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It started with an earthquake & a blank page
Before Ico Traders, Miranda had spent years designing and buying soft furnishing fabrics & clothing, careers that regularly took her overseas. Then the Christchurch earthquakes came and changed everything.
Like so many people in Canterbury at the time, Miranda found herself rethinking what she wanted her life to look like. She wanted to stay closer to home. Closer to her family. She wanted to build something right here in New Zealand that felt genuinely hers.
In 2012, Ico Traders was born. Wire furniture became her obsession.
How a design actually starts
Miranda designs to solve a problem or to create something that feels right in a space that currently feels incomplete.
Each piece begins with a clear purpose. A chair that moves easily between the kitchen and the deck. A side table light enough to take anywhere. A bench that works indoors and out without looking like it is trying too hard. The brief is always the same: what does this space need and how do we answer that without adding unnecessary noise?
From that starting point the design is refined. The wire shapes are worked and reworked until the proportions feel right comfortable to sit in, strong enough to last and simple enough to live alongside for years.
This is what Miranda means when she talks about timeless design. Not that the pieces look the same as everything else. But that they will feel just as right in your home in ten years as they do today.
What 'handcrafted' actually means
Every Ico Traders wire piece is made by hand. Each wire is individually shaped and spot welded using a traditional method that hasn't changed since the business first started. It is a process that requires skill patience and an eye for detail that machines simply cannot replicate.
‘The furniture is made at the same factory we've worked with since 2012. That long relationship matters to us. They know our standards, they care about quality and consistency’.
The wires are placed closely together - especially on seating, which is what gives the pieces their unexpected comfort. ‘People are always surprised by how good they feel to sit in’.
Once shaped and welded each piece receives a PVDF base coat for heat and rust resistance before being powdercoated in Ico Traders' exclusive colour palette. Those colours are developed in New Zealand and inspired by the landscape. Soft neutrals, earthy tones and grounded shades that sit quietly within a space and age beautifully over time.
Once shaped and welded, each piece gets a PVDF base coat for heat & rust resistance before being powdercoated in Ico Traders' exclusive colour range.
Colour as part of the design
The Ico Traders colour palette is not an afterthought. It is part of the design itself.
Miranda develops the colours with the New Zealand environment in mind, the light here is different from anywhere else and the landscape has a quality that shifts with the seasons. The palette reflects that. Putty. Sage. Fern. Indigo. Carbon. Chocolate Red. Toffee. Each shade is chosen to work with natural materials such as timber, concrete, brick and stone.
Designed to be packed lightly and last forever
There is a practical intelligence behind the way Ico Traders furniture is packaged that people do not always know about. Many of the larger pieces are designed with the legs detached. Not because they need to be complicated to assemble, but because it allows two chairs to be packed into a single box.
Smaller boxes mean fewer trucks, fewer emissions and a smaller footprint from factory to front door. It is one of the many small decisions that add up to a genuinely carbon positive company.
Iron is the core material in the mild steel range. It is a sustainable and easily recyclable resource. The stainless steel outdoor range goes further, offering a better defence against coastal salt air humidity and the kind of relentless weather that New Zealand is famous for. These are not pieces you replace in a few years. They are pieces you hand down.
Small team. Big care.
Ico Traders is still a small Christchurch company. Miranda works alongside part-time team members Bridgett and Georgia and her constant furry companions who are never far from the action. Orders are packed and dispatched with the kind of care that only a small team brings to the work.
That smallness is not a limitation. It is part of the character of everything Ico Traders makes and does. When you buy from Ico Traders you are buying from a real person who designed your piece with real intention and who genuinely wants you to love it.
Why it matters - buy less use it for more
Miranda's design philosophy can be summed up in one line that sits right at the heart of the Ico Traders brand: buy less and use it for more. It sounds simple. It is also quietly radical in a world that encourages the opposite.
When a piece of furniture is light enough to move between rooms, multifunctional enough to serve different purposes and beautiful enough that you never want to replace it — that's good design. It's also the most sustainable choice you can make.
These pieces aren't precious. They're made to be lived in and moved around.
Shop the collection
If you'd like to explore the full range of handcrafted wire furniture & homewares, head to icotraders.co.nz. And if you need help finding the right piece for your space, get in touch — we're always happy to help.
Ico Traders is a New Zealand owned & operated company based in Christchurch. Founded in 2012 by designer Miranda Osborne. Proudly carbon positive.
