Valerie Kirves started Iron Accents in 1999 as a part-time online business specializing in iron furniture and accessories. It grew over the next couple years into a full-time operation that offers a wide variety of unique metal pieces supplied by more than 70 individual artists, blacksmiths, manufacturers, and importers. To maintain high levels of quality, the main lines of items are hand-forged and crafted by blacksmith shops throughout the United States and Europe.
Kirves handles marketing and website management and deals directly with artists and manufacturers from her Clermont headquarters, with a staff of three workers to oversee web business and three others to manage shipping and receiving at warehouses and retail stores. Iron Accents also offers design services by Terri Williams, and the unusual business – an artisanal mainstay for local designers and decorators — has been featured in magazines such as 400 Edition, Mountain Laurel, and Sassy Trash.