HIGHBROW HIPPIE: GROW YOUR OWN WAY

Photos by Magdalena Wosinska

With a deep appreciation for holistic living, longtime friends and business partners Kadi Lee and Myka Harris used curiosity and creativity to inspire their Venice Atelier—and now their new product line.

Highbrow Hippie’s Kadi Lee and Myka Harris are not shy about their affection for Los Angeles’ Venice neighborhood. “I love the quality of light on the west side—it’s very warm; it’s a kind of sun-drenched, dappled lighting,” Harris says. “And the neighborhood is very communal: I've never lived in any place that felt that way to me, where I have such a connection with my neighbors on my street.” Lee agrees:

Still, when the two beauty veterans decided to open their brick-and-mortar Atelier on bustling Abbot Kinney Boulevard in the summer of 2019, the neighborhood wasn’t exactly known as a hotbed for high-end hair or beauty. “The general consensus was that the places that existed in Venice didn’t compare to the places in Beverly Hills or West Hollywood,” says Lee. “It was a dream to have a place in this neighborhood because it’s just been so overlooked.”

At the time, most of Lee’s clients—which include bold-faced names like Julia Roberts—were used to traveling to other parts of town for hair appointments. So, in a way, opening the Highbrow Hippie Atelier in Venice was the ultimate “if you build it, they will come” endeavor. Luckily, it worked: “Clients that lived locally were thrilled and the clients who lived elsewhere now love the excuse to come to Venice for the day,” Lee says.

In some ways, going against the grain is something that both Harris and Lee have been doing their whole lives. Though the two met at Spelman College in Atlanta and reconnected years later in New York City before relocating to Los Angeles, their trajectories have been wildly different: Lee was born in Jamaica, moved to suburban Connecticut when she was 11, and cut her teeth at Frederic Fekkai before collaborating with industry legend Serge Normant; Harris is a trained yoga teacher, herbalist and multi-business entrepreneur who has studied design and lived in Paris, Munich and Italy. “People like to categorize people; it’s natural. But I don't think they could ever quite pin us down,” Harris laughs.

It’s what led the two to launch Highbrow Hippie as a blog in 2012. “They were always very curious about us,” Lee explains. “So we thought, ‘Let's talk about these things because people are obviously interested in our perspectives and our point of view.’”

It’s a point of view that’s unique—but also rooted in shared discernment and joyous relatability. “We identify equally with the ‘highbrow’ and the ‘hippie.’ We’re picky, but we’d rather be doing it barefoot,” admits Lee. “Our clients appreciate our high standards because we really pay attention to detail.”

“It's delivered in a casual, effortless manner, because it's genuinely who we are,” agrees Harris. “We're not trying to pretend to be something that we're not.”

With a deep appreciation for holistic living, longtime friends and business partners Kadi Lee and Myka Harris used curiosity and creativity to inspire their Venice Atelier—and now their new product line.

Highbrow Hippie’s Kadi Lee and Myka Harris are not shy about their affection for Los Angeles’ Venice neighborhood. “I love the quality of light on the west side—it’s very warm; it’s a kind of sun-drenched, dappled lighting,” Harris says. “And the neighborhood is very communal: I've never lived in any place that felt that way to me, where I have such a connection with my neighbors on my street.” Lee agrees:

Still, when the two beauty veterans decided to open their brick-and-mortar Atelier on bustling Abbot Kinney Boulevard in the summer of 2019, the neighborhood wasn’t exactly known as a hotbed for high-end hair or beauty. “The general consensus was that the places that existed in Venice didn’t compare to the places in Beverly Hills or West Hollywood,” says Lee. “It was a dream to have a place in this neighborhood because it’s just been so overlooked.”

At the time, most of Lee’s clients—which include bold-faced names like Julia Roberts—were used to traveling to other parts of town for hair appointments. So, in a way, opening the Highbrow Hippie Atelier in Venice was the ultimate “if you build it, they will come” endeavor. Luckily, it worked: “Clients that lived locally were thrilled and the clients who lived elsewhere now love the excuse to come to Venice for the day,” Lee says.

In some ways, going against the grain is something that both Harris and Lee have been doing their whole lives. Though the two met at Spelman College in Atlanta and reconnected years later in New York City before relocating to Los Angeles, their trajectories have been wildly different: Lee was born in Jamaica, moved to suburban Connecticut when she was 11, and cut her teeth at Frederic Fekkai before collaborating with industry legend Serge Normant; Harris is a trained yoga teacher, herbalist and multi-business entrepreneur who has studied design and lived in Paris, Munich and Italy. “People like to categorize people; it’s natural. But I don't think they could ever quite pin us down,” Harris laughs.

It’s what led the two to launch Highbrow Hippie as a blog in 2012. “They were always very curious about us,” Lee explains. “So we thought, ‘Let's talk about these things because people are obviously interested in our perspectives and our point of view.’”

It’s a point of view that’s unique—but also rooted in shared discernment and joyous relatability. “We identify equally with the ‘highbrow’ and the ‘hippie.’ We’re picky, but we’d rather be doing it barefoot,” admits Lee. “Our clients appreciate our high standards because we really pay attention to detail.”

“It's delivered in a casual, effortless manner, because it's genuinely who we are,” agrees Harris. “We're not trying to pretend to be something that we're not.”

