Michael Lax kettles

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mbanu
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Mon Feb 07, 2022 9:55 am

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Thought they might deserve their own thread -- unique (for the time) enameled kettles with laminated teak handles made for Copco.

From an obituary on Michael Lax:
Lax's first real break as a solo designer came when Samuel Farber, a friend he had met while taking his daughter to nursery school, announced that he was setting up a company, Copco. A 20-year collaboration, and a longer friendship, ensued. Lax developed a line of cast-iron and porcelain enamel cookware for the fledgling firm (at the time, an industry first), followed in 1962 by Copco's signature piece, a kettle, made of pressed sheet metal and porcelain enamel (subsequently available in orange, yellow, blue and olive) with a bent teak handle. The cheery, elegant, stove-top kettle without a whistle became a symbol of modern design; more than 1m were sold before it was discontinued in the mid-80s.
(https://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/j ... bituaries2)

The location of production shifted around a few times. I think they were originally made in Holland, while by the 1980s they were made in Japan. I've seen a few made in Spain. For a time came with smarmy "How to boil water" instructions. :D
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Victoria
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Mon Feb 07, 2022 1:13 pm

These are iconic modern 60s kettles. We had a red one in Palo Alto in the 60s, in our modern Eichler courtyard home, with Eames chairs, George Nelson furniture, and Copco cast iron enamel kitchen ware by Lax. I think I even had a children's kitchen set from Copco.
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mbanu
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After Copco was sold in the early 1980s, Michael Lax made a few more kettle designs for American Commercial (Mikasa). These "Grande Chef Tango" kettes were also made in Japan like the later Copco kettles, but seem inspired by more old-fashioned designs.

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mbanu
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Some seem in the middle, like the "Kettle Express", also made in Japan. In particular both these Mikasa kettles are marked "Ejiri - Japan". I think there was an enamelware maker called Ejiri Horo -- maybe they were the manufacturer? (They made the Sanko-Ware brand.)

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