Victoria MacKenzie-Childs

MacKenzie-Childs aboard Yankee Ferry in July 2021

Victoria MacKenzie-Childs (August 23, 1948) is a ceramic artist who along with her husband Richard founded the luxury home goods firm MacKenzie-Childs in 1983. The popular flagship store on Madison Avenue in the 1990's showcased their distinctly whimsical style that the New York Post once described as "Mary Poppins meets Alice in Wonderland." They left the company in 2001 to pursue other ventures. Victoria and Richard are the parents of organic textile designer Heather Chaplet.

University

Victoria was a member of the class of '77 at New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Before considering enrolling, she learned pottery pioneer Wayne Higby was headed to Alfred to teach. Determined to work with him, the school became her prime prospect. Higby eventually became her teacher and mentor, and both she and Richard received their MFA with him. Decades later, Higby said in a court document: "They each are the 'real thing'". In 2017 Victoria and Richard delivered Alfred University's 181st commencement address. In his introduction, Alfred President Mark Zupan referenced the duo's "artist's magic touch."

Career

In the 1980's Victoria and Richard focused on high-end, hand-crafted dinnerware, and into the 90's they expanded to include imaginative household furnishings. The notable Bunch Auctions outfit described the lavish style: "From side chairs with backrests of landscape painted fish, to a rattan floor lamp with a thistle fringed shade resting on a quartet of white ceramic rabbits, to an aptly named 'ridiculous bench' with reversible cushion and gilt detail."

After selling their company in 2001, Richard and Victoria launched Richard and Victoria Emprise under which they continue to create and sell their designs."

Mackenzie-Child's home and studio, Yankee Ferry, in 2019

Yankee Ferry

Since purchasing it in 2003, Victoria and Richard have spent much of their time turning the last remaining Ellis Island ferryboat, Yankee Ferry, into a home and floating studio. First built in Philadelphia in 1907, the 150-foot steel-hulled boat carried immigrants from Ellis Island to their new lives in America. The United States Navy commissioned it during World War I and World War II to be a patrol boat, at one time it guarded the Boston Harbor, and it was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1992. Its first docking was in Hoboken, then Red Hook, and as of 2024 is docked in Staten Island.

Yankee Ferry living room, 2019

In 2020, Victoria launched a YouTube channel to give fans a rare peek into eccentric life on the ferry, giving personal accounts of everything from the story behind her signature rainbow-hued hairstyle to confessionals about the ongoing ordeals of the company and their undeterred drive to continue to create.

Court Filings

In 2000, the MacKenzie Childs brand entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following financial difficulties, and in 2001 it was purchased and restructured by American Girl founder Pleasant Rowland. Rowland offered Victoria and Richard a $10 million contingent upon agreeing to a non-compete clause. They refused to sign the agreement which gave up all rights to the MacKenzie-Childs name. In 2006, Rowland sued Victoria and Richard for starting a new business using "Victoria and Richard," as their last name had supposedly been sold off in the bankruptcy proceedings. The founders countersued Rowland for attaching their name to designs they didn't create. In 2008, Rowland sold the company to Lee Feldman and Howard Cohen, partners at the Twin Lakes Capital equity firm based in New York.

MacKenzie-Childs products are still signed "MacKenzie Childs."