Castiglioni’s “Bulbul” kettle is a 1995 design found among the prototypes in the Alessi Museum. Achille often reminded me that I would ask him to design kitchen utensils that he was unaccustomed to using, so he was not an expert in the subject. As an example, his kettle presents a new way of handling this object: almost as if to suggest an invitation to play by sliding it across the kitchen surface.” Alberto Alessi

His activity as a designer is an unmistakable blend of simplicity, irony and fun and its shows his close interest in the way objects are used, in the potential offered by technology and in the use of new materials. "Another thing that's important is to make fun of yourself... and not to take this design thing too seriously, to take society for what it is.” Achille Castiglioni

Bulbul reveals Castiglioni’s extraordinary ability to transfer qualities and functions into a project from objects belonging to completely different spheres. This game of transfers has often resulted in the equally famous ironic dimension of many of his works. Bulbul is a perfect kettle imagined in the rounded shape of a curling stone: from frozen water to evaporated water, a divertissement amplified by the name chosen by Castiglioni, “bul, bul”, meaning “it’s boiling, it’s boiling” in the traditional dialect of Milan, where this unforgettable designer was born.