Hi there, friends!

Hi, I’m Lona — and Crayolona is where color, history, and curiosity meet.
 

What began during the early days of Covid as a simple return to coloring quickly turned into something deeper. When I rediscovered a box of “So Big” crayons from the mid-1980s — the very same kind I used in kindergarten — it felt less like nostalgia and more like opening an archive.
That moment sparked a question that has only grown since: how much history is hidden inside something as small as a crayon?

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Crayolona is my ongoing effort to document, research, and preserve the story of Crayola — from product evolution and color retirements to packaging design and cultural impact. While crayons are often seen as simple childhood tools, they reflect shifts in language, marketing, education, manufacturing, and even social change. This site serves as a living research companion to my long-term goal of writing a comprehensive history of Crayola.

 

Here you’ll find archival-style deep dives, documented collection notes, and thoughtful explorations of the colors and products that shaped generations. Some posts focus on specific moments — like the retirement of a single color — while others examine broader patterns in design, branding, and cultural memory.

 

At its heart, Crayolona is about taking everyday creativity seriously. It’s about recognizing that objects we grew up with deserve documentation. And it’s about building a careful, structured archive — one color, one box, one story at a time.

 

For the record, my favorite current color is Copper and my favorite retired color is Torch Red, and I will never pass up a good antique store or thrift hunt.

 

If you’d like to follow along as this research project unfolds, you can find me sharing updates and discoveries on TikTok, Instagram, and X — or subscribe to the newsletter for archival entries delivered directly to you.