Uprising Glassware is capturing iconic Tasmanian landscapes in glass

Kurt Menzies launched his glassing business, Uprising Glassware, in January, after he had returned to Australia after spending six years living and working as a mountain guide in Canada.

"I had this idea for the mountain glasses and just knew it would do well in Tassie, so I launched the business in January this year," Mr Menzies said.

The Uprising Glassware founder wanted to further his interest in environmental conservation and outdoor lifestyle.

"I had seen a Mount Everest whiskey glass and thought, Tassie has all these incredible mountains and a thriving whiskey industry. So I thought the concept could work here, and that's how the idea was born," Mr Menzies said.

He said his most significant motivation for launching this unique business is to create a platform for raising funds for environmental conservation work.

"Parts of Canada, such as Vancouver Island, are similar to Tasmania in many ways. There are many incredible old-growth forests and beautiful mountains. And the same thing is happening with logging companies still pushing into the old-growth forest," Mr Menzies said.

The founder said he understands the importance of generational jobs but feels "there's so much other opportunity, especially when it comes to sustainable tourism."

Uprising Glassware works with the not-for-profit, apolitical, science and community-based organisation Tasmanian Land Conservancy (TLC) as its founding eco-partner.

According to Uprising Glassware's website, TLC "are amazing at safeguarding Lutruwita/Tasmania's wild and wonderful places, so we're delighted to help fund their programs".

In Uprising Glassware's first two-quarters of reporting, they raised over $3,000 for the Tasmanian Land Conservancy.

"I'm pretty proud that we can still make a reasonably meaningful contribution just in that first little period. I have yet to draw away [any money] from the business.

"All the money that comes in is invested back into growing the company further, so whether we make money or not, our conservation partners get paid," Mr Menzies said.

Regarding the manufacturing process, Mr Menzies said he is working with talented artists to create a 3D file of a mountain. They then use Lidar data, which is a scan of the earth.

"So some of them are highly accurate reproductions. We use that file to carve a mold into a piece of compressed graphite using a CNC router, which is a computer-driven router.

"Once the mold is created, we take the glass blank, just like a regular cup, and then reheat the base and press it down onto the mold," Mr Menzies said.

Although manufacturing is outsourced overseas, the founder said he aims to bring manufacturing onshore here in Australia.

"It's been a really exciting six months. We're now in about 25 different stores across the state. We focused on wholesaling. I did some of the markets initially, but now we are just wholesale. I like supporting the local retailers," Mr Menzies said.

The Uprising Glassware's website lists all the outlets where the company has stock available, and The Spotted Quall in Launceston is just one of those retailers.

"National park visitor centres are carrying them. The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery have them in their gift shop," Mr Menzies said.

The businessman said the company also donated a complete set of glasses to the RSPCA to raffle at their upcoming Quizmas event in Launceston. This includes two whisky glasses, two wine glasses, and two highballs.