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Smithey Ironware founder Isaac Morton dishes on the company’s 10th anniversary and goals for the future

Smithey Ironware founder Isaac Morton dishes on the company’s 10th anniversary and goals for the future
February 2025
WRITER: 

Learn about the recently opened showroom and distribution facility in North Charleston



(Left) Smithey founder Isaac Morton’s hobby turned into a full-blown ironware business; (right) a blacksmith forging a handle for a carbon-steel farmhouse skillet.

While the buttery-smooth, heirloom-quality cast-iron pans created by Smithey Ironware Company are treasured by foodies and F&B pros across the country, the business’ decade-old legacy has humble beginnings. 

Receiving a vintage Griswold pan nearly 20 years ago kick-started Smithey founder Isaac Morton’s passion for collecting and refurbishing vintage cast iron, a hobby that began in his backyard. Morton designed the prototype for his first 10-inch cast-iron skillet and began selling them online under the Smithey name in 2015. “It was easy to grab a rusty skillet, finish it, and reseason it as a nice personal gift that lasts forever,” says Morton. “You start as one thing; it’s just you and maybe one or two other people helping. Then, at a certain point you realize, ‘I can’t do all this alone.’”

Since the original skillet’s success, the Smithey line has expanded to offer cast-iron pans in a range of shapes and sizes, as well as kitchen accessories. The brand’s carbon-steel skillet, forged, pressed, and hammered into form by local blacksmiths, is an especially coveted piece of kitchenware, a collaboration that nods to the Holy City’s rich history of decorative ironwork. 

The brand’s growing line.

In February 2024, Smithey began the process of relocating from its former manufacturing facility in North Charleston’s Navy Yard to two new locations. The first space at Riverfront Park houses offices and a showroom, where customers can examine the brand’s entire line. Just down the road, the company also opened a larger fulfillment facility, a move that Morton says will double, if not triple, manufacturing capacity. “The learning curve has been one of the greatest things about this business,” says Morton. “By moving our offices and fulfillment, we were able to expand our floor plan at Pipefitter Street, which freed up space for new equipment and personnel investment.”

In the past year, Smithey debuted the limited-edition “Yellowstone” skillet, a 14-inch iron skillet, the “Deep Farmhouse” skillet, and the extra-wide, burger-ready “Mighty” spatula. Looking at the horizon, including the company’s 10th anniversary in April, Morton expects to see the brand pop up in more retail locations across North America, with staggered releases of new cast-iron and carbon-steel pans and accessories. “I would have never expected that we would grow to the point we have today,” admits Morton. “The world and marketplace is a much bigger place than my backyard.”

By the Numbers
- $3.1 million: Expansion investment cost 
- 7: Months it took to move 
- 16: New jobs created 
- 50: Total number of employees
- 25: Cookware products created
- 10: Kitchen accessories offered

WATCH - The best way to season your Smithey cast iron or carbon steel cookware: