The Mathmos story begins with the invention of the Astro lava lamp in 1963 by our founder Edward Craven Walker. Craven Walker was a great British inventor, entrepreneur and eccentric. Aside from inventing the lava lamp and various other patented inventions, he also made underwater naturist films, owned helicopters and fire engines, was a Second World War pilot, entertained the cast of the 60s musical Hair and owned a naturist camp in Dorset.
The Craven Walkers wanting to retire, teamed up with young entrepreneurs Cressida Granger and David Mulley in 1989, who launched the lava lamp to a new generation. Part of the relaunch included changing the company name from Crestworth to Mathmos in 1992. The word Mathmos is taken from the cult 1960s film Barbarella. Millions of Mathmos lava lamps were manufactured in Dorset in this period and sold throughout the world, gaining a host of business and marketing awards, including two Queens Awards for Export.
Mathmos have designed and developed many award-winning lamps over the years. Innovations in lava lamps include our range of candle powered lava lamps, our new generation child safe lava lamp Neo and Neo wall, the only wall-mounted lava lamp, together with our range of giant lava lamps. Our factory is still based in Poole, Dorset where our lamps have been in continuous production since their invention in 1963. We are proud of our long British manufacturing history, our high quality and our heritage of invention and design.
Mathmos was founded in Britain in 1963 by Edward Craven Walker, inventor of the original lava lamp.
Mathmos lava lamps became symbols of the creative culture of the 1960s and 70s and returned to huge popularity in the 1990s.
Today Mathmos lava lamps enjoy an iconic status and have an enduring place in popular culture.
I think it will always be popular. It’s like the cycle of life. It grows, breaks up, falls down and then starts all over againEdward Craven Walker 1918 -2000
