It seems after much investigating via the web (see this page), and also - even better - this word from Brian regarding a connection he made late summer, 2006: "I did actually receive confirmation by email from a representative at Lefranc & Bourgeois, the worldwide distributor for Conte products, that colored Conte crayons continue to be manufactured. As I understand it, Lefranc & Bourgeois represents the factory in dealing with distributors such as Elmers in the USA" -- the "colorful" Conte crayons are still being made (and sold). Here is a problem that we all still have, though: They are not available to buy individually (at least here in the U.S.) anymore.

The sets of "colorful" Conte Crayons are still available, though.

However, though it may be that I am so worried about not being able to get the Conte Crayons I need that I can't remember well, it seems to me that even the sets are harder to find, and (this is very important to me), they cost more than they used to!

The Main Problem, though, is this: NO INDIVIDUAL CRAYONS ARE AVAILABLE TO BUY IN THIS COUNTRY

If you know anything about this that we don't know, please write to me at:

WHY NOT BEING ABLE TO BUY CONTE CRAYONS (OF THE COLORFUL TYPE) INDIVIDUALLY IS A PROBLEM

It is a problem because in order to buy one or two or three colors that you need, you must buy an entire set. In fact, if you need more than one color, you may have to buy more than one set (because, of course, not all sets have the same colors in them), or else a very large, very expensive set that has all the colors in it, just to get the few colors you actually need!

This would get ridiculously expensive very fast, and there you'd be, too, with all of the other Conte Crayons that were in the set that you really don't need, and only ONE stick of the color (or one each of the colors) that you did need. What a waste - of money and of Conte Crayons. Someone else may have wanted just those colors that you don't need.

I can imagine that it was more trouble for the people who mail things out from art supply stores to count out the number of Conte crayons you need of each color and put them (by hand) in foam-cushioned boxes to mail out to us, than to just pop in a sealed-and-ready-to-go set of Conte Crayons. It is inefficient and they weren't making enough money commensurate with the trouble. (I am assuming that this is the reason they aren't sold individually now.) However - Now what? - Who is going to continue to buy the Conte Crayons that they need for very long when they realize how terribly awkward and expensive it is to have to buy sets of them in order to get individual colors?

Why can't they sell six or twelve of each and every one of the colors, at least - if they don't want to hand-pick-out the exact amount the person needs? I would so much prefer to be able to buy one or two or three of a color (than have to buy six or twelve, usually), but at least I'd be able to stock up on just what I needed, even if I had to get more than I'd use for quite a while.

The "colorful" Conte Crayons are still being sold individually in Europe and in Australia, and I don't know where else, so we know it is still possible to sell them that way; the manufacturer must still be providing them outside of sets. Brian bought some for himself and for me while in Europe last month, in fact.

Here are those Conte crayons that he bought for me:

$28 (U.S.) worth of Conte Crayons, and
these were bought individually and I
didn't have to pay for shipping from Europe!

Imagine how much it would cost to ship these to the U.S.!

Brian came up with the idea of individuals selling/buying/exchanging needed and unneeded colors of Conte crayons. It seems at first thought impractical, and expensive, too (think of the shipping costs), yet when compared with the impracticality and terrible expense of having to buy sets of colors - and pay for that shipping - rather than to pay only for the colors we need, and when you consider how the colors we don't need are being wasted when someone else may desperately want just those colors -- individual exchanges and sales seems relatively very simple and inexpensive. What do you think?

NOTE: A date I remember well: In April of 2004, I read, at one of the art supply sites I visited, that Conte would not be making the "colorful" Conte crayons any more, though they apparently will continue to make their "classic" colors (blacks, whites, grays, and earth reds). Here is what it said on that site:

"Conte a Paris Crayons - December 2003 - Carre Colours have been discontinued by the manufacturer, available while supplies last. Carre Classic are still available."

This news was confirmed by a visitor to my site who had been told, at two different art supply stores in Canada, that there will be no more of the "colorful" Conte crayons once supplies on hand are exhausted. This set me looking right away for possible substitutes for Conte crayons, for I have been working with them for years now and intended to continue with them, and they are not like regular pastels so it might not be easy (if possible at all) to find a product that is similar and of the same quality as Conte crayons.

After an "exhausting" search (I was the one exhausted, not the search), I found two products that claimed to be like Conte crayons, one being GALLERY SKETCHING PASTELS, made by a company named MUNGYO (and, therefore, also called MUNGYO GALLERY SKETCHING PASTELS, and another being CRETACOLOR CARRE PASTELS (but neither of these products are regular pastels, supposedly). I haven't tried Mungo Gallery Sketching Pastels, but I have tried the Cretacolor sticks. Look on this page for my reaction to those.

I'm not sure if this information is still valid, but at the time I was looking these things up, individual color sticks of the CRETACOLOR CARRE PASTELS could be found at JERRY'S ARTARAMA. They also had sets.

If you have any information to share on this subject (i.e., a product that is very close to what the "colorful" Conte crayons were), I will be glad to know it myself and with your permission will share it here on this site with others. Thanks very much for your help.

By the way - Don't confuse the
CONTE PASTEL PENCILS with CONTE "CRAYONS!"

Also, from my own experience I can tell you that all products that "look" like CONTE CRAYONS are NOT like CONTE CRAYONS! I have yet to find any that are. If you find any that are very close to them, please let me know. I would appreciate it very, very much!