In 1931 he visited a New York factory and saw an injection molding machine. A German-American named Samuel Foster started a company called Foster Grant. Then in the 1930s another invention put Leominster on the path of birthing the plastic pink flamingo. Then in 1901, Leominster’s largest plastic manufacturer, the Viscoloid Company, began making celluloid toys. Leominster really began cranking out combs, earning the nickname “Comb City.” A worker had to rough out the form from an animal hoof or horn, then cut the teeth individually. By 1853, 146 people in 24 factories churned out combs. Leominster’s small factories specialized in combs.
It started when the Fitchburg Railroad came through Leominster, allowing manufacturing to flourish. The city, about an hour northwest of Boston, had long been an important center of plastics manufacturing. The year that Don Featherstone joined Union Products, Leominster had 60 plastics factories employing 5,500 people – 80 percent of the city’s work force. His wife, Nancy, added that people just thought they were pretty. “A woman could pick up a flamingo at the store and come home with a piece of tropical elegance under her arm to change her humdrum house,” he said. The Sears catalogue carried them, with the instructions, “Place in garden, lawn, to beautify landscape.įeatherstone once said they appealed to people living in subdivisions with identical homes. Sold in pairs, they went on sale in 1958 for $2.76. He designed the pink flamingo based on photographs in National Geographic Magazine. His inaugural efforts included a boy with a dog and a girl with a watering can. His job: designing three-dimensional animals. He then anticipated the career advice immortalized in the 1967 film, The Graduate: Plastics.įeatherstone went to work for plastics manufacturer Union Products Co. He grew up in Berlin and graduated from the Worcester Art Museum’s art school.
25, 1936, in Worcester, Mass., which is also, by the way, the home of the smiley face. “Part of the attraction of Don’s flamingos is that it’s hard to explain why they are fascinating or special,” Abrams told the BBC.įeatherstone was born Jan. Marc Abrams, editor of the Annals of Improbable Research magazine, tried to explain their appeal. But somehow the plastic pink flamingo caught people’s attention in ways that nothing else did. The plastic pink flamingo wasn’t the only widely used product to come out of Leominster’s plastic factories (think Tupperware). Little did he know that the eye-catching lawn ornament would sell 20 million copies, inspire several films and become a cultural icon both loathed and revered. If you aren’t happy, we aren’t happy.Don Featherstone made landscape history in 1957 when he designed the plastic pink flamingo for a Leominster, Mass., plastics company. Whether you are purchasing Pink Flamingos for yourself, as a gift, a gag, a summer pool party or Pink Flamingo Flocking Fundraiser, we will provide you with outstanding customer service. Orders ship Fed Ex Ground within 24-48 hours and arrive within 1-5 business days.
We like to have fun and we like to make people smile and the Plastic Pink Lawn Flamingo does the trick every time. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call or email.įlamingo Site is a family-owned Internet business that is dedicated to bringing folks a zany, wacky, retro slice of 50’s Americana known as the Plastic Pink Yard Flamingo. It's been a very long and challenging road and we thank you for your patience but we will be ready to ship May 1, 2023.įlamingo flocking is the perfect fundraiser in that you can raise funds for your favorite charity, school or church group all the while social distancing and having loads of fun to boot. Don't faint but we have a brand new awesome flock just ready to take flight. 10% OFF ALL PACKAGES THROUGH MAY 31, 2023. SUMMER SALE!! GET THOSE CUTE PINK BIRDS FOR YOUR POOL PARTIES AND FUNDRAISERS. WISHING EVERYONE A WONDERFUL, SAFE AND HEALTHY 2023!
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