OozingGoo Reflection - A Decade Later

[Alex]

Ten years.

It’s been ten years to the day (4/12) since I joined OozingGoo to participate in the motion lamp collecting community. I was in middle school and now I am preparing to graduate from college. It boggles my mind that I have been connected with OozingGoo for so long and was able to share and enjoy the hobby with a great group of people.

When I first joined, I had just gotten my first USA made lamp, an 09 Midnight with the box, from a family friend as I was too young to have an eBay account. I remember being so excited to get a quality made lamp like the ones on OozingGoo which I admired through my laptop screen. I was fascinated by the myriad of collections that people had whether it was a couple lamps on a shelf or hundreds filling their entire homes. It was that first US lamp that led me to jumping onto the site to begin sharing photos and start looking at ways to be active.

From then on, I began to grow my own collection with me always being on the lookout at resale and antique shops hoping to find lava lamps (I always wondered if I’d find a really rare model tucked in some corner, but alas, no luck yet). A resale shop near my dad’s house had opened up recently and we took a trip to check it out. I was glad we did as I spotted a pink/pink midnight sitting amongst the end tables and shelves. It was still warm, likely from being tested before it was sent out to the store floor.

I found my first ‘vintage’ lamp at an antique store in Elgin, IL and was ecstatic. Looking back, it’s not necessarily an amazing piece, a faded 03 enchantress planter, but it was enough to keep me motivated to search for lamps ‘in the wild'. By the end of 2012, I had amassed a decent collection with approximately 10 lamps. With my parents now more than happy to help with my obsession hobby, I was able to use eBay with my dad to buy my own lamps as long as I paid him back. A particular one I remember is a 17 blue psychedelic swirl in Spencer's custom program boxes.

At first glance, the listing showed a nice lamp with a pretty good price. Unfortunately, separated wax kept me from enjoying the lamp. It was unresponsive to all non-invasive ways to try and fix it so I had to try and pop the cap off. It was my first attempt at fixing a lamp this intensely. My first try did not end up working and it sat nonfunctional for years. It wasn’t until 2015 that I got the wax to finally mix and see the flow I was waiting for.

Moving to 2017, I had an amazing find that I was not prepared for. There were many lamps I never thought I would own like the Giant, Consort, or Saturna. One that seemed impossible for me to ever obtain without dropping substantial cash on was a Colossus. While browsing LetGo (which I believe no longer exists), I noticed a man selling a lamp described as a “green glass globe”. It seems he never entered a title and the AI generated what it thought best describes it. I knew right away it was a yellow/blue Colossus with the marble base. He was asking $200 which was already a steal, but I remember reading about members haggling to get low prices in spite of a bargain and managed to get it for $175.

Now, it was a problem lamp from the beginning as locating the right bulb was difficult and the wax was extremely dark making it difficult to see the motion. The coil was twisted and I could get virtually no flow out of it even after getting the right bulb. Now this repair was well-beyond the scope of my abilities and I could not even think to take it on as a project. Thankfully, it is currently being restored by Claude who graciously took on the monumental task. We are expecting it to be ready shortly and I will hopefully get pictures showing the lamp in its full glory.

From a simple 20oz classic I got on sale from Menards to over 40 lamps with several rarities, I can say OozingGoo has been a great help for my collection and knowledge of the community. I am now able to provide assistance to those who were once in my shoes answering questions on the discussion board. I am so glad to have been a member for the past 10 years and hope to still be another decade from now. I plan to continue my hobby as long as I can and with still post updates and advice to OozingGoo. Thanks to everyone here for building and sustaining a community that creates a caring and helpful environment for those interested in motion lamps. It's lasted for 25 years and I'd love to see it last for another 25.

Alex

[Autumn]

We are happy to have you as a member Alex. I don't know what it is about lava lamps that bring out this kind of passion in people. I don't know anyone else that I haven't met through this hobby that even owns a lava lamp so in a way it is cool knowing there are others out there that share the same passion as me.

[KS]

Ayoo i’m also about to graduate from college!

Beautiful piece of writing!

[tim]

great stuff. i too lurked the site when i was in middle school although i was always (and still am) much more into the formula/creation side of the site than the collecting. i tried making many lava lamps when i was a kid but my successes were basically non existent but it was still a lot of fun. this site is an excellent resource for anyone interested in lava lamps!