the funky design of the building.

“The walk-by traffic alone ... you can’t even compare the two,” Brown said. “It’s like night and day. I had no walk-by traffic on Santee. This is the best location we could be in.”

Brown makes all of her 14 or so categories of bath and body products. And many have a food theme, like the cupcake-shaped soap..

“I don’t cook,” she said. “I just make soaps that look like cupcakes.”

But the shop is also expanding to include a sweet shop geared toward diabetics. The keto diet sweets will be made by her partner, Laurent Prescelti, owner of Crepes et Croissants bakery and cafe on Sumter Street in downtown Columbia.

“Nobody is paying attention to diabetics and pre-diabetics,” said Brown, who is also a type 2 diabetic. “So all of our sweets are sugar free.”

Portfolio closed at the end of February after 39 years on Devine Street and Saluda Avenue.

Portfolio owner Judith Roberts’ late husband found the space for her to open the gallery in 1980, allowing her to take her artistic career in a new direction.

But after decades of curating an eclectic collection of paintings, jewelry, sculptures and knick-knacks, it was time for the 77-year-old to retire, she said in January.

Sunrise is one of a spate of new businesses on Saluda Avenue, including Dakota’s boutique, Fall Line Bar & Grill, the White Mule and Gibson’s gift shop.