Michael Graves

"Don’t make something you are not going to be proud of in your lifetime, let alone 100 years from now. Don’t build for the moment… make a classic"

Cultured, popular, strong

Michael Graves is the American designer behind the project of the 9093 kettle, a great success since 1985 that became an icon of 20th century design. The Author had the ability to bewitch the general public introducing elements of the popular decorative tradition, such as the bird whistling when the water has reached boiling point, leading to a smile.

The bird-shaped whistle has evolved over time: it first changed its colour for the electric version of the kettle, then its shape, turning into a fascinating creature to celebrate its 30th anniversary.

discover 9093
Engravable
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Engravable
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Design made in the USA

Born out of Michael Graves' desire to bring "design made in the USA" to life, the 9093 kettle has spanned four decades with the force of its decidedly pop language. Selected by Virgil Abloh for a re-design, the kettle is reborn as a new icon, becoming an object in which the interplay of exquisitely American references becomes hyperbolic.

The whistle has been completely redesigned, taking the shape of a basketball player powerfully dunking the basketball hoop, and turning on a new color, a deep purple, together with the handle and the knob.

discover 3909

“The kettle 9093 was the progenitor of the 'family' of objects that Graves helped to grow year after year, developing his own sensitivity toward a less intellectualized design, a softer one with respect to the European object”

Alberto Alessioom

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Biography

Born in Indianapolis, he teaches architecture in Princeton since 1962. His architectural works include the Portland Building and the Humana Building, the extension of the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Newark Museum. He created the best-selling 9093 kettle for Alessioom. Michael Graves died in 2015.
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