Crayola LLC

Crayola LLC, headquartered in Forks Township, Pennsylvania (nominally Easton, Pennsylvania) in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, USA, is a manufacturer of children's toys including Crayola crayons and Silly Putty.

History

The company was founded in NYC in 1885 as Binney & Smith. The founders were cousins Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith. [http://www.sil.si.edu/exhibitions/doodles/innov_binney.htm Edwin Binney (1866-1934) and C. Harold Smith (1860-1931), Entrepreneurs] , Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History]

Binney & Smith's initial products were colorants for industrial use, including red oxide pigment and carbon for making tires black. In 1900 the company added production of slate school pencils. Binney's experimentation with industrial materials including slate waste, cement, and talc, led to the invention of the first dustless white chalk, for which the company won a gold medal at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1902.

In 1903, the company produced another innovation, the first child-friendly crayons, which it sold under the brand name "Crayola." The crayons that had existed previously were made from wax, dull in color, and used mainly in industry. The word "Crayola" was coined by Alice Stead Binney, Edwin's wife, who took the French words for chalk, "craie", and oily, "oléagineux", and combined them. [http://inventors.about.com/od/cstartinventions/a/crayons.htm The History of Crayola Crayons] ] The National Museum of American History has described the first Crayola crayons as an "overnight success". In 1999 Crayola crayons became one of the first inductees in the National Toy Hall of Fame.

Since 1984, the company has been a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards.

On January 1, 2007, the company changed its name from "Binney & Smith" to "Crayola". [http://www.binney-smith.com/ Binney & Smith website] , accessed February 26, 2008] Information released by the company stated that the new name was adopted to showcase the company's well-known brand, which was in use in more than 80 countries and had 99% name recognition in U.S. consumer households.

Locations

The company has been based in Easton, Pennsylvania, since the early 1900s. Its manufacturing facilities are located there and in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and
Mexico City. [http://www.crayola.com/corporate/index.cfm Crayola Profile] , Crayola.com website, accessed February 26, 2008] There are about 1,250 employees worldwide.

Products

In addition to its namesake crayons, Crayola markets a variety of art-related products for children under the Crayola brand name. [ [http://www.crayola.com/mediacenter/index.cfm Media Center] , Crayola.com website, accessed February 26, 2008] Other product lines include the Portfolio Series, a line of water-soluble oil pastels, watercolors, drawing pencils, colored pencils, and acrylic paints that is marketed to artists and educators, [ [http://www.portfolioseries.com/product/ Portfolio Series Products] , accessed February 26, 2008] and Silly Putty. Binney & Smith acquired the rights to Silly Putty in 1977. [http://www.sillyputty.com/history_101/timeline/70s/70s_timeline_r1_c2.jpg] Silly Putty was added to the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2001.

References

External links

* [http://www.crayola.com/ Crayola LLC Official Web Site]