Kitchenaid Artisan - a design classic

What is it about the Kitchenaid Artisan Mixer that makes me go weak at the knees? I imagine it's how boys feel about prestige cars. Having said that, increasingly I see the mixer as less of an indulgence and more or a pre-requisite. As a society we have long since passed the point of viewing the humble kettle as an indulgence. No, we would no more draw fresh water from the well and then pop the cauldron in the coals on the hearth than we would fly unless on a particularly remote Hebridean island, or partaking in a living history experiment, or even if living in Surbiton but with a penchant for the twee. No - we get water from the good old tap, put it in our good old kettle that we expect to die in three years, and that matches our good old toaster. It was no longer an attempt at channelling Nigella through 1950s style Kitschenalia in order to buy ourselves her life.
I was a grown-up. I had my own house, a full time job, a teenage daughter who was herself a trainee Bakeratti in the making, and failing joints. I could no longer use my Dualit handheld, which has amazing torque but weighs a ton and gives you whitefinger, without considerable arthritic pain afterwards. I had convinced myself I HAD to have a stand mixer.
So I did what any self-respecting grown-up did and called my mother suggesting she might like to donate some John Lewis vouchers in lieu of a birthday/christmas present. In the event, she bought the whole thing. Which was a rather clever move on her part. A Kitchenaid, at £419, is a once, at a push twice, in a lifetime purchase for the average heavy domestic user. Thusly, years from now when I am helping my grandchildren whip up their first batch of fairy cakes, I'll be able to tell them about their great grandmother, who bought me the machine. So she has ensured her place in the family history books. Not that she wouldn't have done anyway, but every time I walk past the gorgeous pinkness of the stunningly beautiful design classic, I'll send a little prayer of thanks her way.