Hello friendly faces! It’s that time of the week! We’re back with a new Chicago North Shore Moms spotlight brought to you in part by Mary Gifford of Gifford Law. This week we’re thrilled to introduce you to the lovely Highland Park Mom of two girls, special education teacher in the New Trier School District, four time children’s book author that includes a book written after surviving the 4th of July tragedy in Highland Park and entrepreneur, Maggie Schmieder, founder of Bitty Balm!
“Be brave and have faith in yourself and your ideas because if you don’t do it, someone else will,” says Maggie in response to entrepreneurial advice, advice she has followed herself. In January of 2024, she launched an ultra clean makeup balm product keeping her own daughters health in mind. With a ton of research, hours, investment and batch upon batch, Maggie developed the perfect combination of ingredients to create this luscious makeup balm (I have purchased this for myself and my own daughter) and I’m hooked! Read on to learn how Maggie turned her bright idea into a product sold online and in stores like Ross Cosmetics in Highland Park, more on her how the 4th of July tragedy led to her entrepreneurial endeavor and, of course, favorite local spots! Welcome, Maggie!
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Hi Maggie! Please introduce yourself. Where are you from originally? What city do you live in now? What brought you here?
Hi, I’m Maggie! I am originally from Cincinnati, OH. When I first moved to Chicago, I got a teaching job in Glencoe. After starting a family and commuting for far too long, we moved to Highland Park 11 years ago.
I have two daughters ages 11 and 8, almost 9. The 11 year old loves dance, softball, interior design and decorating and has a heart of gold! The 8 year old loves soccer, softball, and dance. Both girls love to travel with us and explore new places. They are both my best friends!
What are a few interesting facts to know about you?
I have authored and illustrated 4 children’s books. I have run the Chicago Marathon three times to raise money for Lurie Children’s Hospital; my daughter has a pacemaker and is a patient at Lurie’s.
Your mantra?
Talk to Strangers.
If you could choose a song or soundtrack to your life, what would it be?
Oooooh that’s a tough one, because I love music and my taste is all over the board. I will say that I am currently listening to a lot of Holly Humberstone, Cold War Kids, and Michael Jackson’s ‘Off the Wall’ album.
What are your favorite North Shore places, spaces and eats to frequent
Rosewood Beach, Abigail’s, Ravinia Brewing Company, Spirit Elephant (I am a vegetarian), Graeter’s, Sandy’s in Highwood, Food Truck Thursdays at Jens Jensen Park, Happi Sushi, Anthropologie, Loud Pizza Records, and the girls and I love to go to Beat Street for toys!
What gets you through a tough day?
Connecting and talking with friends, planning a trip, shopping, creating with my hands, and pouring myself into a distracting project or venture.
Let’s get down to business. Please introduce Bitty Balm!
As someone who doesn’t wear a lot of makeup and was slightly horrified by the shimmery, sparkly purple, pink, and blue eyelids that would emerge from my daughter’s bedroom, I knew there had to be a better way for me to teach her and her sister how to apply makeup. Not only is how their makeup looked important, but also the quality of what they are wearing is paramount.
I created a product that is beautiful on skin, easy to apply and even cleaner and more natural than those currently available. Not only is high quality, limited ingredients important, the formula must be free of all dyes. At home, we avoid them in our foods everyday, so why not in our makeup and skin care?
I set to work formulating night after night, batch after batch. I read, researched, read some more, and invested. I invested time, money, energy, and passion to create something that I was proud to put my name on and comfortable putting on my family’s skin. After hundreds of formulations and tweaks, creating a brand, logo, website, selecting packaging and feeling proud of the final product, Bitty Balm was born.
Raising two young girls comes with its own growing pains. As a working mom, I work hard to inspire them to be strong, independent, self confident girls that grow into healthy and happy young women. Teaching your daughter how to enhance their beauty as they start to explore makeup and their individuality is a mother/daughter rite of passage that I have always been looking forward to sharing with my own daughters. Creating Bitty Balm has made that such a joyful experience.
So in January 2024, I awoke with the dream of a better, dye free makeup balm, and now 5 months later Bitty Balm is ready for you, too!
As a mother of a daughter, I can relate. Tell us more about how Bitty Balm is applied.
Bitty Balm is a makeup balm that can be applied all over the face that provides a moisturizing glow and natural looking color.
