Don Featherstone graduated from Worcester Art Museum’s art school in 1957 and began working for Union Products, Inc. in Leominster, Massachusetts designing 3D plastic animals. Over his 43-year career, Featherstone created over 750 different plastic lawn ornaments—but none were as popular as the pink flamingo. The pink flamingo was first released in 1957, and immediately caught on due to the popularity of the color pink and the flamingo’s promise of an endless summer. As live flamingos were not readily available in New England, Featherstone reportedly relied on National Geographic photos…
