“The Universe was pointing me to this direction all along.” - A’mya Matthews

Born and raised in Virginia, I grew up surrounded by endless fields, neighbors who sold fresh eggs, and an hour’s drive from just about everything.

At 15, I met two Korean women monks and worked in their Buddhist temple garden, where I began learning about herbalism through plants like mugwort for cleansing and perilla for digestion.

At 18, I moved to Chinatown, New York to study design and film at Parsons School of Design. I lived beside a decades-old herbal apothecary, its shelves stocked with dried roots and teas, and the scent of herbs drifting inside daily. Those aromas reminded me that healing is alive, deeply rooted in tradition and passed down through generations.

My herbal upbringing was shaped by my dad, who learned Caribbean bush medicine—a tradition of healing with plants like lemongrass, noni, and peppermint tea—from my grandparents, born and raised in Dominica and St. Thomas. These remedies, passed down through generations, have always been our first line of defense if sick, reflecting a deep bond with the earth and ancestral wisdom.

At 19, I spent the summer living in Bali, where ceremonies, herbal baths, and plant-based remedies are a vital part of daily life. The island’s deep respect for nature and spirituality shapes how people care for one another, making the frequency of the land feel magical and meaningful.

Then, at 21, during my junior year, I took a gap year from Parsons School of Design to move to India for a Bollywood film job with Sony Music Entertainment. While living there, I learned about Ayurveda—an ancient system that views the body as a living ecosystem in harmony with nature—and explored India’s rich traditions of healing with herbs, oils, and natural remedies.

A year later, when eczema and autoimmune flare-ups disrupted my routine—and facing the challenge of feeling unheard in medical spaces as a Black woman, I started turning what I knew into what I needed. I blended turmeric to calm inflammation, steeped guava leaves for my skin, ate beets to boost energy before runs, and created remedies that worked with my body.

That slow, intentional process sparked The Luxury Hippie™—a wellness and lifestyle brand powered by Everyday elevation™. More than products, The Luxury Hippie™ is brand that inspires mindful living and empowers self-care rooted in global remedies and modern science.

The name The Luxury Hippie™ celebrates life’s simple luxuries—the smile of a stranger, the sight of a rainbow after the rain, the smell of fresh, abundant produce—while embracing the free-spirited “hippie” ethos of peace, love, and standing apart from the status quo. Inspired by the iconic 70’s counterculture mantra of “make love, not war” and “smoke ganja, not guns,” The Luxury Hippie™ was created to nurture vitality, harmony, and purpose, transforming everyday routines into moments of elevation.

With Peace & Love,

TLH™ founder — A’mya Nazairne Matthews

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How 2 woman and a garden changed my life