As a full-time special education teacher and an entrepreneur, how do you balance your professional responsibilities with running your own business and being a mom?
Teaching affords me a wonderful work/life balance. While my time spent at work is very scheduled and doesn’t allow very much flexibility during the day, the holidays and summers off allows me to rejuvenate and focus on my passion projects. This endeavor has forced me to be better about time management and setting boundaries, recognizing the things that I don’t have the bandwidth to do well. I am lucky to have an incredibly involved and supportive husband and friends who step in to lighten the load.
Switching gears a bit… your book “Hopeful Hearts in Highland Park” is deeply personal. How did the experience of the Highland Park July 4th Parade impact your decision to create Bitty Balm, and how does it influence your approach to business and life?
Writing and illustrating “Hopeful Hearts in Highland Park” was singularly born out of my response to the trauma my family and I experienced being mere yards from those shot and injured at the parade. I had already self published two books, so I had the technical skills and knowledge to be able to quickly get my book into the communities’ hands and hearts. Two days after the shooting I started writing and couldn’t stop. The words filled the pages and the illustrations came to life. Writing and illustrating the book was therapeutic for me and being able to share the book and hopefully support others was the greatest gift of all.
As a part of that experience, I was invited to do several interviews for local tv and news outlets to share about the book, which gave me some important skills to feel confident in sharing my work with others.
Bitty Balm is deeply personal as it is another effort as a mom to keep my daughters safe in a new and different way: To protect their skin, their self confidence and self worth as they navigate this complex world. Sharing Bitty Balm with others carries the same vulnerabilities as sharing my writing and illustrating. I have accepted that I am not going to be able to please everyone, but if I can positively impact even one person’s life with what I have to share then it is worth my small amount of discomfort.
Thank you for sharing that with our community.
What challenges do you face in developing and marketing a clean beauty product, and what advice can you give to other moms looking to start their own business?
I started this process with zero knowledge in cosmetic formulation or chemistry. The learning curve was steep. Through trial and error (A LOT of them) I feel confident about what I have created. Navigating supply chains, securing consistent quality ingredients, product testing, etc. were all things that I have had to research and learn. Friends and family have been integral in being my guinea pigs and support system. I would tell any other mom that if she has an idea, a passion, or sees a need for a product of business to DO IT! Be brave and have faith in yourself and your ideas because if you don’t do it, someone else will.
How do your daughters influence your journey with Bitty Balm, and what lessons do you hope they take away from seeing you pursue your entrepreneurial dreams?
They have been my biggest supporters! Sometimes the lessons we teach our children aren’t explicit or planned. Having Ebby and Wynnie watch and experience this journey with me has been far more influential and impactful than any direct teaching of a skill. When they tell me that one of their teachers was wearing Bitty Balm or a friend wants to try it, I can see the pride and excitement on their faces.
What’s next for Bitty Balm?
Our main focus is to get the product into peoples’ hands. Continuing to gain brand exposure and hopefully more presence in brick and mortar stores on the North Shore aligns with that objective.
We currently have 4 signature shades and will likely release another shade in the coming months!
Is there anything else you’d like us to know about yourself or Bitty Balm?
Bitty Balm is really meant for all ages and skin types. While the product dream and vision initially started as one for younger girls and teens, we quickly realized that women of all ages were ordering Bitty Balm. The reason for that is because dye free, clean, easy to apply makeup is what everyone is looking for. There is a movement to use non-toxic, natural products; to be more intentional about what goes in and on our bodies and Bitty Balm makes that so easy!
Excellent! What’s the best way to purchase these products?
Bitty Balm is sold online at www.bittybalm.com and at Ross Cosmetics in Highland Park. You can also find us at the Highland Park Sidewalk Sales on July 26-27. Look for our pink tent! Instagram @bittybalm TikTok @bittybalmbeauty Facebook Page @Bitty Balm
Use code 10OFF at checkout to receive 10% off and Free Shipping on all orders!
About our Meet of Mom Sponsor
A very heartfelt thank you to CNSM Meet a Mom sponsor, Lake Forest mom of three and owner of Gifford Law, a solo Estate Planning Firm (wills and trusts). Mary, we appreciate your support of local moms in our North Shore communities! Learn more about Mary by visiting her Meet a Mom spotlight here! Contact Mary directly here: [email protected].
