Artist/Designer: Michael Graves
b. 1934, Indianapolis, IN
Title: The Little Dripper Coffeepot 1983
Medium: Ceramic
Dimensions: 9"h with lid 10.5" x 6.5" with dripper 11"h, dripper 4.5"h x 7.75"x 6.25" 10 cup capacity
Manufacturer: Swid Powell
Details: Called The Little Dripper as Graves also designed The Big Dripper, (note photo of drawing) a 14 cup version of the filter-drip coffeemaker. Only The Little Dripper was produced. This is an early prototype version with visible but minor mold marks and evidence of testing with coffee on inner rim. On this version, the color for the base was a rosier red, (note photo below with the production version of the creamer base in final production color closer to brick red.)
Notes from the Archive: In Annette Tapert's book on Swid Powell she writes, "For Graves the correlation between his architecture and the pieces he designed for Swid Powell is the use of figurative motif and the application of color. "In many of these artifacts, I've used a similar palette, but in the symbolic sense," Graves notes. "For instance, on the Little Dripper coffee pot, the terra cotta base represents the heat and color of coffee and the blue signifies water. This is a direct association to some extent, but with an abstract touch. In the end, though, it's ornamental, and the associations are the relationship of color and form." Tapert goes on to quote Graves on his straightforward love of products, "Everything I design is a direct result of what I want in my own home. I designed The Little Dripper because I'm partial to filter-drip coffee and I was dissatisfied with the aesthetics of the models that were on the market."
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