Boston International
A woman-owned wholesale gift, tabletop, and seasonal décor company founded in 1986, best known for design-led paper napkins and a strong coastal and entertaining lineage.
- Founded
- 1986
- Owner
- Pam Metz
- Ownership
- Woman-owned, privately held
- Original location
- Holliston, Massachusetts
- Current location
- Indiana (recently relocated)
- Categories
- Tabletop · Paper goods · Seasonal · Coastal décor
- Signature line
- IHR (Ideal Home Range) three-ply paper napkins
- Wholesale terms
- Net 60 available, freight caps
The story
Boston International has been a steady presence in the wholesale gift industry since 1986. The company is woman-owned and design-driven, with a catalog that has grown from its early focus on European-imported tabletop into a broader assortment covering paper plates and napkins, seasonal and holiday décor, home and garden, coastal entertaining, and tabletop accessories.
Owner Pam Metz, an Indiana native, recently relocated the company from its longtime Massachusetts headquarters to Indiana and opened the company's first retail store as part of the move — one of the more visible operational shifts the brand has made in recent years.
What they make
The line has two clear anchors. The first is paper goods — specifically the IHR (Ideal Home Range) line of three-ply cocktail and luncheon napkins, plates, and guest towels. The IHR designs cycle through seasonal patterns (everyday, holiday, coastal, entertaining) at a high enough rotation that it functions as a recurring-purchase line for gift shops with paper-goods sections.
The second anchor is the broader Boston International catalog — tabletop, ceramics, glass, textiles, and seasonal décor. Coastal and nautical product runs through the line as a recurring theme: shells, anchors, sailboats, lobsters, beach-themed napkins, glass plates, and serveware that targets the resort and seaside-retailer audience.
How they sell
Distribution is wholesale through specialty gift retailers, with Net 60 payment terms available to qualified accounts and posted freight caps that simplify ordering. The company has long been described in industry coverage as a “go-to vendor” for both small independent shops and larger retailers building out paper-goods and tabletop sections.
The brand also maintains a direct-to-consumer presence at bostoninternational.com, which the wholesale site references explicitly — trade buyers and consumers are routed to separate sites.
Why they're worth knowing
For coastal, resort-town, and beach-area gift retailers, Boston International is essentially essential — the depth of the coastal and nautical line is hard to match elsewhere, and the IHR napkin program in particular is a high-velocity reorder. For broader gift shops, the paper-goods line gives a buyer a recurring impulse-purchase category at a sub-$10 retail price point with strong design appeal.
The woman-owned, design-driven positioning is genuine — the catalog reads more like a curated tabletop boutique than a discount paper-goods supplier, which is the differentiation against mass-market alternatives.
Where to find them
- Wholesale site: bostoninternational.com
- Wholesale terms: Net 60 available with credit approval, freight caps posted on the wholesale site
- Trade show presence: Atlanta Market, Las Vegas Market, Dallas Total Home & Gift, NY NOW
- Signature program: IHR Ideal Home Range three-ply paper napkins
Profile based on public information from Boston International's official wholesale site and trade press coverage. Updated October 2025. Return to all profiles →