Growing up in Queens in the 70’s, as the child of immigrant parents, plant medicines were the norm, I vividly recall my mother risking fines at JFK to bring back orange leaves for teas. “Soil provides for everything” my parents always said whether in our Queens garden or on a farm in the Dominican Republic. A self proclaimed Island girl born in Washington Heights, I studied fine arts and graphic design at Altos de Chavon, in the Dominican Republic. There began a deep reconnection to my culture & Caribbean roots. Along with the start of of what I did not know was IBS. Years later while vacationing there a car accident would inform me of my unique intolerance to pain medication and a need for pills to take pills_this is not ok I thought… The journey to healing naturally began. As an art director I specialized in package and point of sale design for the beauty industry in NYC, but honestly I never fit in there, maybe because I didn’t like to wear makeup & I was “earthy”. Yes I was doing what I loved, but I wasn’t part of the solution, I asked myself, was I part of the problem? Like many, motherhood changed me, gave me courage to seek purpose. Community, wellness & gardening called to me I even counted how many trees were on each block in my neighborhood, to get more planted. I found herbalism & with in-laws in Colorado, I focused on cannabis, I dreamt about starting a cannabis body care line… “herb as plant based body care I thought”. I was thrilled when CBD became legal in 2018 I am proud of the collection of plant based rituals called Herbas is becoming. We love New York , and our community of West Harlem even our CBD comes from organic Upstate Hemp farmers. Herbas came from a place & need to heal, naturally & affordably where I was in my kitchen and garden. It matters a whole lot what you put on, inside and around your body. Join us on the journey to plant based everything, in the process you might just heal your body, mind and soul