Mathmos
Encyclopedia
Mathmos is a British company that sells lighting
products, most famously the lava lamp
invented by its founder Edward Craven Walker. It is headquartered in its factory in Poole
, Dorset
.
as it is sometimes known, was invented around 1963 by Edward Craven Walker
. He licensed the product to a number of overseas markets whilst continuing to manufacture for the European market himself under the original name of the company, Crestworth. The rights to produce and sell the lamp on the American market were sold to Lava Simplex International, in 1966, and the lamp became an icon of its decade; Haggerty Enterprises now has the rights, in America, but has closed the American factory and now has them made in China.
In Europe Craven-Walker’s original lava lamp designs have been in continuous production since the early 1960s and are still made today by Mathmos in Poole, Dorset, UK. The Mathmos lava lamp formula developed initially by Craven-Walker in the 1960s and then improved with his help in the 1990s is still used.
Mathmos’ lava lamp sales have been through a number of ups and downs. After selling millions of lamps worldwide in the 1960s and 70s they did not revive until the 1990s. In 1989 Cressida Granger and David Mulley took over the running of Walker's original company, Crestworth, situated in Poole
, Dorset
, and changed the name to Mathmos in 1992. It now sells both lava lamps and other ambient lighting.
The name comes from the 1968 film Barbarella
. Mathmos (or matmos
) refers to a seething lake of evil slime beneath the city Sogo.
The 1990s re-launch of the original lava lamps saw sales grow strongly for Mathmos again from 10,000 lamps a year in 1989 to 800,000 lamps a year in 1999. Mathmos won two Queens Awards for Export and a number of other business awards. [9] Edward Craven-Walker remained a consultant and company director at Mathmos until his death in 2000.
New lines include a range of LED colour changing and rechargeable lights several of which have won design awards. [8] Mathmos has also developed new lighting technologies such as Airswitch technology that enables the user to turn lights on and off and also to dim and brighten them by moving a hand above the lamp. [11]
Mathmos also innovates with its lava lamp range launching Fireflow the first tea light powered lava lamp in 2009. Mathmos lava lamps are now recognized as a design classic.
Fast Track 100 (3rd fastest growing manufacturer 1999) [12]
Yell Award best commercial website 1997 [13]
Design Week Best Consumer website 1998
“Airswitch tc” light: Gift Magazine Design Homewares winner 2005.
“Aduki” Design Week commendation 2003
“Tumbler” light: Form 2001 award, Red Dot Award 2002, Design Week commendation 2002
“Fluidium”: Design Week finalist best consumer product 2001, FX Magazine finalist best lighting product 2000
“Bubble” Light: Industrial Design Excellence Award (IDEA) 2001 [14], D&AD commendation 2001, Red Dot Award 2001, Light Magazine Decorative Lighting Award 2001
“Astro” Design Icons Exhibition Harrods & Design Museum 2008 [16]
“Telstar” Space Age, Museum of Childhood 2007 [4]
“bubble, Airswitch tc, aduki ni, grito” all in the V&A permanent collection from 2006 [2]
“Airswitch tc” V&A “Touch Me” exhibition spring 2005 [3]
“Fluidium” “Blobjects and Beyond” San Jose Museum of Art 2005
‘bubble” Great Expectations Exhibition Design Council 2003 [6]
“Aduki” light: International Design Year Book 2003
“Tumbler” International Design Year Book 2002.
“Bubble” “Skin” exhibition at Cooper Hewitt Museum New York 2001
“bubble” Design Council exhibition New York 2002, International Design Year Book 2001
Lighting
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate application of light to achieve some practical or aesthetic effect. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources such as lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight...
products, most famously the lava lamp
Lava lamp
A lava lamp is a decorative novelty item that contains blobs of colored wax inside a glass vessel filled with clear liquid; the wax rises and falls as its density changes due to heating from a incandescent light bulb underneath the vessel. The appearance of the wax is suggestive of pāhoehoe lava,...
invented by its founder Edward Craven Walker. It is headquartered in its factory in Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
.
Company History
The Astro lamp or lava lampLava lamp
A lava lamp is a decorative novelty item that contains blobs of colored wax inside a glass vessel filled with clear liquid; the wax rises and falls as its density changes due to heating from a incandescent light bulb underneath the vessel. The appearance of the wax is suggestive of pāhoehoe lava,...
as it is sometimes known, was invented around 1963 by Edward Craven Walker
Edward Craven Walker
Edward Craven Walker was the inventor of the psychedelic Astro Lamp, known as the Lava Lamp .- War Record :...
