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About Mercurius Australia
Mercurius Australia supports Schools, Early Learning Centres, Home School communities and Professionals with high quality educational, art and craft products, working through Head, Heart and Hands.
From the very beginning, over 30 years ago, the vision of Mercurius Australia has been to support healthy child development, through education and creativity. This vision is a core component in the curriculum of the world-wide education movement embodied in Steiner and Waldorf schools. It is also seen in all forms of education that embrace an education, led by meaningful creativity, through head, heart and hands.
Mercurius Australia's core vision is to support Steiner teachers and school's in Australia, and in our work are supported by a network of international partners, including Mercurius International and Stockmar.
Originally operating with founders Jonathan and Lynne Klugman out of Melbourne, Mercurius Australia moved to Adelaide in 2022. An Independent Australian family business with the new ownership and care, under the stewardship of the team behind Oskar's Wooden Ark.
Independently Australian Owned and Operated
Collaborating with an International Community
As an Australian company, Mercurius Australia is an independent company and works to support our Australian schools.
As a part of the world-wide Mercurius network, we work in collaboration with a world-wide network of partners in 50 countries around the world. Each member works locally with their own countries Steiner community and organisations, and as members of the International Mercurius Association, we share and bring together our local experiences and suggestions.
Meeting regularly in the digital world, every two years we meet in person, somewhere in the world, to share insights, get involved in different project groups and feel inspired by the enthusiasm of all involved.
Our Values and Vision
Throughout it's inception and right through to the current day, Mercurius has been committed to supply Schools, Early Learning Centers, Therapists, Artists and Retailers with high quality products that support the developing child. And to this day, Mercurius remains true to its vision.
Our product selection connects with Steiner, Waldorf, Montessori and Reggio Emilia education - working with, and recognising the age-appropriate learning that takes place in nature, and through creativity and imaginative play.
Transparency and honesty in business is as important to us, as the products we distribute. Our values form part of the everyday decisions we make, including the way we run our business, the products we represent and the business partners we work with.
And this is reflected right from the raw materials used, through the manufacturing process, shipping, packaging and right up to the final delivery and supply to our customers.
Image: Linuwel Steiner School
Product Selection and Quality
Product selection is a critical part of ensuring we adhere to our values; we look into the product as well as the company behind the products we select. It is not a simple process, but by holding these three questions we can evaluate the product on a balance of social, environmental, ethical and quality standards.
1. Does a product meet our expectations of performance? This includes evaluating the artistic quality and workmanship of the product, looking at the durability and longevity of the product and examining how the product enhances or supports the healthy development of the person using it.
2. What are the environmental credentials of the product? We look at a broad range of enviromental impacts for the products we source, including, but not limited to organic certification, natural materials, plant-based dyes, natural finishes, sustainably harvested raw materials and FSC-accredited wood.
3. What are the social and ethical credentials of the company behind the product? Many of our products are produced by small, sustainable businesses that support social therapeutic communities. In supporting these businesses we enhance these therapeutic communities by providing the people that live there with meaningful work.
Safety and Compliance in Art Materials
A Multi-Layered Approach
The vibrant interplay of colors in art materials represents not just creative potential, but also the complex regulatory landscape that ensures these products are safe for classroom use. As illustrated by the colorful pigments in this image, art supplies contain various substances that require careful oversight and compliance with multiple regulatory frameworks.
For art materials entering classrooms, we believe safety isn't optional—it's essential. The numbered codes, certification marks (AP and CE), chemical structure diagram, and AICIS registration visible in the image represent the interconnected layers of compliance we follow for art materials, covering international, national, and industry-specific levels.
Mercurius Australia and our supply partners, (STOCKMAR, LYRA, Mercurius International), understand that behind every vibrant pigment lies the responsibility to meet stringent safety standards. We all take this obligation seriously, implementing comprehensive measures to ensure all our imported art materials not only comply with but exceed regulatory requirements. This meticulous attention to safety standards gives educational institutions the confidence that products used in their creative spaces are thoroughly vetted and safe for student use.
Our commitment extends beyond mere compliance—we believe in providing schools with complete peace of mind that the materials inspiring creativity in their classrooms have been subjected to the highest levels of scrutiny regarding chemical composition, toxicity assessments, and safety certifications.
Conscious and Environmental Commitment
We select our products to be as close to nature as possible, while still retaining a consiousness around quality, usability and function. The quality and agelessness of our products speak for themselves - much of our core range has remained unchanged for over 30 years, Stockmar has been working with Steiner schools for over 100 years.
We take our selection criteria seriously. When you choose a product from Mercurius a lot of research has gone into selecting the best possible product for performance, healthy development, environmental impact and social ethical responsibilities.
We value products whose manufacturers support socially aware work places, have an environmentally aware culture and where possible use FSC, organic, natural and sustainable raw materials
To help you navigate our product selection, we have flagged and grouped our products into a number of Conscious Collections, to help share a little of the values and qualities that live in the products and companies behind the products we represent.
If you would like more information about any of our products or their credentials, please contact us.
Working with Community
Mercurius holds true to its mission to support Child Development, the Arts in Education, and Steiner Education in Australia.
We supply quality products that work through the senses to support the healthy development of the child
As part of the social responsibility we carry, we give back a percentage from all sales, to support Steiner Education, Community Initiatives, Art in Education, and First Nation led Education within Australia.
Image: Sharing Stories Foundation
Values in our Workplace
The little decisions often have the greatest impact - within our office and warehouse we constantly review and implement environmently conscious best-business practice and decisions.
- We are committed to reduce, reuse then recycle - core values we keep coming back to.
- We reuse any packing materials that arrive with deliveries into our warehouse. This includes packing boxes, packing noodles and bubblewrap.
- Where we need to buy-in new packing materials, we source eco-options. Recycled cardboard or FSC certified boxes, paper shredding, honey-comb paper, and one of the warehouse favourites ... scrunched paper.
- Fumigation of wooden toys is a concern we are often asked about. By importing during certain months of the year, splitting orders into different categories and submitting authorised declarations, we can manage most fumigation requirements. If fumigation is required, we work to choose heat treatment or non-toxic irradiation over standard chemical fumigation.
When you work with us, or receive a product we represent, you can be assured we have considered, and continue to consider, the environment, eco-cost and social-impact from multiple angles - and if you have questions, please ask ... this is one of our passions!
