Cretacolor “A Passion For Pencils” – it's not just a slogan!
At the end of 2019, Eurotrade became the general distributor of the Cretacolor brand, which is part of the Austrian company Brevillier Urban and Sachs. In doing so, we became richer with yet another exclusive brand used by renowned artists around the world. The range includes a variety of high-quality products for a wide range of artistic techniques. The slogan under the name „A Passion For Pencils“ (a passion for pencils) hints that the entire brand is based on exclusive craftsmanship and quality.
Most of us have some hobby or something we collect. Some collect coins, dolls, stamps or badges. But not the owner of the Brevillier factory Hans Hromatka. Hans Hromatka's passion is pencils. A passionate collector at Vienna flea markets everyday looks for 0the first production of Brevillier-Urbane series Ariosto and a box of 100-year-old Zeus pencils. Decades of his “passion for pencils” have created one of the world's largest pencil collections.
To show that in life it is good to follow your passion, the year 1996 proves it. That year he gets the opportunity to combine his career with his passion and buys the pencil factory in Hirmu. It was renamed Cretacolor, and the employees immediately recognized Hans Hromatka's passion for pencils.
His hobbyist lifestyle has spread to the entire Cretacolor team, which responds with enthusiasm to challenges with fantastic new designs and innovations. The motto of the entire Cretacolor team is 'a passion for pencils,' a motto they live by day by day. Innovations, including the revolutionary Graphite Monolith and Aqua Monolith pencils, have resulted in the prestigious Design Plus award.
Nowadays, in the factory itself, 27 pairs of hands make one pencil, and everyone shares Hans Hromatka's intense passion for producing the most innovative and highest-quality pencils and art materials across Europe.
Sustainability and environmental protection are the main priorities of Cretacolor. More than 60% of the energy used in production comes from renewable sources, mostly wind turbines, which over the years have reduced several thousand tonnes of CO2 emissions at the Brevillier Urban & Sachs factory.
The company focuses on using wood from sustainable forestry as well as water-based finishes for products to further promote ecological awareness.
The story of Hans Hromatka and Cretacolor inspires and shows that with will and effort we can achieve our dreams and live them day by day. The passion is embedded in the very making of Cretacolor products that inspire artists across Europe and pass that passion onto paper.
