Some of the Heirloom Companies’ best work is out in the open for anyone to see. Drive by Unity Park in Greenville, and you can’t miss the nine-foot-tall multicolored steel UNITY sign. Head downtown, and you can find the decorative steel, aluminum, and plaster archway that frames Brown Street.
Greenville’s Cancer Survivors Park, Clemson University, and the Wofford and Converse campuses in Spartanburg also boast grand staircases, railings, doors, gates, archways, chandeliers, and other architectural features fabricated by the Campobello-based artisans. You might even be lucky enough to visit—or own—one of the scores of high-end homes throughout the region that have been enhanced by an Heirloom custom range hood, furniture piece, or lighting feature.
“We’ve got craftsmen that are literally out there hand-forging things that are not able to be purchased on the shelf, in any type of store or online source,” says co-owner Ben Moseley. “‘Faster and cheaper’ is not our business model. We’re taking it in the opposite direction: ‘How can we go more custom? How can we do something nobody’s ever seen before?’”
Ben shares company ownership with his brothers James and Travis. Their parents, Allyn and Sheree Moseley, founded the company in 1992. “I was 13 or so when it started,” Ben recalls. “It was just Dad in a pickup truck doing staircases up on Glassy Mountain, and things just continued to evolve.”
Already a skilled craftsman when he started the company, Allyn Moseley forged a business philosophy his sons still follow. “Just do the best job that you can do,” Ben says. “If you produce quality work, then sales will inevitably take care of themselves.”
Evolution of Heirloom Companies
Allyn and Sheree remain involved in the company they launched in an old barn, which has now grown into three separate enterprises: James Moseley Design; Heirloom Stair and Iron, which focuses on custom staircases and railings; and Hand-Forged Design, specializing in home furnishings. Ben, the oldest son, mainly handles client relations, while middle brother James concentrates on designing larger projects. Travis, the youngest, runs day-to-day operations in the metal shop. They lead a team of nearly 30 craftsmen, designers, and technologists. Two more Moseleys—Ben’s wife, Erica, and James’s wife, Heather—are part of the office team.
Expect to find more custom Heirloom pieces appearing in the area (or inside your neighbor’s home) as the Moseley family continues its legacy.
“Once you have that much manpower pushing, there’s a lot of growth that can happen,” Ben says. “The growth this area has seen in the past 30 years—we can all agree that it’s been phenomenal.”
See more examples of The Heirloom Companies’ work at theheirloomcompanies.com.
