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About Crayola

The Company's world headquarters and major manufacturing facilities are located in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania.  Crayola also has offices in Australia, Asia, Canada, Italy, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.
Historical image of Crayola trucks.

Our History

aria-label="Crayola History"

  • 1885

    Our Colorful Company Begins

    Edwin Binney & Charles Harold Smith form a partnership and call their company Binney & Smith.  Early products include red oxide pigment for barn paint and carbon black for printing ink and car tires.
    Crayola founders.
  • 1903

    The Crayola Brand is Formed

    In June 1903, Binney & Smith introduced the first box of eight affordable, non-toxic Crayola crayons.  Alice Binney, Edwin's wife, coined the name Crayola from craiem the French word for chalk, and ola from oleaginous.
    The first box of Crayola crayons.
  • 1984

    Binney & Smith Joins Hallmark Cards, Inc.

    Hallmark Cards, Inc purchases Binney & Smith to become a wholly-owned subsidiary.  The two companies share a mission to create a more emotionally connected and creative world. 
    Hallmark Headquarters
  • 2007

    Binney & Smith forms Crayola LLC

    The company changes its name to Crayola to reflect our number-one brand and become more recognizable to consumers.
    Revealing new Crayola sign.
  • 2025

    Inspiring Creativity & Sustainability

    Crayola continues to inspire creativity and imagination by producing crayons, markers, paints, and modeling compounds with 100% renewable energy.
    Children playing with a variety of crayola products and toys.

Our Story

 

Crayola has inspired creativity since the first box of Crayola crayons rolled off the assembly line in 1903. The Crayola brand has grown into a portfolio of innovative art tools, crafting activities, and creative toys that inspire kids to explore, discover, play, pretend, and dream.

Whether it's providing tools to create everything imaginable or enabling teachers to bring arts-infused learning into the classroom, Crayola is passionate about helping parents and educators raise creatively alive children. Crayola sees a world where the inherent creativity of children is fully nurtured into adulthood, filling the world with more curiosity, imagination, joy, and connections.

The company began when cousins Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith took over Edwin's father's pigment business in 1885.  Early products included red oxide pigment used as barn paint and carbon black used in car tires. After noticing a need for safe, high quality, affordable wax crayons, in 1903, Crayola produced the first box of eight crayons and sold them for 5 cents.

 


Crayola has been a business of Hallmark Cards since 1984 and has offices in Canada, Mexico, Italy, Australia, Asia, and the United Kingdom.

The Company carried the name of its founders, Binney & Smith, until 2007 when we changed our name to Crayola to reflect our No. 1 brand.

The Company’s world headquarters and major manufacturing facilities are located in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, its home since the early 1900’s. Beyond manufacturing Crayola products, Crayola also manufactures Silly Putty, creates entertainment through Crayola Studios and Crayola Experience attractions, and supports fundraising for a variety of non-profit agencies through Crayola Flowers.


Download our Colorful Timeline

Discover Lehigh Valley Pennsylvania

Discover a place with the vibrancy of your favorite Crayola® colors, the soundtrack of your favorite Martin® guitar riff, and the romance of historic covered bridges.

Steeped in precolonial, early American, and industrial history, Lehigh Valley is bursting with nationally-recognized events, exciting nightlife, adventurous outdoor activities, and modern and contemporary arts not what you’d expect from a place that is also home to rolling hills and calming countrysides.