our story

Carolyn Rumpel founded Purple Maple after realizing, through her own process of developing a unique idea and launching a product of her own that there must be a better way to sell products than pitching gift catalog companies, selling to local retailers, spending money on advertising, and lugging products to craft fairs. Enter Purple Maple - a creative outlet for people from all walks of life and a high quality unique place to shop for the rest of us!

Every person has a story and at Purple Maple - we believe that by aggregating people with great stories that make handmade products - we will deliver a truly unique and special shopping experience for our customers and at the same time - provide a platform for our artisans to share a bit of themselves giving context for their creations - bringing them to life with the stories behind them.

why a purple maple?

There is an amazing Japanese Purple Maple in my yard (our logo is an imprint from a leaf from this Purple Maple tree). The beauty this tree possesses is amazing and ever changing. Imagine, if you will, a tree that during the spring and summer is alive with rich green maple leaves. In the fall it begins a beautiful transformation - moving  from green to purple then a deep magenta and then even fiery reds. For a period of time the color of the leaves seems to change from day to day until all the leaves are gone. It is bare, but still strong and beautiful even in the winter.

The depth and range of color this tree exhibits is literally breathtaking and one of the more beautiful things I have ever seen. It encompasses something so beautiful and represents growth and change which it embraces so gracefully each year and with each passing season. It has passion, is has beauty, it has grace. It inspires me - and it's what I want people to feel when they think about Purple Maple. Read about the Purple Promise . . .