“We are abouthome and family. Ico has been built around my
children growing up and has always been run from my home”
WhendidyoustartIcoTradersandwhatwerethe
greatestchallengesyoufaced?Icohasbeengoing
forsevenyearsnowandeverydayis stilla challenge.
Runninga businessonyourownis a 24/7jobwith
alltheresponsibilitiesdowntoyou.I’velearneda lot
aboutaccountingandadminandfreight-forwarding!
I amdailygratefulforthehelpofmycolleague
Bridgett who works for me part time.
Whatistheethosofyourbrand?Weareabout
homeandfamily.Icohasbeenbuiltaroundmy
childrengrowingupandhasalwaysbeenrunfrom
myhome.Thismeansconstantinputfrommy
husbandandgirls– everythingI designhastopass
thetestoftheeveryday,rough-and-tumblechaos
thatis Osbornefamilylife.Thisis whymydesigns
aresimple,sturdyandmultifunctional.Mostofthem
havemorethanoneuseorpurposeandarelight
enoughthattheycanbemovedfromroomtoroom,
spacetospace,insidetooutside,astheyare needed.
My motto is: buy less but use it for more.
HowhasIcoTradersdevelopedorevolvedsince
youstarted?I firststartedimportingenamel
lightshades.It wasnotuntila yearortwolater,when
I founda factoryI feltI couldtrulyworkwith,that
thewirefurniturewascreatedandI foundmymojo.
IntroducinggreatbrandslikePressedTinPanels
andWilson& Dorsetsheepskinscomplementsthe
IcoTradersbrandandrounds out the range that I
sell on my website.Whatarethetoughestthingsaboutrunninga
businessinAotearoa?Whatarethebestthings?
Beingatthebottomoftheearthis isolatingand
I misstheopportunitytogaininspirationatfurniture
showsthroughouttheworld.However,thatisolation
is alsoa goodwaytoensureyouarenotswayed
toomuchbytrendsandhelpskeepyoutruetoyour
brand.A bigdownsideis thatI’mconstantlyasked
forfreightestimatestosendproductsoverseas,but
thecostoffreightis prohibitive. This is still an issue
without a solution.Whatorwhoaresomeofyourfavourite
businesses,labels,makersorproductsinthe
Christchurcharea?Althoughtheyarenotfrom
Christchurch,I’dhavetosaythatmyadmiration
fordesignteamDouglas& Becis high,fortheway
theyusebeautifulmaterialsina trueandsimple
way.InChristchurch,JuliaAtkinson-DunnofStudio
Homeselflesslychampionssmallbusinessesandis
constantlybuildingupa supportivecommunityfor
thecreativesofChristchurch.I amcurrentlytryingto
savemypenniessothatcabinetmakerNeilHopkinson
(ofParsonsGreenFurniture,NewBrighton)can make
me a full row of oak drawers for my kitchen.AreyoufromChristchurchoriginally?Whatdo
youloveaboutlivingthere?I’mfromWoodbury,
nearGeraldine.I’ma farmgirlwholiveda bigchunk
ofherlifeinAuckland,thenbroughtherkidsback
toChristchurchtobewithfamily.Bothmysisters
andmyparentsliveintheCanterbury/South
Canterbury region (and my husband’s family all liveICOLIFEMiranda’s
productsaredesigned
forfamilylivingsoit’s
nosurprisetheycanbe
foundinmostroomsof
herhome,includingher
office (this page).yhg| 33S