Steel yourself: Target will stop carrying the Michael Graves line.
Some say: You mean those blue plastic things that cost more? Sigh.
No, we're talking about the elegantly designed implements of daily life that infused the most mundane chores with a sense of art and whimsy.
Right, those blue plastic things that cost more.
No reason for the split was given, but it's possible Mr. Graves was tired of going to a party, introducing himself, and being told, "Oh, I have your toilet plunger."
At some point a man just has to snap: "I'm more than a device for unstopping privy pipes, Madam. I am an architect whose Portland Building was a landmark in the postmodern movement, reworking classical motifs to the point of abstraction without diluting their semiotic essence! Jeez already!" Pause for breath. "Do you have the old one with the T-shaped handle, or the new one with the rounded handle? I rather think the first was more elegant."
It's a sad end to a great line. They made us feel good about buying a toilet plunger.
They were sturdy: I just tossed a dust pan that served us for seven years, and the plunger, unlike its ruddy-hued wood-handled kin, never split. You could fill your house with items that belonged together, and if someone said, Wow, you really drank the Kool-Aid, didn't you? you could whip out a translucent white plastic pitcher and fill it with Michael Graves Kool-Aid and get out the Michael Graves ice cube tray.