Iola 2011 Collection – Must Know Facts
The Rattan Furniture market in New Zealand comprises, perhaps 200 retailers selling a wide range of product from very low to very high end. How to spot a quality product-look at the fibre, the foam and the fabrics used. We could talk about the grade of stainless steel, the weaving style or the frame construction but for a quick guide; fibre, foam, fabric will suffice. We know for a fact that no other rattan furniture product on the market within 50% of our price point is made to iola furniture standards. We also know our furniture is of a higher quality than some brands costing twice as much!
There are only 5 retail brands using German fibre; Dedon, Cane-Line, Rausch, iola and Gloster. The same 5 also use marine reticulated foam and solution dyed acrylics such as Sunbrella ™. This is no coincidence. German rattan fibre (we use Rehau) is proven 5X more durable than conventional rattan fibre. Sunbrella has a 50 year history in the development of luxury outdoor fabrics that will not fade or rot even in our U.V. Only marine foam is suitable for permanent outdoor use. Any other foam will rot.
Iola don’t just meet the standards of other good quality brands we largely exceed them despite the competition being on average, twice the price! We use 316 marine grade stainless steel in out exposed metal fittings. We are aware of one other vendor using this grade of stainless and their product is 3X our price point.
What we are saying is that a mere handful of vendors are using the best materials available. The rest are using Chinese fibre and cheap alloy parts. Chinese fibre is recycled plastic bottles and is designed for the European and North American markets which do not have UV issues. New Zealand has brutal UV! It is not a matter of if but when these materials will fail in our climate. The simple reason these vendors do not use German weaving material is because of cost. German fibres cost 3X more than chinese fibres.
Iola is unique. Not only do we use the highest quality materials we also employ manufacturing techniques which are superior. Examples are; one piece dining table construction. Is the table you are looking at knock down? Unless it is from one of the brands listed above we would bet it is. A knock down table is designed to save freight costs at the expense of structural integrity and in our opinion they look terrible because the legs must be bolted on! iola also employ true ‘1 x 1’ weaving. Can you see gaps or is the waeve not very tight on the furniture elsewhere? We also underweave all of our frames and use commercial grade 1.6-1.8mm gauge metal frames.
There is no compromise at iola. Our furniture is the finest in the world and that is not just marketing hype. Everything about our product screams exceptional quality. We have sourced every component from companies recognised as the global leaders in their chosen field. Moss in the UK, Unique fabrics from Italy, Rauchord from Germany, Sunbrella from the United States.
There is not any other product on the market superior to ours yet there are several retailers in Auckland pricing their furniture at our price points yet do not use good quality materials. The biggest sign of a weak product is the rattan fibre. It is not just our opinion but fact that the Germans make the best synthetic fibre.
Rattan furniture is the only product we deal in. We are specialists
We encourage all discerning customers to do their research and know what they are buying and ask questions about the fibre, the fabrics, foam and the frames.
There is a reason why iola sells more Premium Rattan Furniture than any other retailer in N.Z