Trend watch: Unique and stylish drinking glasses

These decorative drinking glasses will make any home bar more stylish.

By Cristina Velocci Mon Mar 18 2013

For those nights when you’d rather host friends for drinks at home instead of hitting New York City’s bars, these stylish tumblers will add pizzazz to your cocktail party. We found hand-painted glasses at Artware Editions and chalkboard styles from Pier 1 Imports. Just don’t forget to put down some cool coasters on your table beforehand.

Although Sisters of Los Angeles started as a giftware company dedicated to celebrating the City of Angels, it has since expanded its reach to include products for other urban areas—beginning with NYC. Architect Barbara Bestor designed these glasses featuring graphic, abstract representations of New York and its five boroughs printed in organic ink, allowing you to toast to living in the greatest metropolis in the world. Sisters of Los Angeles New York Rocks glasses, four for $45, at Exit 9, 127 Smith St between Dean and Pacific Sts, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn (718-422-7720) • 51 Ave A between 3rd and 4th Sts (212-228-0145) • shopexit9.com
We know better than to mix alcohol with medication, but these cheeky tumblers are one safe exception. Married New York artists Theo A. Rosenblum and Chelsea Seltzer hand-paint pills in acrylic onto the base of each glass, giving fellow revelers a surprise every time you go bottoms up. Seltzer & Rosenblum hand-painted Pills glasses, $63 each (normally $70), at Artware Editions, 270 Bowery between E Houston and Prince Sts, second floor (212-463-7490, artwareeditions.com). Mention TONY to receive this discount through Mar 28.
Never lose track of your glass (or what’s inside it) with this tall tumbler, featuring a swath of chalkboard on its surface. It even comes with a piece of chalk for scrawling the name of the imbiber or drink. Pier 1 Imports Chalk Note tumbler, $3, at Pier 1 Imports, locations throughout the city; visit pier1.com
Photograph: Jared Goltz

This gold-leaf–adorned cup from Chicago decor store Jayson Home is so elegant, it makes drinking boxed wine a classy affair. Jayson Home Marni glass, $20, at jaysonhome.com
Photograph: John Muggenborg

New York designer Anna Rabinowicz is best known for incorporating agate and crystals into the decorative objects she creates. Although these hand-carved faceted glass tumblers are a departure from her raw material of choice, they still manage to capture the twinkling quality of semiprecious gems. The set’s various jewel-toned colors are sure to give your table setting a luxe yet eclectic feel. Rab Labs Copo tumblers, four for $150, at Nest Interiors, 172A Ninth Ave between 20th and 21st Sts (212-337-3441)
Green-minded guzzlers will adore these sustainable vessels, fashioned from recycled wine bottles that have been cut in half (the top portions are used to create globes for tea lights). Consider finishing your cocktail yet another measure in ensuring nothing goes to waste. Oenophilia Greenophile recycled–wine-bottle tumblers, four for $20, at bedbathandbeyond.com

Although Sisters of Los Angeles started as a giftware company dedicated to celebrating the City of Angels, it has since expanded its reach to include products for other urban areas—beginning with NYC. Architect Barbara Bestor designed these glasses featuring graphic, abstract representations of New York and its five boroughs printed in organic ink, allowing you to toast to living in the greatest metropolis in the world. Sisters of Los Angeles New York Rocks glasses, four for $45, at Exit 9, 127 Smith St between Dean and Pacific Sts, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn (718-422-7720) • 51 Ave A between 3rd and 4th Sts (212-228-0145) • shopexit9.com

Follow Cristina Velocci on Twitter: @cvelocci