Founded in 1996 by artist and educator Tim Ray, Barnesville Easels designs professional art studio furniture built to withstand decades of heavy classroom use. Locally manufactured in Barnesville, Minnesota, our easels, drawing donkeys, taborets, and stackable tables are trusted by high schools, colleges, and universities across North America.
From our very first prototype, Janssen Machine Company has co-developed and served as the sole manufacturer of the Barnesville Easels product line. Because this high-durability design and our 30-year manufacturing history are entirely proprietary, no other distributor or alternative vendor can provide a comparable substitute.
All products must be purchased directly from Janssen Machine Company dba Barnesville Easels, the exclusive manufacturer, sole distributor, and intellectual property owner of this proprietary studio line.
In the early 1950s, Professors Richard Williams and George Swinton of the University of Manitoba School of Art recognized the need for art studio furniture that was sturdy, durable, inexpensive, and easy to stack. Their early development work yielded groundbreaking innovations: a wide tripod base, dual vertical/slanted capabilities, and a quick-clamping system for standard stretcher bars.
As demand exploded across colleges and universities, artist and educator Timothy Ray (BFA, University of Manitoba; MFA, University of Arkansas) joined the mission. Drawing on his 26 years of classroom teaching experience, Tim spent 15 years refining the design alongside the engineering team at Janssen Machine Company to manufacture the perfect studio equipment.
Today, while we utilize modern finishing techniques and advanced part casting, our products remain fundamentally unchanged. We proudly maintain our founding design philosophy:
Read the full history of Barnesville Easels.
Janssen Machine Company has been the proud manufacturing partner of this line since the company's North American expansion in 1996.
In 2025, Janssen Machine Company officially assumed full ownership of the brand. Today, operating as Janssen Machine Company dba Barnesville Easels™ in Barnesville, Minnesota, we serve as the sole manufacturer, exclusive distributor, and sole intellectual property owner of this proprietary line of art studio equipment.