In-depth studies of materials, processes and finishes have led to a result that’s unique in this industry, sustainable and wholly Italian. Every article is the fruit of a number of important artisanal actions, well thought out and calculated, from the raw materials and to the beautifully finished end product. A short supply chain, natural materials for both the objects and their finishes, tight control of provenance and quality, safety and health certifications.

We only buy and work material that’s PEFC certified, to guarantee it comes from sustainable forest assets. We use finishing products without formaldehyde or solvents and rigorously apply standards (EN71 and DIN53160) that prohibit the use of heavy metals and other harmful substances and require resistance to sweat and saliva. The wax we use to treat objects guarantees a quality finish and helps increase the wood’s chemical and mechanical durability.

The materials we make are in continual evolution. Beech wood is treated to keep its natural matrix alive, to convey this to its users and teach them to respect nature. Solid wood is the silent hero of our production, while by-products like MDF and chipboard have been abandoned. We carefully design the containers not just as simple boxes but as tools for organizing work in the best possible way and preserving the materials for many years.

Maria Montessori’s numerous original texts are studied and restudied for inspiration and ideas for improvements, with the utmost respect for the original philosophy. The materials’ boxes have capacious lids to protect the contents better and increase their value and life cycle. These lids can also be placed underneath the boxes during use to give them stability and keep the child’s work zone in good order.

Montessori BF is proud to produce the materials that it sells. This is because every single component is quality controlled and assembled in its own workshop, where a sole objective has been pursued for 170 years: quality. Montessori BF was set up in Trentino and has drawn on the heritage and experience of Trentino to give its customers a product that is “zero km” in every one of its components, the fruit of one of the greenest territories in Europe, where honesty, passion and respect are people’s key values both at work and at home.

Modern technologies have led to widespread use of plastics and adhesives in the field of wooden products too. Materials like polyethylene, polypropylene and ABS fill our homes and schools. There are also objects made basically of wood but containing glues and other substances used to heighten performance and thereby reduce the use of the expensive raw material. So we see objects in MDF, chipboard or similar. Montessori BF believes in the use of solid wood, a noble material and a symbol of nature and health. It learnt to use and work it 170 years ago and has handed down its knowledge and experience from generation to generation. When we put an object into a child’s hands, we ought to ask ourselves whether this instrument for growth we’re giving the little creature in front of us is also a healthy object. This is the thinking that underpins our objects, made almost entirely of solid wood. The beads of chains, for example, are not plastic but treated wood or glass, as in the case of gold beads. The best materials for the best education.

Montessori BF materials stand out from the rest of the market because we insist on using natural, eco-friendly and sustainable finishes. This means there is no painting or lacquering, except in specific cases. Wood is treated with certified food grade products and finished with edible waxes. All this to provide products that are qualitatively flawless and healthy, ensuring the best education is delivered with the best possible materials. Montessori BF has always sought out the best for its customers, from both an educational and qualitative point of view. It has always had the support of Montessori Method experts and wood finishing specialists, so it works to extremely high production standards and continues to improve its products.

Our materials faithfully embody the Montessori tradition and its founding principles. Long in-depth studies by Montessori BF, the very people who materially produce the objects, consulting from Opera Montessoriana experts and ongoing tests and research have made it possible to produce materials whose colouring is totally in line with the specifications of Maria Montessori herself. Montessori BF does not buy and resell materials produced by contractors: Montessori BF invests every day in its own production quality and workshop to respect and innovate tradition with the colours that have written the history of a method of teaching and growing that is revolutionary and innovative in its simplicity.

Montessori BF owes its success to its continual quest for product perfection, in-depth study by the company’s owners and consulting from experts such as Maria Grazia Silvestri, psychomotor specialist and educator at Opera Nazionale Montessori. It has thus been possible over the years to offer materials with shapes and colours analogous to the originals, much to the satisfaction of schools and parents.

The following are examples of how details can make the difference:

• adoption of blue rods (size 3×3) for use with the pink tower, the brown steps and the trinomial cube;
• introduction of a pocket for cards in the grammar boxes;
• production of pale pink version of the pink tower;
• spindle box split in two;
• adoption of the original Maria Montessori method for engraved letters and numbers facilitating pre writing;
• use of blue and yellow in metal joints;
• division in 3 of the reading analysis boxes;
• decision to provide the decimal fraction board with thin felt;
• lining of the checker board with carpet, not just painted;
• introduction of glass for the long division tube;
• re-introduction of the 4th colour tablets box;
• making a red border on the leaves in botany and production of a flower-leaf-tree without a background;
• enabling the maps in the geography material to be written through because there’s no background under the maps;
• re-introduction of the open filing cabinets for nomenclature, as they originally were;
• dimensional studies for child-sized drawer units;
• choice of plain colour for dressing frames.