Hobbies And Interests
History
Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith founded Crayola in 1885 when they started operating Binney's father's pigment company, according to crayola.com. Crayola sold its first box of crayons in 1903, offering packs of eight crayons for a nickel each. In 1958, Crayola introduced its 64-pack with built-in crayon sharpener.
In 1976, Crayola relocated its company headquarters from Madision Avenue in New York City to Forks Township in Pennsylvania. In 1978, Crayola introduced markers to its product line. Washable markers and colored pencils arrived in 1987. Finally, according to crayola.com, the company introduced Color Wonder No-Mess Markers in 1999.
Products
Crayola.com provides information about a wide variety of products manufactured by the company, including crayons, pencils, markers, Color Wonder, Color Explosion, Color Surge, Model Magic, clays and paints. Crayola also offers chalks and paints designed for inside play.
Controversies
Crayola changed the color name for Indian red to make the name more socially acceptable in a changing world. According to the company website, Crayola made the changes to "help alleviate customer confusion." The company had previously renamed only two other colors; flesh to peach and Prussian blue to midnight blue.
Working for Crayola
According to the company website, Crayola employed 1,250 people as of 2006. The company's vision and culture include commitments to action, responding to customer needs, respecting people and ideas, taking risks with innovation and thinking like winners.
Most Popular Colors
According to the Color Corner on crayola.com, America's favorite crayon color is blue. Crayola's blue crayon was introduced in 1903. The color represents personality traits such as calm, relaxation, wisdom, reliability and strength. The rest of the top five include cerulean blue, purple heart, midnight blue and aquamarine.
Sales and Production
In 1981, Crayola surpassed $100 million in sales for the first time. In 1996, Crayola produced its billionth crayon. Crayola's revenues for 2008 were estimated at $675 million, according to lehighvalleylive.com, a local news organization.