Singapore-born inventor Craven Walker was having a pint in post
W.W.II England. The pub's decor included a fascinating lamp, which
Craven Walker described as a "contraption made out of a cocktail
shaker, old tins and things." It was to become the starting point
and inspiration for Craven Walker's design.
The liquid-filled inventor proceeded to purchase the equally
liquid-filled lamp, whose creator (Mr. Dunnett) Walker later
discovered had died. Walker became determined to make a better
version of the novelty item and spent the next decade and a half
doing so (inbetween running an international house-swap agency and
making films about nudism.) Walker worked on improving the lamp
with his company the Crestworth Company of Dorset, England.
Initially local retail merchants thought his lamps were ugly and
disgusting. Luckily, for Craven Walker the "Psychedelic Movement"
and the "Love Generation" came to dominate 60's merchandising in
Great Britain and sales of the lava lamp soared. It was the perfect
light for modern times, Walker declared. "If you buy my lamp, you
won't need to buy drugs."
Craven Walker perfected a secret Lava recipe of oil, wax and
other solids. The original model had a large gold base with tiny
holes to simulate starlight, and a 52 oz. globe that contained red
or white Lava and yellow or blue liquid. He marketed the lamp in
Europe under the name of Astro Lamp. Two American entrepreneurs saw
the lava lamp displayed at a German trade show and bought the
rights to manufacture the lava lamp in North America under the name
Lava Lite lamp.
Before selling his company, sales of the lamps had exceeded
seven million units. Today with over 400,000 lava lamps made each
year, the Lava Lamp is enjoying a comeback. Craven Walker's
originally company, the Crestworth Company, changed names to
Mathmos in 1995 (a reference to the bubbling force in Barbarella.)
They still manufacture the Astro, Astro Baby, and more Lava Lamps
in their original home of Poole, Dorset, UK.
