Kristie started Maple's in the spring of 2006, leaving a lucrative teaching career to join a family tradition of entrepreneurial food endeavors. Having traveled (and eaten a lot of dessert) around Europe and the states, Kristie was saddened by the lack of truly artisanal ice cream producers, and decided to do something about it. Some talks with the folks at MOFGA made it clear that by making ice cream she could also support her passion for local organic agriculture- and so Maple's was born.
She now lives close to the Maple's facility in her native South Portland with her husband, two children, and Maple.

Here's a letter from Kristie about her family history and what brought her to running Maple's today.

Henry joined the Maple's team in the summer of 2010, after writing emails to Maple's proclaiming his passion for crafting ice cream. We took pity on him and gave him a job, and it's worked out pretty well....he's taken over as our production manager and handles all of our wholesale orders with enthusiasm. He's got a great palate and in his spare time works on new flavor development.

Many of you may know Julia, who helped steer Maple's for nearly two years. She has recently gone back to her passion- teaching art to youngsters- and we miss her humor and energy every day.

Co-founder Ren's job description reads something like a home improvement manual. In addition to cooking, recipe development, and gelato production, he's also the one who ends up fixing anything that breaks at the Maple's facility. Need a new wall? Ask Ren. But he's also the main developer of our non-dairy line of sorbetti, and is an avid cook and health enthusiast.

Here's the namesake of our business, just a puppy when we opened back in 2006. Now she's a mature, brilliant companion who loves to fetch anything you'll throw (again and again and again). She can often be seen waiting patiently in Kristie's car at Maple's.

We also have a host of seasonal and part-time staffers who help make Maple's strong and we love them!