Starex Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions.
Where is your furniture made?
Our furniture is 100% designed and made in our factory in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand. We only sell products we make ourselves, because furniture is what we do best and we go the extra mile to ensure you’re receiving the most premium quality pieces on the market. We have a team of designers, joiners, engineers and expert finishers who all work together seamlessly to ensure your product is perfect before dispatch.
What materials do you use in your furniture?
We use Premium European Plywood, kitchen grade BLUM hinges, purpose-built components such as our own tapware for Family Play Units, strong NZ-Steel and locally made upholstery. Our materials are carefully selected by our team of designers to ensure we fulfill our promises of quality and longevity, as well as providing a beautiful product that maintains its aesthetic.
Why are some Starex pieces more expensive than other options on the market?
When you invest in Starex, you're not buying flatpack furniture. You're investing in hand-finished, purpose-built pieces designed specifically for the demands of a busy early learning environment. Here's what you're actually paying for:
Locally Made by Experts - No Shortcuts Every piece is designed and handcrafted right here in New Zealand using premium plywood and child-safe materials. Built to withstand daily learning play for years - not months. Arrives Fully Assembled No flatpack. No missing screws. No hours of confusing assembly. Your furniture arrives ready for the children in your care to cherish from day one. Giving your staff the time to focus on what they love. Purpose-Built for Early Learning Every design is developed with early learning at the heart of our thinking - prioritising child safety, independence, accessibility and calm aesthetics that complement your centre's philosophy. Exclusively designed for the childcare industry for 43+ years! The Smarter Long-Term Investment Cheaper flatpack furniture often needs replacing every few seasons - worn down with daily use. Starex pieces are built to last decades. Invest once, Invest well! Centre’s also quickly look mismatched when they need to replace certain pieces year after year, so having a whole range of pieces that will stand the test of time and look new is a fantastic investment.How long will Starex furniture last?
Our furniture is built to last decades! We intentionally only select premium materials and components, because we believe early learning furniture is an investment that should stand the test of time. Rather than fast furniture adding to the landfill every couple of years, our pieces are designed specifically for the ECE industry, built for all ways children explore, while continuing to look new within your spaces.
"We still have our much loved pukapuka shelf and storage. We’re not too sure of the age, but our Kindergarten has been open for 31 years, and the head teacher at the time, who now relieves for us, remembers purchasing it not long after opening, so it has been going strong for around three decades and still going strong!"
How is furniture delivered to my centre?
Starex furniture comes fully built for commercial use! Forget the stress of flatpack, missing screws and the countless hours assembling furniture. Our freight partners deliver your furniture direct to your door and will coordinate a delivery time that suits you.
Can I request a custom/bespoke piece of furniture?
Of course! We have a team of designers who would love to hear your idea for a custom/bespoke piece and bring it to life. Simply contact us on [email protected] with your idea and we will go about providing a quote and design render for you.
How long has Starex been designing and producing furniture?
Starex has been exclusively designing and manufacturing furniture for the early learning industry for over 43+ years! Keen to learn a little about our brand story? Watch this video!
What do you stand for as a business/core values as a company?
Our brand is built on the promise of quality. Quality materials, service, relationships and final product – it’s at the core of all we do and our business decisions always come back to quality. We live by the motto of good business with good people – giving our authentic best to ensure you are receiving the best outcome, each and every time. Our Starex crew and our clients mean everything to us. There's nothing quite like watching our team pour their craft and passion into every order - and then seeing that same care reflected in the beautiful environments our clients create for children. We live and breathe quality and authenticity and when we work with clients who share those same values: it truly fills our cup.
What services do you offer from a design/layout point of view?
We have a team of designers who would love to work with you, explore the vision you have for your early learning environment (or upcoming centre) and work together to develop a full room by room layout and visual preview. This includes exclusive design meetings direct with our creative designers. We will then provide you with a full quote for your acceptance before we manufacture your beautiful furniture. Any idea you have can be explored in the meetings – it is amazing and very rewarding to bring your unique visions to life! Keen to learn more about our design journey? Watch the below video!
How can I personalise my furniture and make it completely unique to my centre/brand?
There are so many exciting ways!
1) We offer services such as engraving of furniture (think lockers, backs of chairs etc) – this could be your logo, elements of your brand, or something that weaves in a theme of a room.
2) Because we are 100% made to order, our team can explore unique upholstery/powder coat colours that align with your brand to help set you apart.
3) Our team of designers can design and create a completely bespoke product to fit your needs. It may be a truly unique piece that links to your brand, architecture, setting/location (we have designed pieces that link to nearby mountain ranges in view of rooms, unique architecture of buildings, brand elements such as bird houses that link to icons of brands and much more!) – each centre is unique and we will never take a cookie cutter approach to the beautiful and bespoke pieces that help your centre stand out.
What makes Starex furniture uniquely safe for early learning environments?
Every piece we build starts with a simple question - is this good enough for the children in your care? Designing for early learning isn't something we do on the side. It's everything we do. Here's how safety is built into every single detail:
Toxin-Free and Natural Materials We use bio-based glues and child-safe finishes - completely free from the harmful chemicals you'll find in mass-produced, flat-pack or imported furniture. Thoughtfully Designed & Crafted for Little Ones Rounded, smooth-finished edges. Soft-close hinges mean no pinched fingers. Every detail is considered to ensure the children in your care are safe. When we work with centres on their room layouts, we work with teachers and owners to mitigate hideaway spots or areas of low visibility. Proportionate and Stable by Design Our pieces are crafted at the right height for toddler independence - with engineered depth and anti-tip fixing options built in. Sturdy and built to stay exactly where you put it. Prototyped and Tested in Real Centres We don't rush concepts to market just for the sake of releasing a new product. Every Starex piece is prototyped, tested in working ECE environments, refined through real teacher feedback and factory tested before it ever reaches your centre. If it needs to go through several refinements and design tweaks before release, that is our requirement to ensure functionality, safety and versatility in childcare centres. Solid, Handcrafted and Built to Last Made locally from Premium European Plywood and high-grade materials - never flimsy, never hollow, never prone to breaking under the daily energy of a busy centre. Just honest, sturdy furniture built the right way
What does sustainability mean to Starex?
At the core of our company’s mission is creating the best quality furniture on the market that lasts for generations to avoid being thrown in the landfill after only a couple of years. By carefully selecting premium materials, safe components and environmentally friendly factors such as bio-based/renewable glue – these are the decisions we intentionally make to achieving this mission. We also always encourage our clients to get the absolute most out of the furniture – if chair tips wear, they can easily be sent and replaced, keeping the original chair still going strong, tunnel seat fabric is designed to be turned in the unit to maximise its longevity etc – nothing is built with the goal of having you replace it promptly. We also creatively think of ways to use our offcuts, instead of them ending up in landfill. This includes Offcut Houses, Christmas trees and more - creations for centres to cherish, a truly sustainable solution.
