Mabef Easel Deals: Compare Sale Prices & Find the Best Discount UK

Most art supplies get used up. An easel is different. Buy a good one and it can stay with you for the rest of your painting life, and that’s exactly why Mabef has earned the reputation it has. The story starts in 1948 in Ispra, a small town on the shores of Lake Maggiore in northern Italy, where Albino Bruno Mariotto, a skilled cabinetmaker, restorer and keen painter, began making easels with his wife, Rita. The business moved to Gallarate in 1954 and then to Cardano al Campo in 1974, where it’s still based today. The name came a year later. M.A.B.E.F. is built from the founder’s initials, Mariotto Albino Bruno e Figli, which means Mariotto Albino Bruno and Sons. It’s still a family business at heart, and you can feel that in the products.

What makes a Mabef easel worth the money is the combination of materials and craft. Every easel is made from solid beech, a dense, hard-wearing hardwood that stays stable and doesn’t flex the way cheaper pine or softwood easels do. Many models are oiled to resist paint stains, which matters more than you’d think once you’ve spent a few years splashing turps and acrylic around a studio. Mabef has also taken sustainability seriously for longer than most. It gained FSC certification in 2004, so the beech comes from responsibly managed forests where replanting is guaranteed, and since 2002 the company has recycled all of its production wood waste into pellets that heat its own factory and offices. And then there’s the lifetime guarentee on every product, which tells you everything about how confident Mabef is that its easels will last.

The range is broad, which is part of its appeal, because there really is a Mabef for every way of painting. At the top end are the big studio easels, heavy, solid pieces of furniture built for large canvases and serious daily use. The M/04 Master Studio Easel is a good example. It’s one of the largest in the range, with a winding crank to raise and lower the canvas tray, a tilting canvas holder and an extending mast, and it’s built for professional studios and large works. Below those sit the classic H-frame and A-frame studio easels, which are perfect for home studios, offering stability without taking over the room. For painters who work outdoors there are field and box easels, designed to fold down, carry easily and set up quickly on uneven ground, which is ideal for plein air painting. Mabef also makes table easels for smaller works and limited spaces, and display easels for exhibitions and showing finished work. In 1984 the company introduced an easel in kit form that was easy to transport and assemble, and that practical thinking still runs through the range today.

In sixteen years in the art supplies industry, including nearly a decade running digital marketing at ARTdiscount, I’ve seen plenty of artists buy a cheap easel first, get frustrated with wobbling legs and slipping clamps, and then buy a Mabef. It’s one of those purchases where buying properly the first time actually saves money. Within our community of 36,000 UK artists at Discount Art Supplies, Mabef comes up whenever someone asks which easel is worth investing in, and for good reason. Living in Poulton with a wife, two kids and limited space, I know the appeal of an easel that folds away neatly too, and Mabef’s smaller models do that well.

Getting the best deal on a Mabef easel comes down to a few things. First, compare prices before you buy. Easels are a bigger-ticket purchase, so the difference between retailers can easily run to tens of pounds on the same model, and our comparison above checks Cass Art, Jackson’s, Amazon and others in real time. Second, check delivery costs carefully. Studio easels are large and heavy, so delivery charges vary widely, and a lower price with expensive delivery isn’t always the better deal. Some retailers offer free delivery over a certain spend, which can tip the balance. Third, buy the right easel for how you actually paint. Measure your space, think about the largest canvas you’re likely to use, and consider whether you need to move the easel or pack it away. A huge studio easel is wasted in a box room, and a lightweight field easel won’t be happy holding a large canvas every day. Finally, watch for sales. Mabef easels are regularly included in UK retailer promotions, especially around Black Friday, January and spring, and these are great times to pick up a model that’s usually out of budget.

A few questions come up again and again. Are Mabef easels worth the money? For most serious painters, yes. The solid beech construction, sturdy fittings and lifetime guarantee mean a Mabef should outlast many cheaper easels. Which Mabef easel is best for beginners? A simple A-frame or H-frame studio easel is a great starting point for home painting, while a field easel suits anyone who wants to paint outdoors. Are Mabef easels hard to assemble? Most models come with instructions and need only basic assembly, though the larger studio easels are heavy and best put together with two people, so bear the wieght in mind. Can a Mabef easel hold large canvases? Yes, the studio range is specifically designed for large canvases, but always check the maximum canvas height for the model you’re looking at before you buy.

A Mabef easel isn’t an impulse buy, but it’s one of the best investments a painter can make. Looking for a Mabef sale, discount or discount code? Check the price comparisons above, updated in real time, and you’ll always know you’re getting the best current UK price.