Given the chance, he'll sketch furniture, umbrellas, wallets, wall clocks - you name it, and Michael Graves has probably given his spin to it. No, Graves has delved into product design with an enthusiasm worthy of Martha Stewart. And like the doyene of the fashionable living scene, when Graves puts his name on something it gains instant cachet.
Graves blends classical allusions and whimsy.
He refines an idea to its essence and then adds a distinctive stroke. It's this educated eye and sense of humor that have made him popular. Of course, it wasn't always like this. There was a time when Michael Graves struggled to be noticed. Early on in his career he did more drawings than completed projects, but the drawings usually were published.