The Crayola Crayon

Today I spent majority of my afternoon smelling the wonderful smell of freshly cut wood. I am pretty new to wood working so I was pretty nervous at first. But I made sure to ask as many questions as I could to make sure I didn't end up breaking anything or doing something stupid (and with my klutzy reputation, trust me, it's not hard to do).

But before I catapult you all into the exciting stuff, I'm going to do a quick, fast-forward version of my inspiration behind "the box".

This project has us design a box that holds something special to you. It can have a connection, symbolism, or a story behind it, but it has to be important. I know when I tell all of you my object of choice is a box of Crayola crayons you might have some second thoughts, but never fear, there is good reason for this pick.

One of my first memories is crawling up the wooden rungs of the kitchen chair, sitting at the table, and my mom giving me a blank piece of paper and a box of crayons. At that time, I had a lot of important ideas on my mind. I can remember one particularly spectacular one about a grasshopper who couldn't blink, I was convinced it was going to get published.

And every August, when I had to go school shopping, I insisted that I get a new pack of 24 Crayola crayons. Something about opening up the yellow and green box and smelling that smell of sharp, brand new wax sticks made me believe that it was going to be another good school year.

Knowing that that box of 24 was my object of choice, I spent some time researching the Crayola company. Here is a mind map of my findings:

For those who are having trouble deciphering these somewhat complicated mind maps, here are some condensed points based on my research:

1. Crayola Headquarters: Lehigh Valley, PA
2. The first box was made in 1903 by founders Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith
3. Crayola employs 1,165 innovators all across the world including Canada, Australia, Mexico, and Italy
4. The big question Crayola seeks to ask is 'What if', it strives to unleash creativity and consistently ask, 'what would a kid do?'
5. Currently, Crayola has 120 colors
6. The average child in the U.S. wears down 730 crayons by his/her 10th birthday, that's 7 lbs of wax, enough to cover an NBA basketball court.
7. According to Yale University, the scent of Crayola crayons is among 20 most recognizable to American adults. Coffee and peanut butter are one and two. Crayola crayons is 18.
8. Crayola = craie (French for chalk) + ola (oleaginaous, 'rich in, covered w/, procuding oil, oily, or greasy)
9. The company is a wholly owned subsidary of Hallmark Cards Inc. (that's why there is a Crayola Factory at the Hallmark Plaza in Kansas City, MO)
10. Crayola gives "colorful wings to invisible things"