ArtBistro

Great article. You ca.n have a wonderful product, but no one will know unless it is marketed correctly

Ah, happy memories! Crayola made a name (and giant smear), but the product was best for wax-release silk screening; painting over with black ink then scratching through it ; and, as colorant for wax sculptures. They melted in our hands, ran in the sun and welded together in pre-climate- controlled car trips. (Even M&M's and Hersey had conquered that problem.) The density of the color couldn't be varied easily because a second layer would shear-off of the first under pressure. Color mixing had a similar problem. [That just might have contributed to the tendency to aspire to keep the "yellow in the duck".] I, for one, didn't want more colors in the box. I wanted to be able to make new ones from the ones in it. "Navy" crayons were better for 'rubbings' and texture capture, too. Binney & Smith produced both Perma Pressed and Crayola crayons, but there were others, like: Prang, Neocolor, Kantroll, etc.. The near-monolithic branding (as memories attest) not only sold a lot of crayons, but may have stifled alternative creative opportunity and experience. Telling it "like it is" can also be selling it - as if it were. Ps I use Crayola crayons to this day but I also support freeware.

This great article brought back a great begiinning artist memory. When I was six I had an easy bake oven. I didn't use it to make cakes though. (I still don't bake). I used it to melt my crayolas. I liked the way the colors melted and fused together and the element of surprise. L

Interesting article! I agree with the others about the political slam. Completely unnecessary.

Crayola is the best in mainstream crayons. I remember the first time I discovered "robin's egg blue," and noticed it was a distinct color. I was 8. Almost 30 years later, I remember that moment (and it is still my favorite color)... I will still not buy bargain crayons for my kids. They seem to have too much wax and not enough pigment.

By the way, Itennant, I do agree with you about Kodak. I'm a photographer, and I HATE Kodak!

As an artist, I do like my kids to learn to use quality products that make a difference in the end product of their creativity, and get them comfortable using the appropriate materials. I grew up using the cheap plastic paint brushes and cheap paints and drawing tools & paper, so when I was really ready to use a better product for my art, I struggled with being comfortable with the better materials. Enough said about that, we're talking about children's crayons here.
Here is my point. Crayola's are still one of the highest quality crayons on the market, most are knock offs of the Crayola brand. However, I discovered a crayon that I would have to put on a MUCH higher level than Crayola as far as texture, coverage and vivid color and that is Prang brand soy crayons. I found them quite by accident, we were at a little diner, Rosie's Diner in fact, and they had some activities for the kids with a full box of 8 crayons. I started playing around with them because the owners of the diner were artists and they had pictures of one of the artist's whimsical ceramic tea kettles to color. Her tea kettles are unique to begin with and colorful, so we had fun doing our own design. I was amazed at the quality of the crayons. It is a shame that a better crayon is out there and is not as widely known. It's probably the equivalent to Kodak film--although good, it's not necessarily the best film (ask a professional photographer and he will give you other names) but it is the best known. All I can say is, try out different materials. You'll see for yourself!

Crayola's marketing campaigns have been exemplary, but marketing isn't the whole story. Before developing brilliant marketing, Binney and Smith took the wisest first step one can take in this sort of endeavor; they established quality standards which few of their competitors have ever managed to meet. As a child, I had crayons of other brands, and they consistently lacked Crayola's consistent texture and highly-saturated colors. I don't think I ever used any crayon of another brand long enough to even consider peeling the paper. With Crayola, however, I recall using stubs so small, I had to dig my fingernails into them in order to color. Other brands came up with clever eye-pleasing or ergonomic shapes, but they rarely had enough pigment to be worth my effort. In addition, Crayola's "stadium seating" box, which is now the standard, allows one to look at all the colors, and just enjoy thinking about all the possibilities before coloring. How many of us were mesmerized by a single color in that big box of 64? for me, it was, and still is, periwinkle. Even today that color catches my eye.