My Kid Could Do That!

This kid could and did—with a little help from Mom

Photos courtesy of Cre8ive Crayonz

By Tara Ryazansky

Susan Goldman

Photo courtesy of Cre8ive Crayonz

When Susan Goldman was furloughed from her job in the fashion industry, she saw the silver lining right away. “I was very lucky at the beginning of the pandemic not to work and to be able to focus all of that time on my daughter,” Goldman says. She and 6-yearold Jessie spent their days creating art projects in their Hoboken home. Goldman is creative and enthusiastic about the arts, so she and Jessie weren’t just making a mess with art supplies. “We did themes every day,” she says. “We did a Jackson Pollock day. Then, one day we did a crayon day.” Goldman found some ideas online to fit the theme. They melted down some of their used and broken Crayola crayons to make new multicolored crayons in fun shapes. “It was just an activity to do for the day,” Goldman says.

Jessie loved the final product. “She was like, ‘Oh, I want to make some for my friends!’” Goldman says.

Color Us Happy!

So the pair crafted extras to bring to the playground during their next socially-distant meetup. “The feedback was great from the kids and the moms,” Goldman says. The colorful shapes are great for imaginary play and sensory play on top of their obvious allure as art. Soon Goldman was creating and selling crayons for friends of friends, and eventually strangers, through word of mouth. Her personalized sets, where customers can spell out a name or message in crayons, became very popular. “I knew deep in my heart when I heard that I was furloughed that I wouldn’t be going back,” Goldman says. She had been at the job for more than seven years. She began thinking of her next career move. “I’ve got to be able to do something with my crafty side, my design side. I thought, let me try this.”

Eureka!

“At 2 o’clock in the morning I was like, I’ve got my name,” Goldman says, and Cre8ive Crayonz was born. “Then I had an idea for my logo, and I reached out to someone local who really brought it to life.” Goldman worked with Lori Kadezabek of Ten Twelve Designs.

Another local mom, Mieke Smith, created Goldman’s website. “The support from the Hoboken moms has been amazing,” Goldman says. Many have donated their used Crayola crayons to upcycle. Goldman’s new career “allows me to work closely with my daughter,” she says. “I’m so busy making the crayons that my husband has started to help me as well. It’s a family affair now.” She calls Jessie her Cre8ive Director. Jessie’s duties include picking color combinations, doing some quality control testing and popping crayons out of their molds. She gets to keep the castoffs for herself. “When she went back to school she said, ‘Mommy, when I come home do you promise that you’ll have crayons for me to pop out?’”

Crayola Collaborators

Soon the mother-daughter team will collaborate with a mother-son team. “One of the companies that I used to work with years ago in fashion is Boy Meets Girl,” Goldman says. The company’s founder and creative director is Stacy Igel. She has a son close to Jessie’s age. “Stacy’s son Dylan is very involved in her business just like my daughter.” Goldman sent some crayons to them, and they loved them. “She wanted to come up with some exclusive crayons just for her company,” Goldman says. “We worked on certain colorways and chose sayings that are linked to her company.” Those

sets, which include phrases like “Future Boss” and “Together We Stand,” will be available on boymeetsgirlusa.com.

The Crayon Lady

Goldman’s other creations, which include holiday and personalized sets, are available on Etsy or via DM on Instagram @cre8ivecrayonz. Goldman delivers in Hoboken free of charge. Little Hoboken planned to carry some during the holiday season. Goldman recently made a batch of custom party favors for her daughter’s classmates to celebrate Jessie’s birthday. “It’s a great gift to give out now that a lot of schools aren’t allowing food,” Goldman says. “My daughter loves to tell everyone about our crayon business. Never did I imagine that I would be in the crayon business. I’m starting to get known as that crayon lady.”—07030

Jessie, Michael and Susan