Lava Lite brand special collectors' editions - If these ever happened, what lamps do you want to see? *DO NOT DISCUSS LAVA LITE PROBLEMS IN THIS THREAD*

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

---PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY BEFORE POSTING---
Do NOT post in this thread your opinions about Lava Lite's current poor quality, the relative quality of Mathmos, how you think Mathmos should take over the market and/or Lava Lite should go kaput, Lava Lite lamps you've purchased and been unhappy with, and/or anything inflammatory. This thread is ONLY for polite, civil discussion regarding the topic which follows:

Per the other thread about Lava Lite trying to get things in order, I suggested the idea of them producing some extremely limited run replicas of vintage models in vintage colors. This is a pipe dream, really; I don't think the idea is cost-effective, or very realistic. But it's still a nice idea to think about for fun.

Let's assume, for the sake of a fun discussion, that the following things have already occurred: Lava Lite gets their quality control in order, and begins producing lamps to be proud of. They decide to offer, for the tiny share of the market which collects lava lamps, limited editions of classic older models. Lava Lite takes detailed photos and measurements of vintage lamps and creates new copies. They're high-quality. Glossy finishes on thick spun steel like the old ones. Real American Walnut, where applicable. Hand-finished and tested. Vintage colors. They come to us collectors and say, "We're ready to make some lamps for YOU. What lamps do YOU want to buy?" Let's say they release... three lamps a year. Which models do you want to see reproduced?

First year, I would like to see:
Astro Lava Lite, series 2500 - Cylindrical satin silver base on wide, flat silver pedestal support. Polished brass spiral band around base, held out from base surface on short posts. Polished gold cap. Orange/yellow.

Aladdins Lamp, series 500. I think we all know this one. Red/clear.

Princess, series 2100 - Satin silver Consort on wall mount, walnut wood plaque with inset grid-pattern silver reflector. Rotary switch under base. Green/blue.

Each would, as noted, be offered in a single color combination, in a limited edition, perhaps even numbered.

First of all, what's the consensus on the idea as a whole? Second, how would people like to see these marked? Stamped in the metal? Printed on the surface, like the 90s lamps sometimes had the "Lava" logo printed on? Fancy embossed-style sticker label?

And...if not these three, what do you suggest? Different three? If so, which lamps in which colors? Less editions per year? More? Multiple colors, i.e. these <three, etc.> lamps all come in any of these <three?> colors? Put your ideas here. Sit and dream for a while. That IS what Lava Lites are about, isn't it? Watch and dream.
~ Jonas

[Brian]

my three suggestions would be continental, continental, savoy

[Keith]

All very fine ideas, Jonas. I especially like the consort ideas, I would love to have a few wall sconce lavas! I would also like to see the enchantress planters with "classic" colors including mist fluid (not cloudy).
But in addition to these, I think something other than "been there, done that" lamps would have a lot of appeal. I think that a "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" series would go over very well (refer to Dr. What?'s Pink Floyd, The Wall lamp). Make lamps for the current year inductees and for the bands already in the hall. Just keep it simple with one or two designs per band. That in itself would take several years to catch up, with 92 groups and 196 individual inducted! Of course, some of the inductees may not be the right fit with lava ;)
There are so many things that they could do. Hopefully, they will take that step

[Keith]

Ugh, defo NOT any boy band or Britney, Mariah, Whitney. yuck. now i gotta rinse out my head!!!

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

Just my opinion, but I'd put lamps like rock band themes, etc,. in the middle price category - above standard resin lamps, but below limited edition classic models. I'm personally not a fan of themed, sculpted resin bases, but do feel free to discuss those here, too.

Brian - You know the Continental and Savoy are essentially the same lamp, yes? Or are you that big a fan of those rare gems? I'm probably saying stuff you already know, but... Technically, the Continental (originally in silver finish only) was a gift pack that was sold in stores alongside other Lava Lites, containing a complete lamp with two candles. Savoy was the name for an identical model in gold finish, sold only to the commercial trade. The lines blurred later, of course - the Continental name eventually referred to both, and finally the silver color was dumped. Or do you also mean the OTHER Continental, the nifty oval French-style lamp? I'd love to see the Mystique and Continental reissued, too, and yes, the earlier Continental.

Hey! Lava Lite! You CAN compete with the Mathmos Fireflow if you try! Remember - your predecessors did it first! Many Lava Lites were based on Crestworth models, it's true - the Century, early 'elegant' Enchantress, the Consort, the Princess wall sconce, the Imperial, arguably the Capri, even the Wave Machine were all inspired directly by Crestworth in the UK. There were many designs for which Lava went off completely on their own - the Executive, the musical lamp, the Mediterranean, the Aladdins Lamp, the Carlisle, the Saturna; most of these were just oddball base designs. But the Continental/Savoy? One of Lava Corp.'s most unusual lamps - the cordless, non-electric model - was all their own idea. The USA had a massive patio/garden living trend at the time, and when Lava Corp. expanded from one model to over 12 in one year, all geared specifically toward a specific share of the market, it was only natural to cater to that one as well.

