The Making of TradCo: A Conversation with Graham Duff
18 November 2025TradCo products can be found in over 600 stores across Australia and New Zealand—but four decades ago, it began as a side project sparked by a gap in the market.
Founder Graham Duff reflects on how one simple idea grew into a heritage hardware brand trusted by restorers, designers, and homeowners alike.
The Journey of TradCo
“It started with necessity,” says Graham. “We had furniture that needed restoring—but we couldn’t find fittings that matched.”
In the early 1980s, Graham was working full-time while his wife, Denise, and her sister ran a small shop selling handmade quilts, wall hangings, and pine and cedar furniture. In the evenings and on weekends, Graham would help to restore the pieces.
“What was missing were suitable fittings,” he recalls. “Handles were either salvaged from old trunks or imported from England, but they just didn’t suit Australian furniture. So, we decided to make our own.”
After thorough research, Graham engaged a manufacturer to produce the preferred designs in TradCo’s well-loved Polished Brass and Antique Brass finishes. The result was heritage-inspired handles that were suited to Graham’s restoration projects. This inspired him to develop more designs and replicate the door furniture in pressed brass in keeping with how the original period handles were produced.
With a growing demand for timber products in the industry, Graham approached a local woodturning workshop and asked if they could produce simple wooden knobs—something that felt right for the pieces he was working on. They agreed, and the first pine and cedar knobs were made. They were authentic, functional, and struck a chord with other restorers. Those very first wooden knobs remain a cherished part of TradCo’s collection today.
Soon, restoration shops in Sydney and Melbourne were placing orders. A key partnership with Bourke Street Brass in NSW allowed them to expand the offering. In exchange for the wooden knobs, they received brass handles—early versions of the Maple Leaf and Victorian styles.
“That’s when we started to really build a range,” he says.
What began in the family’s garage quickly outgrew it. TradCo moved into a single cottage on a main road in Adelaide. “It was tiny, but it meant we could separate home and work,” Graham says. “That was a big step.”
Opening New Doors
By the mid-1980s, the business had moved again—this time to a larger space on Magill Road. With more room came more possibilities. Pressed cabinet pulls in and Nouveau styles were introduced—faithful replicas of salvaged originals. The Edwardian design even became the company’s first logo.
“It opened the door—literally—to a new category,” Graham says. “We started making door furniture: knobs, levers, and latches that felt true to period homes. The whole pressed brass range really put us on the map.”
Production techniques evolved too, shifting from pressing to casting and forging. Milled-edge knobs, once imported from England, were eventually produced in-house. Collaborations with manufacturing partners refined quality and consistency, and as the business grew, so did the range.
There was no blueprint—just a love of design, trial and error, and a deep respect for detail. “We spent weekends at salvage yards. I used to rummage through Adelaide & Rural Salvage for ideas,” Graham says. “If we found a great handle, we’d figure out how to recreate it.”
That approach led to some of TradCo’s most enduring designs. The Napier design was inspired by a trip to New Zealand’s Art Deco capital. The Fitzroy Range took cues from Melbourne’s inner north and the Nouveau was based on originals found in salvage shops across Adelaide.
By the late 1980s, TradCo had become a profitable, independent business, trusted by restoration specialists and homeowners alike. “There was a lot of knocking on doors in Melbourne and Sydney,” Graham says with a laugh. “That’s how we got stocked early on.”
Support from retailers like Chippendale and Windsor Brass was instrumental. “They were some of the first to really back us,” Graham says. “That made all the difference.”
As the business grew, TradCo settled into its long-term home on Stepney Street. Today, the TradCo brand offers more than 4,000 products—cabinet hardware, door furniture, hinges, and fittings—each made with the same purpose that started it all: to give restored homes authentic detail.
“At the time, we just wanted to make it easier for people,” Graham says. “You shouldn’t have to dig through salvage bins to find four matching handles. We wanted to give people access to heritage design, without compromise.”
More than forty years on, that philosophy still drives the business: thoughtful design, respect for history, and a belief that every home has a story worth telling.
Today, TradCo remains proudly family-owned. Graham and Denise’s daughter Emily and her husband Steve Bradley carry forward the same heartfelt passion, ensuring every TradCo product reflects the original vision of care, quality and heritage inspired design.
“They’ve brought fresh energy,” Graham says. “But they’ve kept the heart of it the same. That’s what makes me proud.”
