A while ago – in September 2020 to be precise – Joe in London bought a kettle. Not just any kettle: this was a designer kettle, by Sowden for Hay, in cream, with a red base and a blue lid. “Because I’m the type of millennial who believes I deserve a little treat, even when I’m just buying a kettle,” he says.
The kettle took 10 months to arrive – but that’s not central to the story. What is important is that a couple of months later, the kettle malfunctioned: the lid release button jammed, and Joe had to manually prise the lid open. Annoying, right? Certainly not what you’d expect from a £100 kettle.
