Sturdy, well conceived and detailed parts, this easel is a new huge seriously delicious delight. Highly liked here and highly recommended.

Assembly took a few hours and the enclosed English instructions were mostly clear and concise. All parts were identified with removable numbers and metal connectors were organized into labeled plastic bags--a very nice touch. The instructions ID'd parts to be assembled along with bag to be used. 2 screwdrivers and an allenhead wrench were included. Additionally there is a Mont Martre you-tube video on the assembly of this specific easel. This video showed that nothing difficult was involved, and went through, set-by-set, how to assemble the easel.

Solid wood, mortise and tenon joinery that was machined to perfection, fine metal connectors. It all went together, step by step.

The easel puts my former rickety wobbly two-bit easels to shame. This easel handles small and large canvases and they will be solid onto the easel. Lots of adjusting possible regarding angle of painting to the eye. The conversion of the easel into a table height platform (add a board for paper) is enticing--I'll get to that with larger watercolors and also pastels.

Viewing various easel offerings at Amazon, it seems to be that the identical easel is sold by various sellers--all appear to be made in China. Mont Marte's offer however was more competitive and it came with an Amazon 10% discount coupon. That, combined with the Mont Martre website (seems like a Queensland Aussie art supply outfit) and the video, convinced me to try this one out. I'm delighted that I did.

The packaging is the problem. The box cardboard is too thin to carry the heavy woods inside so it arrived with the box opened here and there revealing some material. Thus some parts were chipped away and smashed, making the easel not in a perfect brand-new condition. However, in my case, the damages were only aesthetically unpleasant, not affecting the function so I decided to keep it just because I didn't want to dissemble and pack again to return when there is no guarantee that the next item will be packaged any better.

The assembly was as easy as IKEA furniture though the instruction booklet design could use improvement such as corresponding capital letters and some detail shots at the later steps. All necessary tools are included.

The quality seems to be good. Sturdy, stable, functional. It can hold a very small canvas to quite large. The only thing is when using a large canvas, the bottom can go low only down to a certain length (mid thigh for me) so this is a good level to work in a sitting position but will affect the stability when it tilts more and you will need a step to reach high. But I guess you can't have it all with the convertible easel. Still I think that the tray (the bottom of canvas level) could have been designed to go lower to accommodate a higher canvas with better stabiltiy and versatile access. If so, this easel could have satisfied everything.

I am so excited to receive the Mon Marte Tilting Studio Easel. It is sturdy, smooth quality wood and is so flexible in it's ability to move around and adjust settings. It took a little under one and one-half hours to assemble and my husband said it was very easy as the instructions and parts are well marked and packaged. It is a good choice for my needs as I do large canvas paintings and it accommodates them well. Also I need to sit while I work much of the time and this works beautifully.

Me encanta!

The product arrived ahead of schedule. The product is exactly as described. The high side, the easel is well worth the expenditure, with a fine birch construction. I'd heartily recommend the slightly higher investment in this product over the shakey-jakes other companies offer. The lesser side, the instructions leave a lot to be desired. The company has gone the extra mile in producing an higher end artist tool, only to leave a lot of guess work for the assembly time. I'd think a better assembly manual would be expected for fine products. I would recommend this product to those who are both starting and professionals.. if you're going to do something right.. at least give yourself the right tools.. right?