Founder’s Note

By Mary

When I was a little girl, my grandmother made sure I had a subscription to Reader’s Digest. I read each issue from front to back, fascinated by the household hints, home remedies, and simple, practical ways of caring for a family. Even then, that kind of wisdom spoke to me.

Years later, as a young mother, I came across Reader’s Digest Homemade. I bought it instinctively, and it became a quiet guide during a demanding season of life. More than twenty years ago, my journey truly began in the soft glow of early mornings and late nights—three little ones swirling around me while my husband worked long hours, carrying the weight of two police jobs on his shoulders.

In that tender, unpredictable rhythm of family life, I found myself drawn to the ancient comfort of the earth.

What began as curiosity soon felt like a calling. I started crafting body care intuitively and reverently, listening for the subtle language of the plants themselves. Oils, herbs, flowers, and butters became my companions, each offering its own gifts. I blended by feel and instinct, guided by something older than myself.

Those early creations were made for my family, then shared with friends, and eventually offered to others seeking comfort, restoration, and a small moment of ritual in an ordinary day.

My path later led me to work as a budtender, deepening my relationship with whole-plant wellness. There, I learned even more about the many ways botanicals can calm, soothe, awaken, and support us. That chapter strengthened my trust in nature’s wisdom and taught me to work not only on plants, but with them.

Today, Mary’s Mixes has grown into a small-batch botanical body-care business rooted here in the Black Hills of South Dakota. What once lived only in my kitchen and family medicine cabinet can now be found in a local dispensary and a chiropractic office. Seeing these creations placed into the hands of people in my community has been both humbling and deeply fulfilling.

Many of the flowers and herbs growing in my Peace Garden now inspire—and sometimes become part of—the things I create. Every balm, body whip, mist, and botanical blend carries a piece of that garden, along with the story of motherhood, partnership, perseverance, and the steady pulse of the earth beneath it all.

I am a creator at heart, inspired by the garden and guided by a deep respect for plants, the earth, and the care they offer. My purpose is simple: to transform nature’s gifts into honest, thoughtful botanical body care—handcrafted slowly, intentionally, and with reverence.

It is my hope that Mary’s Mixes brings you the same sense of calm, wonder, and connection that creating it has brought me—and that these offerings become small rituals in your life, gently reminding you to pause, breathe, and return to yourself.

— Mary