Cutting a New Path: Nando’s Blades and Braids & Fades brings style, service, and community to Tea

Located at 615 E. Brian St, Nando Blades and Braids & Fades owners and newlyweds Hernando “Nando” and Portia Uribe have settled into the Tea community and are hoping for future expansion.

Born and raised in Queens, New York, Hernando “Nando” Uribe got his start in life as a correctional officer in Oklahoma. 

“I actually met Portia, my wife, while working at the correctional facility in Oklahoma. We shared an interest in helping to motivate the young kids and lift people’s self-confidence,” Uribe said. 

Uribe has four children in total, three living in Tea and one in Virginia. 

“We are a Christian family that attend Embrace Church in Tea and we love connecting with our new neighbors on Facebook and Instagram,” he continued.

Wanting to help build people’s self-confidence in other ways, Uribe began attending barber college at Elite Academy in Lawton, Oklahoma. 

“Barber school is at least 1,500 hours of classroom instruction. The difference between a barber and a hairdresser is a barber can use a straight razor for cleaner, crisper lines that hairdressers cannot use. Barbers focus on very small details in a haircut especially in fades, beards, and upcoming new haircuts,” he said.

Wanting to start a family, Nando and Portia felt leaving Oklahoma was the best and reached out to their own family for a solution. 

“My sister-in-law works for the Sioux Falls Police Department and reached out to us about looking in the Tea and Harrisburg areas as they are both great places to raise kids and the schools are top notch. Where we were living in Lawton, the schools were less than desirable as the area was becoming more and more dangerous, so this was an easy solution to our problem,” Uribe said.

Testing the waters in the area, Uribe rented a space a year ago and has been welcoming new clients of all ages since. 

“I did not realize until I got inspected by the Barber Board of South Dakota, but I am the first and only Barber in Tea. This first year has been amazing and we are creating a family friendly atmosphere that specializes in skin fades, shadow fades, regular haircuts, and more,” he said.

No matter the age or career, Braids & Fades will provide top of the line service to all their customers. 

“Portia was in the Army, so she is very familiar with the various hairstyles allowed in the military. My dad is a current service member in the Army and we are a very military supportive shop,” Uribe said.

Working side by side, the couple each specializes in their own area of expertise. 

“Portia does the braids, I do the fades, and we are just trying to get out name out there since we are new to the area. We are trying to make everyone look good, be affordable as we are the lowest cost shop in the area, including Sioux Falls,” he said.

Through their website, Braids & Fades offers a wide range of styles for men and kids with add-ons which include beard trimming and eyebrow shaping. 

“I also provide hot towel services and skin care options for my customers. My favorite part of my job is how good I can make someone feel about themselves before a special event such as a wedding, birthday, engagement, and getting my clients in for the freshest look before attending them,” he said.

The first year of business is a difficult road for any business owner, and Uribe is thankful that he has found a home in Tea. 

“The residents of Tea have been so supportive, inviting, and welcoming to something new that maybe they weren’t used to, and made us feel like we have always had a home here,” Uribe said. 

Nando’s Blades welcomes all to stop in and see how a fresh haircut or a new set of braids can change a person’s outlook on life. 

“A fresh haircut can change someone’s whole mood it makes it worth it when someone comes in having a rough day and leaves with a smile on their face,” he said.