Melissa and Doug Deluxe Standing Easel - Two Sided
The Melissa and Doug Deluxe Standing Easel is a three way easel that provides your child with creative artistic opportunites on three mediums; colored chalk, color wet marker, paint on paper.
The Melissa and Doug brand name has come to equal “quality” in the eyes of parents who know their toys. Looking at their Deluxe Standing Easel, It does appear that they understand what children like. The comments on line at amazon make it very clear that, while this easel can be a headache for adults, children just seem to LOVE it.
We’ll talk more later about the problems that the Deluxe Standing Easel can cause the adults in the family, but first let us take a moment to understand this product a bit, and perhaps to understand why children find it so delightful.
Features Of The Melissa and Doug Deluxe Standing Easel
- A two-sided wooden easel.
- A One-sided paper roll (not included)
- Dry erase board,
- Chalkboard,
- Folds for easy storage,
- Comes with sturdy tray on both sides (stores art supplies)
- Height adjustable for kids age 3 and above,
- Paper roll holder locks to keep the paper in place,
- Included are four clips and a child-safe paper cutter.
See this product now, at Amazon: http://amzn.to/1aZzwDQ
What It Is …
This double sided, freestanding easel might just seem like another painting easel for your child, but it is not. A touch of psychology seems to be designed into the works. The easel encourages creative play, as does any easel, but it encourages interactive creativity, by encouraging children to play together.
This Deluxe Standing Easel offers a wonderful learning opportunity for child, it is easy to clean up, and it is a complete artist creation platform to free your child’s creativity.
What You Get…
First, art supplies are NOT included- which we found somewhat anticlimactic. After all, this is an art station, is it not? You can purchase the Melissa & Doug Deluxe Easel Companion Set, to obtain a collection of art supplies, but it just seemed to us that an easel ought to come with some way to paint on it. This implies that at least rudimentary tools should have been included – and if parents wanted to spring for the 10-footer, then sure – we expect to be charged for that.
What you do get, is a two-sided foldable easel, the hardware needed to assemble it, and instructions for assembly that nobody seems to be complaining about – so they must be accurate.
While you do get the clips and paper cutter, the roll of paper is NOT included without the companion set, so you might just as well plan to buy this accessory just as soon as you decide that this easel is a must for your budding artist. That way, you and your junior Picasso aren’t disappointed when you tear open the easel packaging on Christmas morning.
What Do Customers Say?
- 5 star 868
- 4 star 244
- 3 star 81
- 2 star 41
- 1 star 38
There are over 1200 reviews on the Melissa and Doug Deluxe Standing Easel with over 1,000 better than four stars, so this easel does seem to have passed the consumer confidence test. We feel that you can buy this easel with little risk of disappointment.
Nevertheless, you should know about some things. Though, as you can see, complaints are relatively few, there are more than we should be comfortable with without reading the one and two star reviews to see if we are comfortable with what we read there.
What really is confusing is that some problems, apparently serious, do not seem to have affected other patrons at all. For example, this board does NOT come ready for use. The board has a waxy glossy finish that the user must remove by sanding or painting over the board with a primer.
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This is covered in the instructions accompanying the easel, but we will mention it here so you won’t have any surprises when you assemble the easel for your child’s use.
We can imagine this being kind of a bummer – especially if you did not know this until you opened the package, but only a few people were put off by this requirement.
Other customers complained of the wood quality, and while nobody said that the wood was beautiful, most thought it solid and durable. Only the one reviewer (that we found) thought that the matter rose to the level of a complaint.
The Verdict
So, pros and cons – can we recommend the Melissa and Doug Deluxe Standing Easel? We think so. The need to clear the board surface by priming or sanding should clearly have been spelled out more clearly to customers (many seemed to miss this), but if it does not really bother them, then it should not bother us.
There seems to be no doubt that kids go for this easel as Fido goes for a milk-bone, so if kids love it, then who are we to question the experts?
No paints or paper are supplied with the easel. However, nobody is complaining about that in the reviews. So, while we would have preferred the easel to have come with some rudimentary painting tools, if paying customers don't mind – then who are we to complain?
In short, the answer is yes, this one is a buy. The Melissa and Doug Deluxe Standing Easel is an excellent choice for a high quality easel for your children. Some reviewers at amazon have been using their easel for five years, and it is still there – developing their children’s creativity. The easel seems a hit with both boys and girls.
There is no such thing as the perfect product. If you want to spend $500 for an easel, perhaps even these few complaints would disappear – and perhaps not! One thing is certain; for this price, and at this quality, you are getting a great buy on a decent product.
So, if you like it – go for it!
Happy Shopping!
Product Link to Amazon: http://amzn.to/1aZzwDQ
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