JWC Media
a luxury lifestyle website that delivers a colorful and passionate telling of neighboring events, fashion, beauty, finance, and the pursuit of leisure.
By Redding Worth
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARIA PONCE
HAIR & MAKEUP BY LEANNA ERNEST
STYLING BY THERESA DEMARIA
Maggie Schmieder and her pup Archie. Schmieder is wearing Dudley Stephens jacket, dudley-stephens.com, and Maje striped top and pleated skirt, bloomies.com
Highland Park’s Maggie Schmieder is the visionary behind Bitty Balm, the “Makeup ON Purpose” brand dedicated to creating dye-free, healthier beauty products. Bitty Balm is formulated without parabens, phthalates, fragrances, or lake and synthetic dyes addressing a gap in the market for clean, limited-ingredient makeup. As a beauty brand founder, Schmieder’s mission is to provide women with healthier makeup options. The line offers multi-purpose, fun products that are safe for eyes, lips, and cheeks and perfect for adding a pop of color and shine across your face. Look for Bitty Balm as part of the curated “Think Dirty” Holiday Clean Beauty Box at cleanbeautique.com. Beyond her role as a beauty entrepreneur, Schmieder is also a children’s book author and illustrator, special education teacher, and mother of two girls. The multitalented entrepreneur sets aside her color palette to share her city and shore favorites with Sheridan Road.
What’s on the horizon? Focusing on getting Christmas ready for my girls, decorating the house, getting Bitty Balm into customers’ hands for holiday gifting, and shipping to customers across the country Mantra? Talk to strangers Best grooming tip? Less is more when it comes to what you put on your face and the ingredients in your products Guilty pleasure? McDonald’s Diet Coke Favorite foods? Cheese and dark chocolate Music you love? SiriusXMU and Alt Nation, Holly Humberstone, King Princess, ‘70s -‘80s Michael Jackson Best advice ever given to you? We can’t make more time, but we can make our time worth more Best advice you have ever given? Approach difficult situations and people with empathy Earliest memory? Sitting on my grandma’s lap at 4 years old, learning to tie a bow with her drawstring When you wake up, you? Twirl the sleeping dogs’ ears lying in bed with us Before bed you? Share highs and lows of the day and say I love you to my husband and girls What’s on your bookshelf? Books I have written and illustrated, books from my childhood and my girls’ childhood that I can’t bear to part with You can’t live without? Sunshine and Vitamin D Love to escape to? Portugal Advice you would give to your younger self? Relax, it only gets better, and you WILL do great things
Your style is? Jeans, Birkenstocks or sneakers, a simple Tee Can’t leave the house without? My phone Transportation? Mini Cooper convertible—it is such an impractical mom car, but I love it Driving music? My Apple music on shuffle Place to eat? Abigails, Happi Sushi, Spirit Elephant, Indus Shop? Anthropologie, Style Shack, Paper Source, and Beat Street for the kids Best thing about the Shore? Walking to the beach, listening to Ravinia in the backyard, and the kids being able to walk to school Worst thing about the Shore? Everything closes so early The perfect day is? A lazy morning, browsing local shops for holiday gifts, and dinner with friends. Our neighbors and friends make the North Shore our home
Your style is? Jeans, ballet flats, lots of stacked jewelry Can’t leave the house without? Bitty Balm to freshen up my cheeks and lips Transportation? Metra, walking Driving music? I usually chat with whoever I am with on the train or in the Uber Place to eat? Bloom Plant Based Kitchen, Sweet Mandy B’s Shop? Nordstrom, Zara, Nike Best thing about the City? The energy and the different vibes in each neighborhood Worst thing about the City? The traffic and crime The perfect day is? Taking the train to the city for drinks and dinner or going down for a special event or concert
