British brand, and inventor of the Lava Lamp, Mathmos, will celebrate the cultural icon’s 60th anniversary in 2023 with a series of collaborations, which will include Rankin, Camille Walala, Sabine Marcelis, Studio Job and more.
Founded in 1963 by British inventor, entrepreneur and eccentric Edward Craven Walker, the company has been led by Cressida Granger since 1989.
From its manufacturing base in Dorset, Mathmos has produced and sold millions of its iconic lava lamps globally, gaining a host of awards and a cult following along the way.
Since 1963, each Mathmos Lava Lamp has been made in Britain – from the spun metal that gives Mathmos Lava Lamps their distinctive form, the packaging and the glass bottles, to the liquids inside.
Hand-filled in the Poole factory, each lamp contains a unique Mathmos lava lamp formula that delivers brighter, clearer colours.
Made with quality and designed to last, Mathmos continues to create replacement bottles and bulbs for all its lamps from the 1960s to the present day.
Founder Edward Craven Walker’s tireless dedication to perfecting the formulation of the lamp until his death in 2000 has ensured a legacy of the best quality lava lamps globally, with the highest standards of safety testing.
Limited Editions
The Astro was the first Lava Lamp to be designed by Edward Craven Walker in 1963, and it has been in continuous British production by Mathmos for 60 years.
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of Mathmos, as well as the Astro Lava Lamp’s enduring quality of design and relevance through the years, Mathmos has partnered with creatives from across the fashion and design industries to take it into the future, including Rankin, Sabine Marcelis, Studio Job and Camille Walala, with further creative collaborations to be revealed soon.
These limited edition lamps will be available for purchase from October this year.
A New Showroom
Mathmos opened its new showroom in 2023 at its factory in Poole, Dorset. Celebrating Mathmos’ heritage, it is the only location where fans will find the full range of Lava Lamps – with all models and colourways displayed together. Customers can take advantage of a personal etching service at the showroom and have access to the new anniversary limited edition products on their release days.
Designed by London-based Counterfeit Studio, the showroom celebrates Mathmos’ fun and exciting heritage, offering the ever-growing community of Lava Lamp collectors and fans, along with vacationers and locals, the space to meet and learn about the lamps, the formulation and the history of Mathmos, as well as how the lamps aid well-being.
Mathmos has a tradition of showrooms connected to the place where its team works: Beginning in the early ’90s with a showroom in Drury Lane, Covent Garden, famous for its window displays designed by graphic artists Dave Towers and Rob Lowe, Mathmos followed on with a showroom in Old Street designed by Industrial Facility, and then a tiny boutique in Covent Garden designed by Carl Turner.
The last London showroom was designed by Simon Maidment in Hoxton.
Mathmos moved into its current larger factory in 2020 and had always intended to open a showroom, but Covid intervened. As the company turns 60, it is excited to link its manufacturing heart with its new showroom in Poole.
The Factory Showroom will be open 10.30 am – 4.30 pm, Monday to Friday, and there is parking on site. The showroom address is Unit 3, 19 Willis Way, Poole, Dorset, BH15 3SS, U.K.
WOW!House chooses the Saturn Lava Lamp
More good news for the company was its giant Saturn Lava Lamp being selected to feature in the unique Principal Bathroom created by Barlow & Barlow at this year’s WOW!House at Chelsea Harbour Design Centre.
Showcasing Barlow & Barlow’s fun and glamorous signature style, the principal bathroom embraced a conceptual 1975 spaceship theme, with the lava lamp gleaming like the galaxy outside. The statuesque Saturn giant lamp added retro glamour to this rocketship bathroom.
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