Of course, it’s also rooted in a shared love of beauty. But not just a surface-level idea of beauty; both Lee and Harris agree that true beauty is all about living healthily, from the inside-out. “We set the standard for what a cool, dimensional blonde should look like or a really effortless brunette that's also sun-kissed,” Lee says. “But we also set the standard for healthy thriving because of the way we live. If you're not well, you can see it through your hair. We preach that your hair is the first indicator of your overall wellness. Health has to be at the root of all things.”

To that end, the two are especially enthused about their latest endeavor: a recently launched hair health and wellness product line. Drawing heavily on their respective expertise, the system has taken years to develop and includes both topicals and ingestibles that cover all the bases from internal to external. “We put our heads together to come up with a solution that is holistic, sustainable and long-lasting,” Lee says. “We help them get to the root of what's happening; you've got to supplement what's missing, and then you also need to support that with a topical.”

Up first? A scalp serum and a supplement, then a hair mask and a tea. “We worked with companies out of Europe on proprietary ingredients that are specifically directed towards hair growth,” Harris explains. “We also have probiotics in our formula to help support gut health, because there's a huge connection between gut health and your scalp microbiome. There's also PharmaGABA for stress as well as ingredients for cellular regeneration and cognition.”

The idea, essentially, is to address all the things women deal with as they live and age—and, to provide transparent, sustainable and high-quality solutions for the stressors their clients deal with every day. “It’s about bringing everything back into balance. Once you're in balance, you can have a better result. As long as you're out of balance, it's going to be a bumpy ride.”

The new product line is also a testament to the duo’s refined, thoughtful approach. They weren’t focused on buzzwords; they weren’t focused on offering a flash-in-the-pan product. Instead, they pushed their formulators to innovate as much as they could. “We knew if we were going to put out a product, it had to be really good,” says Lee. “Our clients were definitely the inspiration behind it—they're the most discerning women on the planet.”

Not that anyone would ever doubt their expertise. For one, they’ve already proven to their clients and community how much they care: “I'm always asking my clients: ‘what are you eating? Are you making sure you're getting the right amount of iron, the right amount of good fats?’ I can literally tell just by feeling somebody's hair,” Lee says.

And, anyway, good energy can’t help but build trust. It all goes back to that innate sense of curiosity—and, perhaps, the easy-going neighborhood love: “Nobody's really taken off guard by anything,” Harris says of her adopted home. “There's an openness, right? Like this kind of California vibe.”

Of course, it’s also rooted in a shared love of beauty. But not just a surface-level idea of beauty; both Lee and Harris agree that true beauty is all about living healthily, from the inside-out. “We set the standard for what a cool, dimensional blonde should look like or a really effortless brunette that's also sun-kissed,” Lee says. “But we also set the standard for healthy thriving because of the way we live. If you're not well, you can see it through your hair. We preach that your hair is the first indicator of your overall wellness. Health has to be at the root of all things.”

To that end, the two are especially enthused about their latest endeavor: a recently launched hair health and wellness product line. Drawing heavily on their respective expertise, the system has taken years to develop and includes both topicals and ingestibles that cover all the bases from internal to external. “We put our heads together to come up with a solution that is holistic, sustainable and long-lasting,” Lee says. “We help them get to the root of what's happening; you've got to supplement what's missing, and then you also need to support that with a topical.”

Up first? A scalp serum and a supplement, then a hair mask and a tea. “We worked with companies out of Europe on proprietary ingredients that are specifically directed towards hair growth,” Harris explains. “We also have probiotics in our formula to help support gut health, because there's a huge connection between gut health and your scalp microbiome. There's also PharmaGABA for stress as well as ingredients for cellular regeneration and cognition.”

The idea, essentially, is to address all the things women deal with as they live and age—and, to provide transparent, sustainable and high-quality solutions for the stressors their clients deal with every day. “It’s about bringing everything back into balance. Once you're in balance, you can have a better result. As long as you're out of balance, it's going to be a bumpy ride.”

The new product line is also a testament to the duo’s refined, thoughtful approach. They weren’t focused on buzzwords; they weren’t focused on offering a flash-in-the-pan product. Instead, they pushed their formulators to innovate as much as they could. “We knew if we were going to put out a product, it had to be really good,” says Lee. “Our clients were definitely the inspiration behind it—they're the most discerning women on the planet.”

Not that anyone would ever doubt their expertise. For one, they’ve already proven to their clients and community how much they care: “I'm always asking my clients: ‘what are you eating? Are you making sure you're getting the right amount of iron, the right amount of good fats?’ I can literally tell just by feeling somebody's hair,” Lee says.

And, anyway, good energy can’t help but build trust. It all goes back to that innate sense of curiosity—and, perhaps, the easy-going neighborhood love: “Nobody's really taken off guard by anything,” Harris says of her adopted home. “There's an openness, right? Like this kind of California vibe.”

With a deep appreciation for holistic living, longtime friends and business partners Kadi Lee and Myka Harris used curiosity and creativity to inspire their Venice Atelier—and now their new product line.

With a deep appreciation for holistic living, longtime friends and business partners Kadi Lee and Myka Harris used curiosity and creativity to inspire their Venice Atelier—and now their new product line.

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With a deep appreciation for holistic living, longtime friends and business partners Kadi Lee and Myka Harris used curiosity and creativity to inspire their Venice Atelier—and now their new product line.

With a deep appreciation for holistic living, longtime friends and business partners Kadi Lee and Myka Harris used curiosity and creativity to inspire their Venice Atelier—and now their new product line.

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