Tea kettle

In 1998, during Michael Graves's partnership with Target Corporation on the acclaimed scaffolding for the Washington Monument restoration, the architect, who dubbs himself a general practitioner, began having conversations with Target executives about affordable product design. Walking through a Target store, Graves marked hundreds of household items he felt he could improve. His first group to hit Target shelves in 1999 included this teakettle, a variation on his whistling bird kettle for Alessi from 1985. This less expensive version has a literal whistle on its spout; other variations for target include a spinning and a ferris wheel whistle. Graves's blend of attention-grabbing details and Postmodern classical references on everyday objects has been a popular one for the store chain.