Rebecca Proctor: The Designer behind MacKenzie-Childs

Auteur : Kris | 09-25-2010

A Unique Outlook on Entertaining and Having Fun

Rebecca Proctor is the creative director behind the designs at Mackenzie-Childs. She works with a team of designers and launches up to 200 products per season, all in the spirit of the highly theatrical nature of her adopted company.

“Our work is incredibly detailed and each piece has a high degree of hand work, so our production is very demanding”. But it’s definitely lots of fun working with her team on the 65 acre former dairy farm that they call headquarters.

In 1983, the company first made its mark with handmade majolica dinnerware, painted by a team of artisans at their studio in Aurora, New York. The MacKenzie-Childs brand caught on like wildfire, and since becoming Creative Director in 2001 Rebecca has led her design team to branch out into garden, upholstered furniture, lighting, soft furnishings, and textiles.

MacKenzie-Childs tableware looks like something right out of Alice’s tea party with the Mad Hatter. The distinctive Courtly Check pattern which has branded the company can be found on many of their products, spinning a humorous, whimsical take on their concept of luxury.

“The Alice in Wonderland window displays at Harrods in the Fall of 2009 were serendipitous for us, coinciding with the debut of Tim Burton’s remarkable film, and they beautifully displayed our latest designs in an extremely high profile setting”:

“The company has always had a unique outlook on entertaining and having fun”. They certainly have kept this sense of fun, and have continued to design new collections throughout the recession; collections which appeal to the likes of Neiman Marcus and Saks 5th Avenue in the US, and Harrod’s in London.

The company is known for quirky parades down Madison Avenue with acrobats dressed in teapots & kettles, and for their unusual window displays at their store in Manhattan. Most recently, they literally moved an Aurora forest into their New York City store as part of their Christmas display. You can actually buy the 9ft tall Christmas tree made of putty shards.

Although the designs appeal mostly to the American & English tastes with the country-floral designs, I particularly liked the original wrought iron garden designs. Rebecca does too: “I am personally involved in the execution of all the designs and being an avid gardener, I am especially fond of our garden products.

“This is Ms. Powers’ Garden Gate – Mrs. Powers is our 80 year-old neighbour at the studio and once when I was invited over for tea, I saw an extraordinary bell in her kitchen that served as an inspiration. She had used the bell to call her husband from the fields every night for dinner, and I thought what a marvellous piece of history. All our forged-iron gates are made by hand and no two are alike.”

What do we have to look forward to for your fall / holiday launch?
“I am so excited about our snow globe for Christmas. We have a miniature hand-painted 1920 cutter’s sleigh with the MacKenzie tartan from Scotland in a globe in a tea cup. We will also have a limited edition, illuminated Courtly Check Candy Cottage as a holiday centerpiece”:

And for Spring?
“We are putting the finishing touches on our 100% green, American manufactured upholstered furniture collection. We will also take the pillow market by storm with our proprietary Courtly Check fabric which is being especially printed for us in Austria.”

What inspires your designs?
“I think inspiration is wherever you find it. I grew up in a theatrical household and I used to be an actress. My husband and son are musicians and I’ve continued that spirit of performance through my work at MacKenzie-Childs.”
“My greatest inspirations have been the women I’ve known throughout my life. Women, especially mothers, are what has held together the fabric of society, and traditionally have been the ones responsible for creating the home environment. With women now having a greater presence in business and driving the design sensibilities of many companies, a lot of that traditionally ‘home’ energy is spilling over into the teacup called commerce.”

Thank you Rebecca for this bit of fun discussing your creations and we look very forward to seeing you in Paris next month at Maison & Objet!