The Princess and The Pickle: Review - Height Adjustable Easel from GLTC

The Princess and The Pickle have been very busy creating mini masterpieces with this Height Adjustable Easel we were sent to review from the Great Little Trading Company.

It took around 10 minutes to assemble, as all we needed to do was attach each of the four legs to the frame using the screws provided, then unfold the frame and push in the 2 pins to keep it in place and ready for our budding artists!

The height of the easel is adjustable, but at it’s lowest point is just right for The Pickle and if The Princess wants to use it at the same time she is able to kneel (although The Pickle kept kneeling down too as he was copying her!)

The first thing The Princess did was practice her maths and writing, while The Pickle drew a picture of a “big big giraffe”! They were both very happy to be playing together but doing their own thing. That first afternoon they used the easel for hours and it really did keep them entertained. I could have got an awful lot of housework done had I not been watching intently and waiting for photo opportunities!

This easel is ideal for 2 children as it has a chalk board on each side, so there are no arguments when they both want to use it at the same time! It also has a rail for holding a roll of paper on one side, but if they both wanted to paint at the same time it would be fairly easy to attach a piece of paper to the other side too. The rail is easy to unscrew to put the paper on and holds the roll securely.

There is a tray on each side and on one side are 4 holes to hold paint pots. I already had some standard sized non-spill pots and they fit perfectly. The trays also help prevent paintbrushes and chalk from falling onto the floor.

The Princess and The Pickle also found a few other uses for the easel. First it was a shop, with all their wooden fruit and vegetables displayed on the shelf. Then we drew a road along one side for The Pickle to use with his toy cars (which kept him amused for hours!). They also did water painting on top of chalk, which was something neither of them had done before, but of course The Pickle’s favourite thing to do was to use the easel as a tunnel and play peek-a-boo!

The Princess and Daddy have also enjoyed a game of Battleships using both sides of the chalk board and The Princess attempted to teach The Pickle how to play Noughts and Crosses (although I suspect she had a bit of an unfair advantage as she was telling him where to draw the crosses!)

The easel can fold down to save space by simply removing the 2 pins, but we tend to leave it up as it has been used every day so far. It does take up a bit of space in the living room, but it’s nice to have their own painting and drawing space without having bits of paper scattered all over the table or the floor! It would certainly make a great addition to any playroom.

At £71 it is more expensive than some wooden easels I have seen, but it is made from solid pine, is very sturdy and well made, looks like a quality item and I do think it’s worth the price tag. It is also available in a bundle for £99 which includes a roll of paper, paint pots, brushes and paint.

The easel has already provided a lot of fun for The Princess and The Pickle and I can see them creating many masterpieces on this in the future!