Amy Leavell Bransford

Coloring Outside the Lines

Amy Leavell Bransford will expand Aviary Beauty + Wellness to Summerhill this summer

6-year-old Amy with her parents, Chuck and Rose Leavell.

By Collin Kelley

The daughter of a rock legend and a pioneering businesswoman, Amy Leavell Bransford forged her own path with trailblazing Aviary Beauty + Wellness and SparrowHawk Studio, both located at Studioplex in Old Fourth Ward. With a second location of Aviary opening in Summerhill this June, we talked to Bransford about growing up in a famous family, meeting David Bowie, and her mission to create space for artists who “color outside the lines.” And, of course, we got her eclectic playlist – filled with new and classic tunes – for our In the Mix series. Scan the code under her photo or search Atlanta Intown on Spotify.

Q. Aviary was a trailblazer on Intown’s spa scene. Can you reflect on your decision to open the shop and its growth after more than a decade in business?

A. When I opened in 2009 it was a response to the fact that I didn’t fit into the mold of the typical Atlanta spa. I had experience working in a local day spa that was very “Zen with a water feature and New Age music” and that wasn’t me. The other option was very clinical, like a doctor’s office. When I found my 1,100 square foot studio in Old Fourth Ward, I knew it was home. The space is very rustic, industrial and the history of the building really spoke to me. The courtyard entry with all of the fruit trees and vines makes Studioplex one of Atlanta’s most unique buildings that has always been home to creative residents and businesses. I opened a boutique tattoo studio there in 2017, SparrowHawk Studio. Again, it was a response to there not being a place for artists to work who felt like they didn’t fit into the mold of the typical shop. I am very proud of that; we are a collective of Misfit Toys. Now, I am expanding Aviary Beauty + Wellness to a second location in Summerhill. I guess we just keep going to try to provide jobs for people who want to color outside the lines. Q. Your mom, Rose Lane Leavell, ran a

successful boutique in Macon, GA for

which was a shocking thing to do at the time. This was all with the civil rights movement happening in the background. When I stop to think about that sometimes, I think how punk that was for the era. He later moved to Macon and met my mom, who worked for the record label. So, they were OG “it” couple in In the courtyard outside the early 1970s. I also Aviary Wellness + Beauty’s worked for Capricorn Studioplex location Records as a publicist a quarter of a century. What did she teach you about running your own business? to bands like Cake and Widespread Panic when they moved to Atlanta in the ‘90s. Having the experience of growing up in a musical family and then later having the experience of working with the Walden family really shaped me. Phil Walden [co-founder of Capricorn] was a legend, and A. I literally grew I got to work outside his office every day. up in mom’s shop, Cornucopia, which was Q. Okay, you have to dish on at least one cool celebrity encounter. Macon’s most A. My favorite one ever is David Bowie. It fashion forward was during a Rolling Stones tour in the ‘90s boutique. She when backstage of every concert was a who’s opened it when I who of celebrity A List. I saw Dad talking was 2. Mom was with Bowie across the room and walked over carrying lines like to inject myself into the conversation for a Betsy Johnson forced introduction. He was such a kind man many years he asked me a lot of questions about myself before it was a with genuine, even if pretend, interest. I’m department store not sure whether Bowie tried to elevate me to brand. Going on his level or he met me at mine, but it’s a thing shopping trips I think about a lot in relationships. Meeting with Mom to Atlanta and New York taught people where they are is something I strive me to look for brands that are unique and for. not ubiquitous, which I do for my own Q. What song or album is on constant business today. Growing up in a woman- repeat these days?owned business, whose clientele were also A. The first song on my playlist is mostly women and trans women, influenced Wildfires from the band Sault. This is me a lot. Macon also had an underground probably my favorite stye of music. Also, I trans and drag scene at the Pegasus Lounge love Cherry Glazer. My husband [Steve] and until it burned in the 1980s, and many of kids went to Pappy & Harriet’s for lunch them shopped for their gowns and apparel at on a visit to Joshua Tree in 2018 and they Cornucopia. So being a child of my parents were performing. I have been pretty obsessed exposed me to a lot of experiences that ever since. My kids, Rocco and Miles, are shaped who I am today. 12 and 15 and in their own music discovery Q. Your dad, keyboardist Chuck Leavell, right now. They are delving into bands like is a familiar name to anyone who loves the Gorillaz, Radiohead and Tame Impala. I Allman Brothers and Rolling Stones. How loved Brit pop so it has been fun to rediscover did growing up in a musical household Damon Albarn music with them. I also inspire you? remember doing the same thing with my A. My Dad moved away from his hometown of Tuscaloosa, AL as a teenager to go to Muscle Shoals and play on soul records, parents’ records when I was their age, except it was REM’s “Murmur” or Jimi Hendrix’s “Electric Ladyland.”

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