Douglas Friedman: I’ve been working with ABASK on sourcing the smalls for my house on Long Island and I was so obsessed with Lobmeyr’s Josef Hoffmann Series B collection I designed an entire wet bar around them. Then ABASK suggested a collaboration and I jumped at the chance.

Leonid Rath: When ABASK asked us to develop a charming series based on our High Seas collection but relating to Douglas Friedman’s Marfa ranch, it immediately piqued our interest. We are known firstly for our own glassmaking expertise, but our legacy is also built on important and unique collaborations, just like this one.

DF: The element of surprise. This is a space that I’m not familiar with and so I was intrigued.

LR:  Douglas is a very experienced and interesting person and we are always drawn to these types of creatives. We are curious by profession and so we were very open to how this collaboration would play out. We are delighted with the results.

DF: You couldn’t think of two things that are further apart from each other! It was really interesting to mix them up and the results are incredible.

LR: Collaborating with Douglas and bringing together Viennese history with West Texan emblems and cowboy culture was indeed something completely new to us and felt quite exotic! I think the reason that we enjoy a reputation for collaboration is that we are always open to new and exciting opportunities to work with creatives in every field and realise truly unique objects that mark a moment in time and will be enjoyed for generations to come.

DF: The designs and the ideas came from what I see every day living in West Texas. I was inspired by tattoo art and imagery that I am familiar with from ranch life and the emblems you think about when you think of this amazingly storied area. 

LR: After Douglas sent us his moodboards that featured cowboy, cacti, and many other West Texas motifs, my sister Louise Rath, who is an artist and already designed some of our series', created incredible artwork that combined Douglas’ ideas with what she knew was possible from the glass that we work with. She then worked closely with our master artisans to realise these illustrations for the final collection.

LR: It is actually like painting with oil paints using specific brushes (and we now use lead-free paint, which is more difficult to handle). After painting, we need to fire the glass instead of letting it dry and so there are four to six different firings, and the process makes each piece a little different. This collection is special as it was painted by the daughter-in-law of an engraver who worked with my great grandfather – she is an absolute master. 

DF: I am so familiar with Leonid and his life’s work, and he trusted me with these ideas, so whatever we threw into the creative blender together was going to come out looking great. The collection was signed off in one pass – I just asked for the cowboy’s moustache to be made a little darker.

LR: We had to understand the spirit of Marfa from an insider’s point of view and what Douglas wanted to express. I would love to visit there; the nature looks spectacular, and so much more than wild west scenery than a naïve European would expect on first site. Our illustrations are a playful take on the area which, with Douglas’ collaboration, we have authentically realised. 

DF: The cowboy boots and the lasso. I also love the little hand-painted sheriff’s badge on the bottom which is a wonderful surprise. 

LR: I like the boots illustration the most.

DF: I’m going to be using mine for everything; orange juice in the morning, for water with the carafe by my beside; and they’ll definitely be what I serve champagne in on New Year’s Eve.

LR: Most definitely for bourbon; hopefully with Douglas in Marfa sometime in the future.