I whined about my previously-praised easel earlier this month. I’ve had the Utrecht-branded easel less than a year, and I complained about having to replace one of its casters. The way the casters are attached is poorly implemented; once one detaches, it’s impossible to reattach.
While I was replacing the caster, the support brace split. #@!**@#!!!
I glued the pieces and clamped them together, as you can see in the accompanying photo. But, because of where the split occurred, the wood glue alone is not a permanent fix. It will split again unless I replace the brace. Instead, I am going to leave the clamp on permanently. As I did with the caster, I bought an extra clamp for the other brace, expecting it too to split.
As it happens, I saw a photo of a Chinese artist’s studio and he had the same easel, only his didn’t have the Utrecht logo. Either he removed it or, more likely, he got it from another supplier. So, Utrecht didn’t manufacture it.
My advice is to avoid this easel. It’s too expensive (Utrecht lists it for $375) for a lightweight easel, and not rugged enough for large paintings.
I am going to build my own heavy-duty easel.