Pleasantville Resident Creates Natural Skin Care Line

It all began with calendula flowers—a member of the daisy family long known for its medicinal properties.

Patty Butter and her mother both endured the discomfort of sensitive skin—dry, irritated and prone to eczema. When Butter's second daughter seemed to be developing the same symptoms, she knew she had to find a remedy.

“We did our best keeping our kids safe from toxins and harmful chemicals from the ‘inside out’—healthy foods—organic whenever possible, natural fibers, nontoxic cleaning supplies—but it just didn’t seem to be enough," she said.

That’s when the healing abilities of calendula came into play. 

When Butter, a Pleasantville resident and avid gardener, was harvesting the attractive edible blossoms to garnish salads, she felt almost instant relief from her discomfort thanks to the waxy resin in the flower’s petals. Then and there an idea was born.

“I was focusing on what was going on inside my children when, in reality, it was what was being applied to the outside that seemed to be the culprit," she explained. "A toxic soup of chemicals, fragrances and preservatives masquerading as soothing medicine.”

A fashion merchandiser by training, Butter decided to go in another direction—natural, organic skin care products, locally-sourced whenever possible.

And with that the idea for a natural, gentle and safe line of skin care products was born: Buttercup and Jake Natural Skin Care for Kids.

The models for Buttercup and Jake are based on Butter's rabbit and guinea pig, who have an unusually close friendship.

Butter feels, “If you can’t eat the ingredients, they don’t belong in a skin care product.”

She uses only organic, pesticide-free ingredients to produce her lip balm, skin cream and body oils—organic olive oils and waxes, organic shea butter, organic jojoba oil and organic honey from upstate New York. And the best thing is that those calendula flowers come from a very local source— in Pocantico Hills.

Ellen Baum, manager of the Farm Store at Stone Barns is pleased to carry the product.

“Patty approached us with her business plan and we were thrilled at the chance to grow and harvest calendula for her," said Baum. "It’s a good circle we’ve created—locally grown ingredients, local producer, locally retailed product. You can’t get more sustainable than that.”

Current Buttercup and Jake products include Golden Calendula Oil, organic lip balms, Cocoa Calendula Balm and skin cream.

Added Baum, “Buttercup and Jake is one of the many locally-sourced products that we feature. I love telling customers the background of our homegrown or home produced items in the store. And this one is the most impressive, since they can look out back and see the flowers in bloom.”

Besides the Farm Store at Stone Barns, Buttercup and Jake products are available at a few local retailers (including Whole Foods) as well as online here.