I would move to bring back brass finishes on normal lava products, but I don't think that's feasible. Look at what lighting showrooms offer. Formerly, into the 80s, the most popular finishes were based on brass. Today, the most popular base color is silver, though faux weathered metal finishes like iron with patina and verdigris copper are close seconds for that enormously popular *ahem* "Tuscan" decor it seems everyone craves. It used to be that brushed or polished brass was the finish that fit in anywhere; today, silver (the trendy one ATM is "nickel", which is warmer than cold-gray chrome) is the anywhere finish. I think brass is seen as old-fashioned, outdated. You see it on the decorating shows: anything in brass finish is openly called "dated" and replaced with silver or patinaed metal.

Back to reintroductions: How about that 'elegant' Enchantress? Slim and trim. The "mist" liquids WERE cloudy - hazy, really; those models' slender globes prevented the cloudy liquid from hiding the lava action. Instead, it would form a solid color background for the lava to stand out against. Hence the wild colors like yellow lava, orange liquid and red lava, green liquid.

[Brian]

i knew they were similar but didn't know what made them different. thanks so much for the explanation!!!
i think seeing a photo of the continental got me interested in collecting lites.

[Erin]

Anything wall-mounted! The Empress. The Princess. 

[Michael]

Personally, I'd love to see the Waves return. They could come back in a number of colors and styles and given the ridiculous sums they are going for on eBay, I'd say they could sell for anywhere between 25 and 40 bucks, maybe more if they released the Giant Waves as well.

LLD

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

Another thing Lava Lite could do, easily: Bring back their recent Coach Lantern. While the details were a bit different in some respects, it looked very classy. That'd be an easy step, I think. I was really shocked that they made that, and disappointed that I didn't grab one. Have the Crestworth and plain, older US versions already.

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

BubblyBubble, let me guess: You didn't read the first post either, did you? Let me reiterate here: No discussing current Lava Lite quality, or lack thereof. NONE. This thread is ONLY for discussing lamps you'd like to see produced as limited editions specifically aimed at lava collectors, if Lava did get their quality levels back up. Please do me - and us - a big favor, edit back your posts here, and put 'em in a thread that's for complaining about Lava Lite's quality control problems. I'm sure you can easily find one.

Nifty idea on copper. The timeline posted here is severely outdated; copper WAS a production finish, for first- and second-year Centuries. The so-called two-part Century base, where the upper cone is attached to a perforated cylinder that slides into the lower cone, has a copper finish. It was satin copper, though, not polished. My thoughts--
Copper editions: Coachlite, Aladdin, Century, Aristocrat. Polished copper finish.
Chrome models: Capri, Saturna, Carlisle, Consort. There WAS a real polished chrome Consort, called a Nordic, with a black plastic woodgrain-textured base. Another chrome Consort had a square metal base, and there was a brass/gold version of this, too.

For those who really want to dis Lava brand, look back at what they produced in the 60s and 70s. Even their lamps in the late 90s were pretty good stuff; they had lots and lots of color options, several base styles and nice finishes, and had good flow. Not GREAT flow; Crestworth, Mathmos and pre-1970 Lava Lites have GREAT flow.

If Lava Lite decided to produce some top-quality collectors' lamps, I personally could take detailed measurements and photographs of the following potential lamps of interest:
Crestworth-style Coach Lantern - I suspect these were actually made by Crestworth.
Consort - wood and plastic base versions.
Enchantress Planter - later style.
Decorator Aristocrat.
Century.
Princess.
'Elegant' Enchantress (mine is the Glitterlite)

And if Lava Lite want a 90s globe to use as comparison to a new one to see how flow is different, I'd be more than happy to ship them one that they can keep.

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

Agreed - Well said! By the way, as noted below, if Lava Lite wishes to have a 1990s, USA-made globe in good working order to use as comparison to newer ones, please let me know. I have one I'll happily donate to the cause. It's white lava/blue liquid, and as I have a few of these, I'll test them and send the best one of the lot.

[Erin]

That is awesome.

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

Let's bring the main topic back around. Any other ideas for limited edition stuff for us collectors?

What would people rather see: Each edition coming as-shown, with an appropriate color combo? I.e. orange/yellow with Carlisle, green/blue with Saturna or Princess, red/clear with Aladdin or Consort, etc.

OR
A group of colors standard: You pick a lamp and pick a color?