Crayola in the midst of reinventing its business

Crayola draws on new ideas as crayons make room for 'mess-less' toys
Posted 12/6/2006 1:28 AM ET

By Eileen Blass, USA TODAY
Emily Bansner, 8, left, and Nadia Shirk, 6, both of Reading, Pa., get familiar with the Crayola Color Wonder Sprayer at the Crayola Factory, in Easton, Pa.
CRAYOLA TIMELINE
1864
Joseph Binney founds Peekskill Chemical Works in upstate New York, producing charcoal and other products.
1885
Joseph Binney retires, and his son, Edwin, and nephew, C. Harold Smith, form a partnership and call their company Binney & Smith. Early products include red oxide pigment used in barn paint and carbon black for car tires.
1900
The company begins producing slate school pencils.
1902
Binney & Smith is incorporated in New York. It produces the first dustless school chalk.
1903
The company produces the first box of eight Crayola crayons, selling for a nickel. The name is coined by Edwin Binney's wife, Alice. "Craie" is the French word for chalk.
1958
The 64-color assortment of Crayola crayons, with built-in sharpener, makes its debut.
1961
Binney & Smith becomes a publicly held company.
1976
The first crayon molds are introduced at the manufacturing facilities, drastically improving the crayon-making process.
1977
Binney & Smith acquires the rights to Silly Putty.
1978
Crayola markers join the Crayola lineup.
1984
Binney & Smith becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Hallmark Cards.
1987
Crayola introduces washable markers and Crayola colored pencils.
1996
Binney & Smith opens The Crayola Factory, a kid-focused visitors center and hands-on tourist attraction in downtown Easton, Pa.
1999
Crayola launches Color Wonder No-Mess markers.
2003
Crayola celebrates its 100th birthday and launches four new colors named by kids: wild blue yonder, jazzberry jam, inch worm and mango tango.
2004
Color Wonder Fingerpaint -- fingerpaint that doesn't make a mess -- is introduced.
2005
The Color Explosion line is launched, giving kids a way to reveal colors hidden inside special sheets of black paper as they draw.
2006
Crayola launches three major toys for the holidays: Color Wonder Sprayer, Color Explosion Spinner and The Crayola Cutter.
Binney & Smith announces name change to Crayola.
Source: Binney & Smith
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By Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY
EASTON, PA — Step into the Crayola plant, and you might smell something besides the colorful collection of crayons oozing off the production line.
Crayola also wants you to smell Christmas.
Until now, the 103-year-old crayon kingpin mostly spent the holidays in hibernation. For decades, Crayola bet its bundle on back-to-school time, when parents, teachers and students load up on its crayons, markers and pencils.
But the crayon maker is now emerging as a serious toymaker. So serious, that before the end of the decade, sales of Crayola's toys and uber-crafts may pass sales of its core line of crayons and drawing products, says CEO Mark Schwab.
PHOTO GALLERY: See some of its new products at the Crayola factory
"We're absolutely reinventing ourselves," Schwab says.
Crayola has even reinvented its name. For a century, Crayola has operated under the Binney & Smith moniker. (It was founded in 1903 by Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith). Under that name, it's been mistaken for everything from a law firm to a doctor's practice, so its privately held owner, Hallmark Cards, last month announced the name will be changed to Crayola on Jan. 1.

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