WHEN YOU meet Stacy Schilling, author, illustrator, and creator of a brand new line of children’s books titled “The Frizz Girls,” you immediately notice her abundance of bouncy curls. “As someone who grew up with wavy hair,” said Schilling, “my mom never showed me how to take care of it and convinced me to cut mine off at 9 years old. I did and hated it.”
Schilling earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Kentucky and a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design from Northern Kentucky University. As an artist and designer for the last 25 years, Schilling has designed logos, brochures, catalogs, and websites. “My design work has been featured on bus stop signs, magazines, billboards, books, and puzzles. I have won competitions and have been on television speaking about graphic design. Artistically, I’ve done almost everything in the art world since I was a child, but mostly, I concentrate on drawing, painting, and photography. Nobody was teaching kids how to take care of their wavy or curly hair, and since I was a teacher with wavy hair myself, I felt I could do it.”
When the idea hit Schilling to combine her love of art and design with the journey she’d been on for the last four years to tame her curls, she wrote ferociously until she completed her manuscript. “After the first two books were written, the next six books wrote themselves without me even thinking about it,” said Schilling. “I decided someone has to teach kids how to take care of their wavy or curly hair because there are no books on the market for this. I named the book series “The Frizz Girls,” which teaches girls ages 5-13 how to take care of their wavy or curly hair. I want to educate, encourage, and empower them to be able to have confidence in themselves and their hair.”
Schilling believes her books fill an untapped niche in the children’s book market and has witnessed the power of her series firsthand. “In July, I drove to Brentwood, Tennessee, to meet with other children’s book authors at the Brentwood Library. Afterward, I decided to use my time wisely and spoke to as many managers and employees at bookstores in the area as I could. I shared with them about myself and “The Frizz Girls.” An employee of a children’s bookstore told me about an upcoming hair event for kids at the end of July and sent me an invitation. It was the first Back-to-School Kid’s Hair Event, offering students free haircuts and styles. I reached out to Pastor Tracye with Kingdom Love Ministries about participating. I shared a link to my website, and she welcomed me with open arms. The kids didn’t know what to expect, but the adults were ecstatic when they found out about my series teaching kids how to tame their curls.”
After the event, they invited Schilling to present her books and exciting new merchandise again next year. Besides her book series, Schilling is creating a coloring and activity book that will be available in her online Etsy shop. She has designed T-shirts that feature “The Frizz Girls” and their unique hair types. Schilling also offers a product called “The Hair Chronicles Journal” that allows users to document their journey from frizz to fab. “I’ve gotten great support from the curly hair community. I’ve reached out to the owners of a few hair care brands I use and tagged them in my social media posts. Their response has been extremely supportive. I’m hoping we can team up on future projects, as a few books will teach about hair products, and I want to share their brand with my readers.”
“Frizzy hair is not the problem. It’s probably wavy or curly, and you just need to learn how to take care of it. I want to help girls learn to care for their hidden waves and curls alongside “The Frizz Girls.” The more people who know my books exist, the more exposure the series has to reach a wider audience, especially those who want help but don’t know where to look for it.”
Schilling plans to expand, offering satin hair scrunchies, pillowcases, bonnets, and dolls to represent her original “Frizz Girls.”
“The plan is to empower girls with wavy or curly hair and support them on their unique hair journey,” said Schilling. GN
