Why did you start collecting lava lamps?

[Elizabeth Berube]

Would anyone like to share what got them started on their lava lamp collection?

[krissyfromswindon]

my name is krissy and i have been an adict now for 30 years, i am trying to go on the wagon but i find it hard to pass a lava lamp at a boot sale and not buy it, even though i have well over 200 of them now of every colour you can think of, i think it is an illness like ocd, i need therapy.........

[Keith]

Lava therapy: go sit in a semi-dark room with several lava lamps, put on your favorite music, and chill.   ;)

krissyfromswindon said:

my name is krissy and i have been an adict now for 30 years, i am trying to go on the wagon but i find it hard to pass a lava lamp at a boot sale and not buy it, even though i have well over 200 of them now of every colour you can think of, i think it is an illness like ocd, i need therapy.........

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

When I was a smalkl kid, I got a fixation on pipes and started following my grampa to the mall's Tinder Box. Back then, Tinder Box had dimly-lit Olde English looking stores, and the one here had a red/yellow and a white/blue Midnight on the counter. I liked watching them. They had a "Do not touch" sign next to them.

I was ten in 1989, and there was a store in Bellevue Square mall, Bellevue, WA called Jokers Wild. We didn't have Spencer Gifts here until the early 90s, but Jokers Wild was basically a Spencer Gifts clone: novelties, raunchy gifts, jokes and gags. And they had Lava Lites, running, up on a high shelf. I asked my mom for one. She brought home a red/yellow Enchantress, which I still have. The box also depicted the Coach Lantern, and the drawing showed the old style with the fill cap, which I was absolutely certain had to be kerosene-powered!

A few months later I found what is now named the Snot Rocket. It was $15 at an antiques show. (I never went to toy stores, I hunted antiques). It was a Century dated 1972, base faded to silver, with murky green wax in pale-cream hazy liquid. When it warmed up, the liquid became much cloudier (it cleared up whenever it cooled down) and the lava looked like vomit and pond scum, a revolting dark green jammed full of bubbles. I still have that one, too.

Next up was a blue Midnight found in a mail-order catalog we got called Wireless, which was otherwise filled with things related to old radio shows. I still remember the ad copy: "Bell bottoms and peace symbols are strictly passe, but the Lava Lite lives on! Ours has a sleek black metal base with matching cap, white lava, and blue liquid."

Next was a red/yellow Aristocrat from BEST (formerly Jafco) which was similar to Service Merchandise. Following that, I ran into a Coach Lantern - and was somewhat disappointed - in a shop in Pike Place Market. By then, I was drawing what I imagined Lava Lite catalogs might look like, and that shop in Pike Place added the GemLite and the Wave Machine to my fictitious sales literature. And that was only 1990.

...everything went downhill from there... and I now stand at... er... --does a quick head-count-- approximately 80 complete lamps. And I don't have the biggest collection in our group - not by a LONG shot.

[Jennifer]

I'm a newbie, but here it is... In August my 14 yr old son started his freshman year in high school. We have a two story house and he liked the idea of moving into the downstairs bedroom, which was being used as our "office". So, we were moving all his crap from his large upstairs room to his smaller downstairs room. It didn't all fit. So his father told him to downsize, or stay upstairs. My son decided to get rid of his lava lamp. It was in a file box which was put in The donation pile in our garage. As I was loading it all into my car, the lamp globe slipped out of the box and shattered on the garage floor. My son HAD A FIT! Apparently, he was planning to sneak the lamp back into his room after his dad went to work the next day. Oops!

So... I spend the next several days (weeks? Its all a blur!) surfing the net for a replacement. I had absolutely no idea what it looked like before it broke. Turns out it was a cheapy hot rocket, or whatever those are called. Anyway, I finally found an exact replacement for him, but that was after I bought myself three wizards, two midnights, a silver streak, and two giants. Hehe!! Oh yeah, and three rain lamps.

Now i have a mathmos, 3 glitter wizards, 3 clearviews, a rainbow set of 6 colored lava/clear liquid 32 oz-ers, 6 giants, 2 grandes, 2 grande glitters, and a few other random glitter and lava lamps. I'll be joining the therapy group. :)

[Jennifer]

Oh yeah! One of the best parts is that my art "studio" was upstairs next to his old bedroom. He was downstairs exactly one night before I took him to school and busted out the pick axe. I chopped the dividing wall to little pieces! I now have a GIANT lava lounge, diva den, art studio. Woohooooo!!!!!

[Astralav]

Why?

No idea really.

I don't remember seeing one precisely to give me envy, but in the early 90' I had 2 Mathmos Telstar, a China lamp and a Lavalite.

And many years passes without really using them.

Then a year ago (again, I don't know why) the virus sting again but harder this time (I suspect oozinggoo is to blame!).

But I'm kind of cured, because I think I have enough lavalamps now.

On the other side, I was never fond of glitter lamps before. That was before, because now I'm in love with the old Crestworth Glitters. Too bad they're a little expensive to me, but I plan to get more of them!

[lava luva ~ Tiffany]

6 giants???...OMG your killing me lol :P
 
Jennifer said:

I'm a newbie, but here it is... In August my 14 yr old son started his freshman year in high school. We have a two story house and he liked the idea of moving into the downstairs bedroom, which was being used as our "office". So, we were moving all his crap from his large upstairs room to his smaller downstairs room. It didn't all fit. So his father told him to downsize, or stay upstairs. My son decided to get rid of his lava lamp. It was in a file box which was put in The donation pile in our garage. As I was loading it all into my car, the lamp globe slipped out of the box and shattered on the garage floor. My son HAD A FIT! Apparently, he was planning to sneak the lamp back into his room after his dad went to work the next day. Oops!

So... I spend the next several days (weeks? Its all a blur!) surfing the net for a replacement. I had absolutely no idea what it looked like before it broke. Turns out it was a cheapy hot rocket, or whatever those are called. Anyway, I finally found an exact replacement for him, but that was after I bought myself three wizards, two midnights, a silver streak, and two giants. Hehe!! Oh yeah, and three rain lamps.

Now i have a mathmos, 3 glitter wizards, 3 clearviews, a rainbow set of 6 colored lava/clear liquid 32 oz-ers, 6 giants, 2 grandes, 2 grande glitters, and a few other random glitter and lava lamps. I'll be joining the therapy group. :)