Mathmos
Mathmos is a British lighting brand best known for continuing the original lava lamp tradition and for developing contemporary decorative and experiential lighting.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Mathmos is a British lighting company headquartered at its manufacturing site in Poole, Dorset. Its defining product is the lava lamp, marketed in Europe under the Mathmos name and descended from the Astro lamp developed by Edward Craven Walker in the early 1960s. The company is closely associated with the cultural image of the lava lamp as a colorful, slow-moving decorative object, but its business also includes rechargeable, color-changing, candle-powered, wall-mounted and bespoke lighting. The origins of Mathmos lie in Crestworth, the company established by Edward Craven Walker and his wife and business partner Christine. Walker developed the lava lamp after seeing an unusual liquid-filled egg timer in a Dorset pub. He adapted the concept into a heated lamp in which a proprietary wax formulation rises and falls through a colored liquid, creating the characteristic lava-like motion. The product was initially sold as the Astro lamp. Walker and Christine licensed rights in several overseas territories while retaining European production. In 1966, American production and sales rights for the duration of the patent were sold to Lava Simplex International. Mathmos therefore represents the continuing European manufacturing lineage rather than the later American production business. The original lamps became widely popular during the 1960s and 1970s, when millions were sold internationally. Demand later weakened, and Crestworth was producing only about 10,000 lamps annually by 1989. That year Cressida Granger and David Mulley took over the running of the company. Granger and Mulley repositioned the business around the historical value of the lava lamp, refreshed its design and distribution, and renamed the company Mathmos in 1992. The new name refers to a seething energy-filled lake beneath the city of Sogo in the 1962 comic Barbarella, reflecting the product's psychedelic and science-fiction associations. The relaunch produced a significant revival. Annual production reportedly grew to approximately 800,000 lamps by 1999, and the company received recognition including Queen's Awards for Export in 1997 and 2000. Edward Craven Walker continued to advise the business and serve as a director until his death in 2000. Since 1999, Mathmos has been under the sole ownership of Cressida Granger. The company has continued to make its classic lava lamps in Britain while expanding into broader design-led lighting. Mathmos has worked with its in-house Design Studio and external designers including Ross Lovegrove, El Ultimo Grito, Studio Job and Sabine Marcelis. Products such as Bubble, Tumbler, Fluidium, Aduki, Grito and Airswitch TC extended the brand beyond the conventional lava lamp and received recognition from design institutions and awards programs. The company has also placed products in exhibitions and collections associated with the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Design Museum, the Cooper Hewitt Museum and other cultural venues. In the 2010s and 2020s, Mathmos returned considerable attention to its heritage range while introducing products aimed at new uses and audiences. The company marked the lava lamp's fiftieth anniversary in 2013 with a limited-edition Astro and a large public lava lamp display. Neo, launched in 2016, was designed and tested for use by both children and adults, while Neo Wall became a wall-mounted lava lamp in 2017. The Special Projects division developed large bespoke installations, including a giant lamp for Selfridges in London. The giant iO lamp followed in 2019, alongside candle-powered Pod and Pod+ lamps. Mathmos continues to combine British manufacturing, nostalgia, product design and experiential lighting. Its core identity remains tied to the original lava lamp, while its wider offer positions the company as a design-oriented lighting maker capable of producing both domestic products and large custom installations.
