Hello, I'm Carol, and you'll almost always find me at my favorite place -- The Bramble Patch. I love what I do, I love meeting my customers, and I love finding quality items at great prices.

I've always been drawn to nature, high quality, and retailing. It might look like an odd mix, but I love the results.

My great-grandparents had an old-fashioned General Store. My grandmother worked there until she was 35, then married and had two businesses with my grandfather. One of those businesses began in the spring of 1889, when they began producing pure maple syrup. I grew up in the midst of this back-to-earth business, soaking up all the stories from my family. I knew even then that my calling was to work in business. I formally left the family maple business in 1992 with an eye toward having a retail store.

Our family rule was to offer only perfect products to our customers. If an item didn't meet the high-standards set by my father, it didn't go out the door. As a result of our unending attention to quality and detail, our Maple Syrup has won numerous First Place awards in our state, and several International First Place awards.

My daughter and I opened our retail store in New Glarus in 2001, and we still hold those same standards for items you find in our store. Our Polish Pottery is a perfect example. We tested other brands, but it didn't perform perfectly in our own rigorous home-use tests. Now, we have a brand that is just exceptional. We use it everyday, from the oven to the dishwasher, and are so pleased with the quality and durability. We hope you will be too.

~Carol