In January 1967 Whitefriars launched its revolutionary new textured range at the Blackpool Fair and later in the year at the Design Centre in London. The series of mostly vases of which the Hoop vase was one of the most striking designs, was a new departure for Whitefriars. Their irregular shapes, rough textures and bright, non-primary colours, brought an entirely new aesthetic to British glass, which was at that time still dominated by soft, rounded, smooth blown shapes. The same approach to shape and surface treatment can be found in contemporary sculpture, architecture and other 3D design of the period.

Geoffrey Baxter produced the original moulds for this range at home in his garage, using carved wood and even tree bark. Once complete, the multi-part wooden moulds were translated into durable metal versions.
The original, wooden two-part mould for the Hoop vase was made up of different sections of different diameter, stacked off-centre in an irregular way. A 'staged' photograph of the time shows Geoffrey Baxter carving surface detail directly into the wooden mould for the Hoop vase.