History
Mathmos traces its origins to Crestworth, the British company associated with Edward Craven Walker's development of the lava lamp. Walker reportedly encountered an unusual egg-timer design in a Dorset pub and used the idea as the starting point for a heated decorative lamp. The resulting Astro lamp used a specially developed wax and liquid formula to create rising and falling shapes that resembled lava. Walker and Christine Craven Walker manufactured for the European market while licensing rights elsewhere. American rights were sold to Lava Simplex International in 1966, leaving the European business as the principal continuing lineage of the original product. The lava lamp achieved broad popularity during the 1960s and 1970s, when millions were sold worldwide. As tastes and markets changed, sales declined substantially. In 1989, Cressida Granger and David Mulley took over management of Crestworth. They revived the product through refreshed marketing, renewed attention to the lamp's British origins and wider distribution. In 1992 the company adopted the name Mathmos, taken from the fictional seething energy lake beneath Sogo in the 1962 comic Barbarella. The rebrand linked the product to psychedelic, space-age and popular-cultural imagery while distinguishing the company from generic descriptions of lava lamps. The revival accelerated during the 1990s. Annual production rose from roughly 10,000 lamps in 1989 to about 800,000 in 1999. The business received Queen's Awards for Export in 1997 and 2000, together with other commercial and web-design recognition. Walker remained involved as a consultant and director until his death in 2000. From 1999 onward, Cressida Granger became the company's sole owner. Mathmos then broadened its design activity beyond the classic Astro. Its Design Studio and collaborations with designers such as Ross Lovegrove, El Ultimo Grito, Studio Job and Sabine Marcelis produced lamps and lighting objects with different materials, forms and interaction methods. Bubble, Tumbler, Fluidium, Aduki, Grito and Airswitch TC were among the designs recognized by design awards or shown in major exhibitions. Several Mathmos products entered the Victoria and Albert Museum's permanent collection, while other work appeared in exhibitions at the Design Museum, Cooper Hewitt Museum and international design venues. The company has nevertheless kept the British-made lava lamp at the center of its identity. In 2013 it marked fifty years of the Astro with a limited-edition model and public exhibitions, including a large lava lamp installation in London. In 2016 it launched Neo, followed in 2017 by Neo Wall. Its Special Projects division developed unusually large and customized lamps, including an installation for Selfridges in London. In 2018 the brand commemorated the centenary of Walker's birth through exhibitions and media coverage, and in 2019 it introduced the giant iO lamp as well as candle-powered Pod and Pod+. Mathmos moved into a larger Poole factory shortly before the 2020 lockdown period and continued operating with safety measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Its products were displayed at Poole Museum during Light Up Poole. The company remains active as a privately held British lighting business, combining continued production of its classic lava lamps with rechargeable, color-changing, candle-powered, wall-mounted and bespoke lighting.
- 2020
Poole factory expansion and museum event
[1]Mathmos moved into a larger Poole factory and presented its lamps at Poole Museum during Light Up Poole.
- 2019
iO and Pod products launched
[1]The company introduced the large iO lava lamp and candle-powered Pod and Pod+ models.
- 2016
Neo introduced
[1]Mathmos launched Neo, a lava lamp tested for children and adults.
- 2013
Astro fiftieth anniversary
[1]Mathmos celebrated the Astro's fiftieth anniversary with a limited-edition lamp and public exhibitions.
- 2000
Second Queen's Award for Export
[1]Mathmos received another Queen's Award for Export.
- 1999
Production reaches reported peak of the revival
[1]Reported annual production reached approximately 800,000 lamps, compared with about 10,000 in 1989.
- 1997
Queen's Award for Export
[1]Mathmos received a Queen's Award for Export during its 1990s revival.
- 1992
Crestworth renamed Mathmos
[1]The company adopted the Mathmos name, drawn from the fictional world of Barbarella.
- 1989
New management takes over Crestworth
[1]Cressida Granger and David Mulley took over management as the company sought to revive a sharply reduced lava-lamp business.
- 1966
American production rights licensed
[1]Rights to produce and sell the lamp in the United States for the patent period were sold to Lava Simplex International.
Products and positioning
British heritage lighting with a strong design and nostalgia proposition, centered on the original lava lamp and extended through contemporary decorative, portable and bespoke lighting.
Lava lamp · 1963
Astro
The Astro is Mathmos's signature lava lamp and the direct descendant of Edward Craven Walker's early-1960s design. It combines a metal base and cap with a transparent vessel containing Mathmos's wax-and-liquid formulation. Heat causes the colored wax to rise and separate into organic forms before cooling and falling again. The product anchors the company's British heritage positioning and has been issued in anniversary and limited-edition versions.
Lava lamp · 2016
Neo
Neo is a later-generation Mathmos lava lamp designed with safety and usability considerations for both children and adults. It translates the familiar lava effect into a more contemporary form while retaining the heated-wax movement that defines the category.
Wall-mounted lighting · 2017
Neo Wall
Neo Wall adapts the lava-lamp concept for wall installation. Its format allows the moving illuminated effect to function as an architectural or decorative feature rather than only as a freestanding tabletop object.
