The Case for Interesting Glassware (and Why the Department Store Isn’t the Only Option)
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Time to read 2 min
A fabulous glass is one of the easiest ways to make a drink feel special, even if what’s inside is just a very honest gin and tonic on a Tuesday night. It’s also a surprisingly reliable ice breaker. People will comment on a beautiful glass before they comment on your cocktail. They’ll pick it up, turn it over, ask where you found it. Suddenly, you’re not just serving drinks — you’re telling a story.
Dancing Martini glasses designed by EJR Barnes in collaboration with Miranda Keyes.
Look Beyond the Department Store
There comes a moment in every home bar’s life when you realise the glassware you bought in a panic before Christmas in 2019 is… fine. Perfectly serviceable. Entirely forgettable. And that’s the problem.
Department stores are excellent for socks, emergency towels, and the occasional frying pan. But when it comes to glassware, they tend to deliver the same safe, sensible options everyone else already owns. The more interesting pieces usually live elsewhere.
Small galleries, vintage stores, weekend markets, and tiny shops you stumble across while travelling. These are the places where glassware gets personality. You might find a set of mismatched coupes from the 1960s, a slightly wobbly hand blown tumbler, or a single jewel toned glass that feels like it belongs in a cocktail bar in Lisbon. None of it needs to match. In fact, it’s better if it doesn’t.
Designed by Makoto Komatsu, these crumple cocktail glasses are part of the same series as the crumpled whiskey glasses, which are a permanent collection of MoMA, New York.
One of a kind handmade tumbler from Tambourine Glassblowing in QLD
Make It a Collection, Not a Purchase
The trick is to treat glassware like you would books or ceramics, something you collect slowly over time. Pick up a pair of coupes when you’re travelling. Bring home a tumbler from a local glass blower. Rescue a beautiful old glass from a vintage shop that clearly deserves a second life. You don’t need twelve of everything. Two is often enough.
A shelf of collected pieces feels far more interesting than a cupboard full of identical sets. It also means every glass has a story attached to it: where you found it, who you were with, what you drank from it the first time. And that’s the kind of detail people remember.
Support the Makers
One of the most satisfying ways to build a collection is to buy directly from local glass artists and makers. Yes, the pieces might cost a little more than a department store set. No, you probably won’t buy six at once. But what you’re getting is something made by hand, an object with weight, texture, and character. The kind of glass that feels good to hold and impossible to replace. You might only buy one or two tumblers. You’ll keep them for years.
Blown glass Gather tumbler by South Australian artist Kristel Britcher.
The Glass Does Half the Work
A beautiful glass doesn’t just hold the drink, it sets the tone. It makes a simple cocktail feel considered. It makes guests feel looked after. It makes your home bar feel like somewhere worth lingering. And if someone asks where you found it, you’ll have a good answer ready.
Marta coupes (set of 4) from Anthropologie
Marta acrylic goblets from Anthropologie
Bitossi goblets (set of 6) Farfetch
Audrey Coupes from Maebel
Watercolour blue coupes from Bonnie & Neil
Mixed Colour tumblers in blown glass by South Australian artist Nicole Ayliffe
