Mackenzie-Childs Whimsical Owl Glass Christmas Ornament With Original Tag and Box. The owl has white feathers but the main body is covered by an elaborately colored jester's or Carnivale outfit. The tag gives some information about the piece, and the box depicts the headquarter facilities of the company on the lid with the name of the ornament on the side: "Wise Owl." 

Ornament Size: 3 1/2 x 2 3/4 x 5 1/2 in. 

MacKenzie-Childs, Ltd. is a manufacturer of ceramics and home decor retailer based in Aurora, New York, the brainchild of Victoria MacKenzie-Childs and Richard MacKenzie-Childs, who founded the company in 1983 under the name Victoria and Richard MacKenzie-Childs, Ltd. The headquarters were constructed on a dairy farm built in the late 1800s, and the company swiftly became recognized for its “Courtly Checks” black-and-white checkerboard pattern. In 1996 they held their first Barn Sale in a tent that attracted hundreds of customers, and quickly became an annual event attracting thousands of visitors to the facility each year. After the registration of the original name lapsed, the company was registered as MacKenzie-Childs, Ltd. in 1997, and in 2000 the company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following financial difficulties. Pleasant Rowland, founder of American Girl, purchased MacKenzie-Childs, Ltd. from bankruptcy court for $5.5 million in 2001. As part of a larger project led by the Aurora Foundation to revitalize and redevelop the town, Rowland’s purchase ensured that the company would remain headquartered in Aurora. Rowland began restructuring the home decor company to ensure its profitability, laying off 240 employees and restructuring the management team. In 2006 MacKenzie-Childs, Ltd. sued the original founders, who had started a new business using the mark “Victoria and Richard,” citing trademark violation, and the founders countersued Rowland for attaching their name to designs they did not create. In 2008 Rowland sold the company to Lee Feldman and Howard Cohen, partners at the Twin Lakes Capital equity firm based in Rochester and Manhattan. In 2014 Castanea Partners, a private equity firm, invested in Aurora Brands (the owner of MacKenzie-Childs, Ltd.), and in 2018 MacKenzie-Childs, Ltd. acquired Patience Brewster Inc, an upstate New York book illustrator and ornament designer. After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Barn Sale moved online-only, but resumed in-person shopping in 2023. Today the company continues to produce beloved home decor, furniture, cookware, and serveware in their signature styles, and employs over 250 people with John Ling as the current CEO. 

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