Giant lava lamp · 2019
iO
iO is a large-format lava lamp created for a more prominent visual presence than Mathmos's domestic products. The first numbered edition was reported to sell out quickly, demonstrating demand for the lava lamp as a collectible and experiential design object.
Candle-powered lighting · 2019
Pod and Pod+
Pod and Pod+ are candle-powered lava lamps that use a flame rather than an electrical heating element. They extend the lava-lamp experience into a lower-tech, atmospheric format and broaden Mathmos's range of decorative lighting mechanisms.
Decorative lighting · 2001
Bubble
Bubble is a design-led Mathmos light associated with the company's early-2000s expansion beyond the conventional lava lamp. It received recognition from several design organizations and was included in design exhibitions and collections.
Decorative lighting · 2001
Tumbler
Tumbler is a contemporary Mathmos light recognized in design-award programs and international design yearbooks. It represents the company's effort to treat lighting as a designed object rather than solely as a novelty product.
Marketing campaigns
- 2020Light Up Poole
United Kingdom
Mathmos presented lava lamps throughout Poole Museum as part of the Light Up Poole digital light-art event.
Outcome. The event positioned the local factory brand within a community-focused programme of light and digital art.
- 2018Founder centenary and British manufacturing programme
United Kingdom · Germany
Mathmos commemorated the centenary of Edward Craven Walker's birth through exhibitions and media activity, including appearances in Pop & Protest and the Berlin Festival of Lights.
Outcome. The activity emphasized the founder's role and the brand's manufacturing heritage.
- 2017Pretty Green collaboration
United Kingdom
Mathmos collaborated with Liam Gallagher's fashion brand Pretty Green on a limited-edition lava lamp, launching the partnership during London Design Week with a Carnaby Street window.
Outcome. The collaboration connected Mathmos with music, fashion and youth-culture audiences.
- 2013Astro 50th anniversary programme
United Kingdom
Mathmos marked fifty years of the Astro with a limited-edition model, a London launch event and public exhibitions connected with design and cultural venues.
Outcome. The programme reinforced the Astro's status as a British design icon and connected the brand with anniversary-driven cultural marketing.
Brand decisions
2019
Launch of iO and Pod productsProduct launchBackground
Mathmos was exploring both large experiential installations and alternative ways to create the lava effect.
Action taken
The company launched the giant iO lamp and candle-powered Pod and Pod+ models.
Aftermath
The launches extended Mathmos into collectible-scale and flame-powered decorative lighting.
2016
Launch of NeoProduct launchBackground
Mathmos was broadening its heritage product range for contemporary households and new user groups.
Action taken
The company introduced Neo, described as the first lava lamp tested for children and adults.
Aftermath
Neo expanded the brand's product architecture beyond the classic Astro format.
1992
Rebrand from Crestworth to MathmosStrategyBackground
Following the management change in 1989, the company sought to revive the original lava-lamp business and give it a distinctive contemporary identity.
Action taken
The business changed its name from Crestworth to Mathmos, using a reference to the science-fiction comic Barbarella.
Aftermath
The rebrand accompanied a strong 1990s sales revival and became the foundation of the modern brand identity.
Recent events
- 2023
Mathmos marks the lava lamp's sixtieth anniversary[4]
Other
Coverage highlighted the continuing cultural presence of the lava lamp and Mathmos's connection to British manufacturing heritage.
- 2020
Mathmos participates in Light Up Poole[3]
Campaign
Mathmos displayed lava lamps at Poole Museum as part of the Light Up Poole digital light-art event.
- 2019
Mathmos launches the iO giant lava lamp[1]
Product launch · Product generation
Mathmos introduced iO, a large-format lava lamp, with a numbered first edition that sold out rapidly.
- 2017
Mathmos collaborates with Pretty Green[1]
Campaign · Product launch
The brand presented a limited-edition collaboration with Liam Gallagher's fashion label Pretty Green during London Design Week.
- 2017
Mathmos launches Neo Wall[1]
Product launch
Mathmos introduced Neo Wall, described as its first wall-mounted lava lamp.
- 2016
Mathmos introduces Neo[1]
Product launch
Neo was launched as a lava lamp developed and tested for use by children and adults.
Sources4 sources
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