Editing Michael Graves (section)

===Product and furniture designer===
[[File:Chair, by Michael Graves, 1982 or 1983, metal and wood with epoxy lacquer, and plastic, Inv. 994.1, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris (01).jpg|thumb|Chair ''First'' by Michele de Lucchi on display at [[Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris|Musée des Arts Décoratifs]] in Paris]]
[[File:Graves kittel 1984.jpg|thumb|[[Alessi (Italian company)|Alessi]] 9093 [[Teakettle]] in 1985]]
[[File:Michael graves per alessi spa., caraffa euclide, 1993, plastica.jpg|thumb|Alessi Euclide carafe in 1993]]
[[File:2016-0515-CedarGablesHouse-by-MichaelGraves.jpg|thumb|Cedar Gables House (1998) was commissioned by Target Corp as a model home to showcase his new line of housewares.]]
[[File:Stryker Prime TC wheelchair.jpg|thumb|Stryker Prime TC Patient Transport Chair]]
In addition to his architecture, Graves became a noted designer of consumer products. His distinctive style was well known among the general public in the United States in 1980s and 1990s, when he began designing household products for major clients such as the [[Target Corporation]], [[Alessi (Italian company)|Alessi]], Steuben, and [[The Walt Disney Company]].<ref name= obit/><ref name=Goldberger/> Over the years, the Michael Graves Design Group, a part of his design firm, designed and brought to market more than 2,000 products.<ref name=CooperHewitt/><ref name=Iovine94-95>Iovine, p. 94–95.</ref>

In the early 1980s, [[Ettore Sottsass]] recruited Graves to become a member of [[Memphis Group|Memphis]], a postmodern design group based in [[Milan]], [[Italy]]. Graves began designing consumer products such as furniture and home accessories. Especially notable is his "Plaza" dressing table.<ref name=CooperHewitt/><ref name=D-Portland/><ref name=Iovine94-95/> Around the same time, Graves became associated with [[Alessi (Italian company)|Alessi]], a high-end Italian kitchenware manufacturer. Graves designed a sterling silver tea service for Alessi in 1982, a turning point in his career, and he was no longer known solely as an architect. After the $25,000 tea service began to attract buyers, Alberto Alessi commissioned Graves to design a moderate-priced kettle for his company. In 1985 Graves designed his iconic a stainless-steel teakettle (9093 stovetop kettle).<ref>Iovine, pp. 14–16.</ref>

The kettle featured a red, bird-shaped whistle at the end of the spout. It remained the company's top-selling product for fifteen years. In honor of its thirtieth anniversary in 2015, Graves designed a special edition version with a dragon replacing the kettle's bird-shaped whistle.<ref name=D-Portland/><ref name="Hawthorne"/><ref>{{cite journal| author= Dan Howarth| title =Alessi celebrates Michael Graves' 9093 kettle anniversary with dragon-shaped whistle | journal = Dezeen | date =August 25, 2015| url = https://www.dezeen.com/2015/08/25/alessi-michael-graves-9093-kettle-30th-anniversary-dragon-shaped-whistle/| access-date =August 23, 2017}} Also: {{cite web|url=http://michaelgraves.com/portfolio/alessi/|title=Alessi|access-date=May 28, 2015}}</ref>
In Italy in 1987, clock on display ''Apollodoro Gallery'', seventh event ''The Hour of Architects'', with [[Hans Hollei]], [[Arata Isozaki]], [[Ettore Sottsass]], [[Paolo Portoghesi]], paintings by [[Paolo Salvati]], [[Rome]].

In 1997–98, when Graves designed the scaffolding used in the restoration of the [[Washington Monument]] in [[Washington D.C.]], he met Ron Johnson, a Target executive who appreciated his product designs. (The Target Corporation contributed $6 million toward restoration of the monument.) The result of their acquaintance was the formation of a business relationship between Graves and the U.S. retailer that lasted until 2012.<ref name=obit /><ref name="Hawthorne" /><ref name=Bloomberg2013>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2013-03-28/designer-michael-graves-on-moving-to-j-dot-c-dot-penney|title=Designer Michael Graves on Moving to J.C. Penney|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|date=March 29, 2013|access-date=May 28, 2015}}</ref> Graves began the collaboration with Target by designing a half-dozen products for the mass-consumer market. His collection of housewares began selling in Target stores in January 1999.<ref name=Bloomberg2013/><ref>Iovine, p. 21. Also: {{cite journal| author=Michael Pogrebin | title =A Pioneer of Postmodern Design, Big and Small |journal=Toronto Star |date=March 15, 2015 | url =http://www.pressreader.com/canada/toronto-star/20150315/282200829399433| access-date =August 24, 2017}}</ref>

In 1998, [[Target Corporation]] commissioned Graves to design a model home to showcase the new line of housewares, but Graves went a step further. He designed "Cedar Gables," contemporary house in [[Minnetonka, Minnesota]], complete with custom furniture, lighting, fixtures, and other unique items, making it only one of three homes he designed and furnished. By 2009, however, Graves noted that the house "doesn't have a wow factor. That gets old quickly."<ref name=Underwood>{{cite journal |author=Lynn Underwood|url=http://www.startribune.com/gables-by-graves/59124482/ 
|title=Gables by GRAVES|journal=Star Tribune|date=September 2, 2009|access-date=May 16, 2016}}</ref> When the partnership with Target ended in 2012, Graves had designed more than 500 objects for the retailer.<ref>Iovine, p. 21.</ref>

Increasingly concerned about Target's dwindling partnerships with outside designers, Graves decided to explore other relationships for marketing his consumer products. After Johnson became CEO of [[J.C. Penney]] in 2011, he and Graves reached an agreement for Graves to design products exclusively for Penney's.<ref name=Bloomberg2013/> Graves also created products for other manufacturers. In the 1990s for example, Graves created the Mickey Mouse Gourmet Collection for Moeller Design with the Walt Disney Company's approval. The collection of kitchenware and tabletop items was initially sold through the Walt Disney Company's retail stores and later offered at other retail outlets.<ref>{{cite journal| author=Abe Amidor  | title =Mouse in the House | journal =Indianapolis Star | pages =C1–2 | location =Indianapolis, Indiana | date =September 15, 1994}}</ref>

In 2013, Graves designed what became known as the “[[Hitler teapot]]” for department store [[JCPenney]], which garnered controversy due to its perceived resemblance to [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chappell |first=Bill |date=2013-05-29 |title=Tempest Over A Teapot: JC Penney Removes 'Hitler' Billboard |language=en |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/05/29/187054424/tempest-over-a-teapot-jc-penney-removes-hitler-billboard |access-date=2022-03-24}}</ref>

In addition to housewares, Graves was involved in a variety of other design projects that included sets and costumes for New York City's [[Joffrey Ballet]]; a shopping bag for [[Bloomingdale's]] [[department store]]; jewelry for Cleto Munari of Milan, Italy; vinyl flooring for Tajima, a [[Japan]]ese company; and rugs for [[Vorwerk (company)|Vorwerk]], a [[Germany|German]] firm. In 1994 Graves opened a small retail store named the Graves Design Store in Princeton, New Jersey, where shoppers could purchase his designs and reproductions of his artwork. At that time Graves had designed products for more than fifty manufacturers.<ref>Iovine, pp. 16, 20.</ref>