Primitives by Kathy

A Lancaster, Pennsylvania wholesale gift and home décor company built around sentiment-driven box signs and an evergreen 8,000-piece catalog, founded in 1997 by Kathy Phillips and still led by her today.

Founded

1997

Headquarters

Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Founder & CEO

Kathy Phillips

Ownership

Founder-led, privately held

Catalog size

8,000+ active items

Showrooms

Atlanta · Las Vegas · Dallas

Retailers

27,000+ independent shops

Notable accounts

Barnes & Noble, Cracker Barrel, Hallmark

The story

Kathy Phillips made the first “primitive candle box” by hand in 1997 — sanding the edges, tying the ribbons herself — while running a paint studio and retail store with her mother in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. From the beginning, the production side of the business was built in partnership with Goodwill Services, a relationship that remains core to the company's mission almost three decades later.

That single candle box has grown into a catalog of more than 8,000 active items and a company on Central Penn Business Journal's Fastest Growing Companies list eleven years running. Phillips remains at the helm.

What they make

The signature product is the box sign — a wooden block with a printed sentiment, sometimes inspirational, often funny, occasionally sharper. What started as 30 designs has grown to more than 500, and box signs alone account for roughly a third of the company's business.

Beyond signs, the catalog spans gift, home décor, seasonal, holiday, beach, cabin and lake, and garden categories. Sub-lines include Trash Talk by Annie, an edgier collection that pairs vintage black-and-white photography with sassy captions. The company aggressively rotates SKUs — about 25% of the catalog turns over every six months — which keeps the assortment trend-current and gives reorder buyers a reason to come back.

How they sell

Distribution is overwhelmingly to independent specialty retailers — about 60% of accounts are mom-and-pop gift shops, with the remainder including corporate accounts like Barnes & Noble, Cracker Barrel, and Hallmark. The brand operates three permanent showrooms in Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Dallas, and publishes an 800-page catalog that buyers use as a reference both at market and back in the store.

The company has also operated a wholesale showroom at its Lancaster headquarters since the early days, expanding several times as the business grew.

Why they're worth knowing

For independent gift retailers, Primitives by Kathy is a high-velocity vendor — the kind of brand a buyer can walk into market and write an opening order with confidence that the product will sell through. The combination of low price points, recognizable sentiment-driven design, and aggressive newness makes the line particularly well suited to impulse-purchase environments.

The Goodwill Services partnership and the philanthropic Benefit Collection — which has raised more than a quarter million dollars for various organizations — give the brand a real story that retailers can share with their customers.

Where to find them

• Wholesale site: wholesale.primitivesbykathy.com
• Headquarters: 1817 William Penn Way, Lancaster, PA 17601
• Showrooms: Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Dallas markets
• Trade show presence: Atlanta Market, Las Vegas Market, Dallas Total Home & Gift

Profile based on public information from Primitives by Kathy's official wholesale site, trade press coverage including Lancaster Online and Fig Lancaster, and the company's published statements. Updated April 2026. Return to all profiles →