. He licensed the product to a number of overseas markets whilst continuing to manufacture for the European market himself under the original name of the company, Crestworth. The rights to produce and sell the lamp on the American market were sold to Lava Simplex International, in 1966, and the lamp became an icon of its decade; Haggerty Enterprises now has the rights, in America, but has closed the American factory and now has them made in China.
In Europe Craven-Walker’s original lava lamp designs have been in continuous production since the early 1960s and are still made today by Mathmos in Poole, Dorset, UK. The Mathmos lava lamp formula developed initially by Craven-Walker in the 1960s and then improved with his help in the 1990s is still used.
Mathmos’ lava lamp sales have been through a number of ups and downs. After selling millions of lamps worldwide in the 1960s and 70s they did not revive until the 1990s. In 1989 Cressida Granger and David Mulley took over the running of Walker's original company, Crestworth, situated in Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, and changed the name to Mathmos in 1992. It now sells both lava lamps and other ambient lighting.
The name comes from the 1968 film Barbarella
Barbarella (film)
Barbarella is a 1968 Franco-Italian science fiction film based on Jean-Claude Forrest's French Barbarella comics. The film was directed by Roger Vadim and stars Jane Fonda, who was Vadim's wife at the time.-Plot:...
. Mathmos (or matmos
Matmos
Matmos is an experimental electronic music duo originally from San Francisco but now residing in Baltimore signed to the Matador Records label. M. C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel are the core members, but they frequently include other artists on their records and in their performances, including...
) refers to a seething lake of evil slime beneath the city Sogo.
The 1990s re-launch of the original lava lamps saw sales grow strongly for Mathmos again from 10,000 lamps a year in 1989 to 800,000 lamps a year in 1999. Mathmos won two Queens Awards for Export and a number of other business awards. [9] Edward Craven-Walker remained a consultant and company director at Mathmos until his death in 2000.
Modern Mathmos
Since 1999 under the sole ownership of Cressida Granger, Mathmos has been widening its product range whilst maintaining and building on the classic Mathmos lava lamp range. Mathmos develops new products both in house with the Mathmos Design Studio and with a number of external designers such as Ross Lovegrove [17] and El Ultimo Grito.New lines include a range of LED colour changing and rechargeable lights several of which have won design awards. [8] Mathmos has also developed new lighting technologies such as Airswitch technology that enables the user to turn lights on and off and also to dim and brighten them by moving a hand above the lamp. [11]
Mathmos also innovates with its lava lamp range launching Fireflow the first tea light powered lava lamp in 2009. Mathmos lava lamps are now recognized as a design classic.
Business & Marketing Awards
Queens Awards for Export 2000 and 1997 [15]Fast Track 100 (3rd fastest growing manufacturer 1999) [12]
Yell Award best commercial website 1997 [13]
Design Week Best Consumer website 1998
Product Design Awards
“Grito” lamp shade: Red Dot Award 2006 [8]“Airswitch tc” light: Gift Magazine Design Homewares winner 2005.
“Aduki” Design Week commendation 2003
“Tumbler” light: Form 2001 award, Red Dot Award 2002, Design Week commendation 2002
“Fluidium”: Design Week finalist best consumer product 2001, FX Magazine finalist best lighting product 2000
“Bubble” Light: Industrial Design Excellence Award (IDEA) 2001 [14], D&AD commendation 2001, Red Dot Award 2001, Light Magazine Decorative Lighting Award 2001
Exhibitions & Design Year Books
Mathmos Vintage Lava Lamp Exhibition 2009 at London Design Festival [5]“Astro” Design Icons Exhibition Harrods & Design Museum 2008 [16]
“Telstar” Space Age, Museum of Childhood 2007 [4]
“bubble, Airswitch tc, aduki ni, grito” all in the V&A permanent collection from 2006 [2]
“Airswitch tc” V&A “Touch Me” exhibition spring 2005 [3]
“Fluidium” “Blobjects and Beyond” San Jose Museum of Art 2005
‘bubble” Great Expectations Exhibition Design Council 2003 [6]
“Aduki” light: International Design Year Book 2003
“Tumbler” International Design Year Book 2002.
“Bubble” “Skin” exhibition at Cooper Hewitt Museum New York 2001
“bubble” Design Council exhibition New York 2002, International Design Year Book 2001
External links
- http://www.mathmos.co.uk
- Miranda Haines, "Lava Lamps Keep Firm Floating", International Herald TribuneInternational Herald TribuneThe International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
, January 22, 1996