North Drinkware’s California Half Dome Pint Glass
Molding an iconic mountain into the base of a hand-blown vessel
A little over a year since their wildly successful Kickstarter campaign for a Mt Hood Pint Glass captured 5,620 backers’ attention, Oregon-based glassware company North Drinkware returns with a brand new product: the California Half Dome Pint Glass. Once again, they’ve utilized real 3D data of their mountain inspiration, in conjunction with hand-blown glass molding. This crux of traditional techniques and technological advancement is only one factor that makes the brand so alluring. Notably, this is the first pint glass they’re launching without the help of Kickstarter. Also, the California Half Dome—located in the wonders of Yosemite National Park—was a surprising but inspired choice.
“We had planned from the beginning to launch The California Pint after The Oregon and Washington Pint,” Matt Capozzi, North Drinkware co-founder and partner explains to CH. “All three of the West Coast states have a strong connection to the mountains and craft beer markets. Choosing Mt Hood for Oregon and Mt Rainier for Washington were more obvious for us but choosing the right peak for California was a bit tougher.” Because of its record height, Mt Whitney may be the first name that comes to mind when thinking of California peaks, but the North Drinkware team wanted an icon that delivered emotional resonance. “When we were brainstorming, Half Dome was mentioned and we just knew it was perfect. Not only is Half Dome a global icon of Yosemite and California but it has a personal connection to all of us at North.”
The transition North Drinkware has undergone is also worth mentioning. From launching on Kickstarter, they have successfully evolved into a full-fledged multi-product business. “The success was big enough that we were able to set up North for larger scale production and invest in development time with our glass blowers to refine process and scale our handmade product,” Capozzi tells us. “It also allowed us to use the money to set up North as a sustainable business, not a small side project run out of our basement. An example of this is now having a warehouse and pack out facility to ensure orders are packed out professionally same day and shipped as efficiently as possible.”
North Drinkwares’ webstore has been open for 13 weeks now, and they’ve sold over 5,000 glasses. “Getting past Kickstarter and being able to open up direct sales through our site has allowed us to implement some of our Kickstarter learnings and leverage our collective experience in design, product and marketing to move the brand forward,” Capozzi says. “We now release new inventory which was handblown the previous week each Monday morning. We couldn’t be happier for the California Pint to drop today. [It’s] a deep connection to the mountains that inspire us all so much.” The product is an inspiring one—who wouldn’t want a mountain rising from the bottom of their glass, which still fits a proper pint—but so is their brand story.
North Drinkware’s The California Pint is available online for $45.
Product images courtesy of North Drinkware, landscape image courtesy of Embry Rucker
