It's such a lovely easel otherwise, good quality wood frame and attractive. But come on people, I am SO SO SO disappointed nobody noted in reviews that for a hundred bucks, costing many times more than an Ikea easel, this one does not come with a real chalkboard! It's plastic. Chalk barely makes a mark on it. It is false advertising to sell this product as including a chalkboard when it is not at all a chalkboard, just made to look like one. You can even see in the photo on Amazon for the product a child drawing on the chalkboard -it's a lie. In reality chalk does not work like that at all on the faux-chalkboard. Perhaps the model changed and Amazon still lists it under the same item. Which is something I have seen Amazon do on other items too, which misrepresents the true feedback for the item in stock. I would return this but I had to tear apart the box to get the huge pieces out of it and I didn't know the chalkboard wasn't real until the whole thing was assembled and I tried to draw on it with chalk. Boo boo boo at KidKraft for making an easel like this!!!
Well, they have done it again. Last year, we received the KidKraft train table, and I reviewed it negatively.
If I had a choice in the matter, I would definitely have gone with a different company, but, alas, my mother-in-law did not read my review. To clarify, the easel we received was not exactly the one pictured. They have the same product number, but ours is "B" instead of "A".
I did have an open mind to start, but it became closed when I tried to assemble the thing. Two problems: the trays that you attach are supposed to have plastic washers so you can fold them up, but because they drilled holes with wells in them, the washers lie flush with the wood, and therefore do not do the job. Not only that, now there is a space on either side that must be filled with an extra washer (or 2, I don't know). I'm sure the company will send me some, but not in time for Christmas.
The second problem is more frustrating. The easel is supposed to open up to stand better and fit a tray at the base. However, because of the way the hinges are attached at the top, and the supporting pieces are not rounded at the top, it DOES NOT open more than 30 degrees or so.
And let me add that this is an expensive product, one that you would expect to be made with more attention to quality and detail. For that reason, I feel I can be more pointed in my criticisms.
I will add that I don't know if the kids will like it or care about what I will have to do to the thing to make it work. But, in conclusion, I would seriously think twice about ordering from this company.
I hope this is helpful.
ADDENDUM: Fast-forward one year. Kidkraft was decent enough to send a replacement easel top that had the requisite change in angle, so it was wider. HOWEVER, and this is unbelievable to me, sorry to sound so persistently negative, the holes were completely different from the rest of the pieces, so it could not be assembled with the original!!!
I tried to "make do," attaching the legs to the outside instead of the inside, using only 1 screw instead of 2, foregoing the possibility of ever adjusting the height, and settling for the bottom rack not fitting squarely on the bottom. Nonetheless, the 2 trays cannot fit because the legs are now on the outside, and the top paper roll holder cannot be switched because those screw-holes are also completely different.
SO, my options: Stick with the original configuration, with no bottom tray, and a precarious easel that can easily topple on my kids; OR, have a more stable easel, with no paper roll holder and no trays to hold supplies.
What would you do?
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I researched many easels before purchasing this one. It includes a chalkboard, white board, and a paper roll at the top, which can be pulled down for drawing. I bought this for my twins' 3rd birthday. Now, they are 4-1/2 and they and their friends continue to get a lot of use out of this. The only problem is that I regularly have to tighten the screws to hold parts of the easel together. Also, the cups which hold paint are not really necessary and I would have preferred that there were not holes in the trays for the cups. Otherwise, I am very happy with this purchase.
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I had been looking for a solid wood easel, that was sturdy and yet could be stored easily. Deluxe wood easel was the perfect choice. The quick delivery was also a plus! Amazon is a great place to start your search for so many things.
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I had not seen this easel "in person" prior to purchase, but it appeared to be of quality. It is a very solid piece of furniture. Delivery was earlier than expected (a good thing) and KidKraft sent the missing plastic washers (not a big deal) promptly. It will be around for many years!!
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Being an easel, I don't have too much to say. But...
