Inside the MABEF Factory
A year ago this month, Hammer Family Collections began shipping MABEF easels to U.S. retailers from our warehouse in Cincinnati. That same November, my father Michael and I flew to Italy to see exactly where those easels come from.
We had spent most of 2025 building HFC around one simple idea: retailers here deserve easier access to MABEF, with stock on this side of the ocean and a family business standing behind it. Before asking our dealers to trust us with that promise, we wanted to walk the factory floor ourselves.
On November 11, 2025, we spent the morning at MABEF’s factory, a short drive south of Lake Maggiore, the same region where Albino Bruno Mariotto founded the company in 1948. MABEF’s owners, Laura Mariotto and Sandro Totolli, walked us through it themselves. Here is what we saw.
A family business, welcomed by a family business
The first thing you notice walking in is that MABEF still feels like a family company. History lines the front office, and of course it is displayed on MABEF easels. Three generations into SAMPRO, that is something Michael and I recognized right away, and it is a big part of why this partnership has always felt natural to us.
It starts with the wood
Every easel begins as rough lumber, stacked high in the receiving area. MABEF works in FSC® certified wood, a standard they have held since 2004, and the boards are milled to size right here before they go anywhere else.
Every model, on file
One cabinet stopped us both. Rows of binders, labeled by model number, hold the specifications MABEF has refined over decades, with the wooden templates kept on the shelf right below. It is a quiet detail, but it explains how MABEF can keep supporting an easel long after it leaves the shop, and why they are able to guarantee every easel for life.
Nothing goes to waste
Nearly every machine on the floor connects to a dust collection system that feeds a silo outside. From there, sawdust and offcuts are pressed into wood pellets on site. MABEF recycles 100% of its wood waste, and watching pellets fill bucket after bucket made that number feel very real.
Old-world machines, modern precision
The floor is a mix of long-serving Italian woodworking machines and modern CNC equipment, and the people running them clearly know both. Edges are shaped, holes are bored for hardware, and the more complex cuts are handled by computer. Between stations, carts of finished parts roll from one step to the next.
Assembled by hand
Assembly is where it all comes together, and it is still done by hand. We watched box drawers stacked at one bench, easel frames waiting on pallets at the next, and a craftsman fitting a frame together with the kind of ease that only comes from years of doing it.
The finishing bath
One of the most memorable stops was the finishing room. Parts are loaded into large steel baskets and lowered into a bath, so every surface is coated evenly, including the spots a brush would miss. It is not glamorous, but it is the kind of step that shows up years later in how an easel holds up.
Brass, boxes, and the road to Cincinnati
From there, hardware is fitted, and finished easels are boxed right on the floor and moved into the warehouse. Seeing pallet after pallet of MABEF cartons, I could not help picturing those same boxes landing in Cincinnati, and then on the floors of the retailers we work with every day.
Why this matters to HFC
We started Hammer Family Collections because we believe great products deserve great access. After a morning at MABEF, we came home even more certain we chose the right brand to build on. The craftsmanship is real, the people are proud of what they make, and the company shares the values we try to run our own business by.
Today, HFC keeps MABEF’s core assortment in stock in Cincinnati, along with spare parts, so retailers across the U.S. can order easels and accessories without waiting on an overseas shipment. If you would like to see the assortment or learn more about our Premier Dealer Program, we would love to hear from you.
A heartfelt thank you to Laura, Sandro, and the entire MABEF team for opening your doors and sharing your morning with us. Grazie mille.
Abe