Crayola & Emily Henderson Just Announced a New Crayon (And You Can Name It)

published May 5, 2017
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Post Image
(Image credit: Arina P Habich)

You might not think chemists, crayons, and Emily Henderson have anything in common, except maybe the set up to the world’s most random joke. But yet, they do. The HGTV designer and blogger has partnered with Crayola to help announce their newest color, which is inspired by a pretty cool scientific discovery.

In 2009, chemist Mas Subramanian and his team at Oregon State University discovered a vibrant new pigment (the first new blue in 200 years!) called YInMn (pronounced yin-min) Blue. And today, Emily Henderson was on hand at OSU to help Crayola announce that a bold, saturated shade inspired by the scientific discovery will replace Dandelion, the crayon that the company retired from their popular box of 24 back in March.

(Image credit: Crayola)

It’s not all that surprising that the new replacement hue is blue—it is the most popular color in the world, after all. But what will it be called? YInMn is the inspiration, not its name—because that’s up to you.

Crayola’s holding a contest where kids (and kids at heart) can submit their picks for what to call the new crayon. Names “can range from serious to silly,” says Henderson, and you can enter once a day through June 2. Crayola will announce five finalists on July 1 and the final choice will be put to a vote. Just think about it, your name can be emblazoned on a crayon forever—and then you’ll have something to impress people at parties with for all eternity. There’s also weekly prizes for submitting names, as well as grand prizes for six lucky voters.

(Image credit: Tessa Neustadt)

What made Emily Henderson want to get involved with this announcement? “I have two young kids and color and Crayola is already a big part of sparking their creativity,” she said on the phone with Apartment Therapy today. “Plus, I love blue… and as a designer, this is a great color to use in interiors and as accents.” —

As a noted fan of blue, we had to get her take on what’s hot and what’s not for the cool end of the spectrum: “Right now, teal is having less of a moment… I’m seeing more washed out, muted blues (like an antique French cabinet I have that’s a Swedish grey) take over that are basically more exciting neutrals… [but also] there’s more saturated, cobalt hues as accent walls or above a chair rail, and on textiles or pottery.”

The new crayon is giving us some IKB (that’d be International Klein Blue) vibes, so we asked: What color would Emily slap her name on if she could?

“I’ve never gotten sick of indigo, so if I had to pick something that would, you know, be painted on my gravestone, that’d be it.”

Noted.

Suggest names for the new crayon today through June 2 over on Crayola.