Lawn Flamingo

The Lawn Flamingo, also known as the Pink Flamingo, Yard Flamingo, Plastic Flamingo or Featherstone Flamingo was a blow mold originally manufactured by Union Products from 1957 to 2006. They are one of the most popular blow mold decorations of all time, and are easily one of the most recognizable Blow Mold products of all time. As of 2010, the flamingos are now produced by Cado Products to this day.

History[]

The Original Blow Mold Flamingo was created by Don Featherstone in 1957 for Union Products. Don was unable to get real live flamingos for reference on creating his molds, so he used a picture from National Geographic to sculpt his figures. He designed the flamingos to be sold in pairs, with one having a raised neck as if standing guard and the other with its neck down, as if feeding.

Soon after its release, the lawn flamingos skyrocketed in popularity, and became one of the most popular lawn and garden ornaments of the time. Each box sold for $2.76 a pair, and was advertised in the 1957 sears catalog with the instructions to 'Place in garden, lawn, to beautify landscape'. Suddenly, it became a staple for American households to have a pair of plastic flamingos roosting on their front yard. As the Pink flamingos grew and grew in immense popularity, they not only became an iconic image in the pop culture of the time, but they also became the victim of plagiarism. Numerous other companies had begun making imitator flamingos that began popping up all over yards across the country.

Don soon realized something had to be done about the imitator flamingos. He decided to upgrade his mold, and signed his name beneath the wingtips of the birds to set them apart from the impostors.

Sadly, by the late 1960s, the Lawn Flamingo had its place in modern pop culture degraded to being recognized as a mere tacky, overrated lawn ornament, a gag gift. They began disappearing from yards all over America where they once stood proud and tall, and as a result of their sudden downsurge in popularity, Union Products had to begin lowering their production numbers. It was known as the darkest hour for what was once an iconic figure.

After Union Products' closing in 2006, the rights to the original Lawn Flamingo mold had been acquired by Cado Products. In 2012, the Pink Lawn Flamingos began their great return, and once again slowly regained their once great reputation, and began to reappear on lawns all over America once more.

In 2017/2018, Cado Products announced the coloration of the original Featherstone Flamingos eyes would change from yellow to black. This is because the yellow eyes were imported, and were replaced with USA made plastic black eyes.

Original Featherstone Flamingos[]

Don Featherstone and Union Products created many different Lawn flamingo types, mostly recolors, during their popularity spike from '57 to the '60s.

Bluemingo: looks identical to the original pink version, but colored 'Caribbean blue'. The creation of this flamingo version came about due to some American neighborhoods banning pink flamingos in their communities (for reasons unknown, possibly to protest pop culture). Union Products produced the blue flamingos to combat this, however it caused the aforementioned communities to ban lawn flamingos altogether, much to the aggravation of flamingo fans.
Realmingo: a lifesize Flamingo blow mold made by Don Featherstone himself. They appear much more detailed and are massively larger than Featherstone's original flamingos, and were made in 1:1 scale. Because they were so large, they couldn't even be sold in pairs, and single flamingos were instead boxed and sold.
Green Flamingo: a dark green version of the flamingo.
Light Gray Flamingo: a very light gray version of the flamingo. Looks like a slightly darker snomingo.
Red Flamingo: a red version of the flamingo. Some refer to it as the 'Scarlet Flamingo' because it's bright red hue is reminiscent of the Scarlet Ibis, a bird that looks similar to flamingos.
Goldmingo: made in 2007 by Cado Products using the same molds as the original Featherstone Flamingos. These birds are entirely glittery gold, with black eyes and yellow beaks. They were made to promote the first Pink Flamingo Day in 2007.
Purplemingo: purple hued flamingos that were made special edition by Cado Products.
Snomingo: a snow white flamingo that was commonly used for Christmas yard displays due to its snowy appearance.
Zombie Flamingo: a recent reboot of the original flamingo, made in 2015 for Halloween. Each zombie flamingo, also known for short as 'Zombiemingos', are black in color with white stripes, red eyes and giant fangs sticking out of open mouths. In addition, the box for these flamingos is also zombie-themed, and is labeled as having '2 Creatures Inside' with no mention of the original pink flamingos.

Where to Buy Authentic Featherstone Flamingos[]

Original Authentic Featherstone Flamingos from Don's original mold, sold by Cado Products, are still available through Ace Hardware and Hobby Lobby online. In addition, Featherstone Flamingos can be purchased from third party sellers like EBay, Etsy, and Let go, where they are often seen all the time for sale used or new, or in thrift stores and yard sales. Amazon.com has them sold by Cado themselves, along with the Realmingo.

Gallery of Flamingos[]

Trivia[]

Since their release in 1957, the Pink Flamingo has been an icon for lawn and garden decorating, and has had a major impact on pop culture even today. Even after their downfall in the '60s, the love of lawn flamingos still continues to show even today, as since Cado Products acquired their molds in 2012, the flamingos have been on the rise in sales.
Due to their immense popularity, lawn flamingos have been ripped off throughout the years by various companies who attempt to create their own similar flamingo molds.
Due to this problem, Don Featherstone had to modify the original sculpt of his flamingos so that his signature was under the wing of the bird, to distinguish his original flamingos from the impostor brands.
In the 2011 computer animated movie 'Gnomeo and Juliet', a living lawn flamingo character named Featherstone acts as a secondary character. The character is actually named after Don Featherstone, the creator of the pink flamingos.
In February 2020, a meme involving the flamingos went around featuring the an image of a skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex covered in dozens of flamingos, along with the line 'A flock of lawn flamingos can pick a t rex clean in under 90 seconds'.