18" x 8"
Plastic & Metal
USA

The pink flamingo, as a lawn ornament, has a very complex and interesting history. Most commonly associated with Florida, we actually first came across it when we were working on our American Installment #1. Interestingly, the original flamingo was never made in Florida; it was first produced in 1957 by Union Products, in Leominster, Massachusetts. Leominster, you will remember, is considered by many to be the home of the U.S. plastics industry. There are of course, many variations on the flamingo, however, the first and legitimate one was made by Don Featherstone for Union Products - this is the one we stock. It is, after all, the most beautiful variant, no matter what the competitors say. Don is an interesting character with apparently 57 flamingos on his lawn; he and his wife and, I believe, their dog Smokey have been dressing alike for 28 years. I guess they see themselves as two flamingos as well. Life in the flamingo wonderland! You know you have a Featherstone flamingo if it has Don's signature on it. Union products closed in November of 2006 which meant the flamingo was without a home. However, the molds were sold to a company in upstate New York who are producing them just the same today. It sums up KIOSK America a little: Massachusetts, Florida, New York - serendipity with a flamingo.