New York City designer suspected Anthropologie of trying to steal her kitchenware design. She stopped the shipment just in time

Morgan Thomas (@yam_nyc), owner of Queens-based company Yam NYC, accused Anthropologie of trying to steal her latest kitchenware designs on TikTok. She suspected the retailer tried to bypass her by ordering multiple samples.

“I received an order for three bottle openers. Not weird. They did order two of one style. That’s still pretty normal,” Thomas told TikTok. She packed the order as usual, then dropped it off at her local mail center right before closing. Thomas said she knew USPS had already done its pickup for the day, so her package would go out the next day.

“I got a notification on my phone about another online order. I checked it, and it was an order for four bottle openers,” Thomas said. She scrolled down and realized the order came from the same address that had ordered the previous batch of bottle openers. Thomas noted the address looked familiar, so she did a quick search.

“It ended up being the headquarters for Anthropologie. Why I know this is because I worked with Anthropologie before, and they placed a wholesale order with me,” she alleged. Thomas said she had collaborated with Anthropologie before, and they carried her jewelry in 2025.

Alleged design theft

“So, obviously, this is weird because they have my direct contact. They have my email. I have been onboarded into their, like, wholesale system,” Thomas claimed. She argued that if Anthropologie wanted a sample of her product, the company could reach out to her instead. Thomas searched for the person who placed the order and alleged they were a home decor designer at Anthropologie.

“At this point, I knew it was happening. It was very common for department stores, influencers, and bigger brands to buy inventory from smaller brands, reproduce it in-house, and it’s usually lower quality, and they usually sell it for a lot cheaper,” she alleged. Thomas isn’t hunting an average porch pirate like this New Yorker, who AirTagged her package thief. She believes Anthropologie tried to steal her design, so she tried to stop the parcel’s delivery.

She reached out to Anthropologie

Thomas left a voicemail, asking the mail center to stop the delivery and promising to pick it up the next morning. She also went a step further by reaching out to Anthropologie’s home designer about the issue.

Thomas confronted the designer, thanking her for the orders she placed on the Yam website. She also wrote, “If there is any interest in carrying our new home decor line, can you please have the appropriate buyers reach out?”

Thomas also added her company contacts to the email to inform them of the situation. When Thomas went to the mail center as soon as it opened, the owner was there waiting for her. He received her voicemail, and they stopped delivering the can openers. Although Thomas didn’t expect Anthropologie to reply, the representative did and explained that she had ordered directly from the Yam website.

The unnamed representative wrote, “I got very excited about your new line of home goods and wanted to gift them to my friends for the holidays, that’s why I ordered so many of your bottle openers!” They clarified that they still want to order the bottle openers to their home address, but they understood if Thomas doesn’t go through with the sale. However, they also wrote that if Thomas is interested in collaborating with the home team, they would pass it on to their coworkers. Thomas didn’t clarify whether she intends to take the offer, but she’s not the only one who was recently disappointed by a retail brand. Another man tried purchasing from Home Depot, only for his order to fall through because of AI agents.

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