![]() ![]() While the Hyatts’ process made using plastic more feasible, it was not flawless and could result in imperfections. Initially, goods traditionally made of expensive materials that were in high demand and short supply-ivory, tortoise shell, and gemstones-were targeted for manufacture. In this way, the Hyatts made it possible to cheaply produce all sorts of products in quantity. A plunger, functioning like a large hypodermic needle, compressed heated celluloid and then injected it into a mold. John Wesley Hyatt and his brother Isaiah received a patent in 1872 for an apparatus to improve the manufacture of products made from the early plastic called celluloid. The original process used to manufacture the plastic flamingos, known as injection mold technology, dates to the nineteenth century. Anthony Stewart’s article, “Ballerinas in Pink,” in National Geographic Magazine, October 1957. The inspiration for Donald Featherstone’s ornamental flamingos was Carleton Mitchell and B. Union Products hoped the faux coral-colored bird would offer customers a little cachet as well as tap into other trends of the day, including interest in Caribbean culture and love of all things pink. The exotic bird was also culturally connected to South Florida-a fashionable vacation destination for the wealthy for decades-where flamingos had once lived in great numbers. Americans had long associated the flamingo with South America and the Caribbean, the bird’s native habitat. Union Products merchandise appealed to first-time homeowners of post-World War II working-class subdivisions who were looking to add pizazz to their property.įeatherstone’s second assignment for Union Products (out of almost 650) was to design an ornamental flamingo. The town was a hotspot of plastic production, with sixty companies making everything from Foster Grant eyeglass frames to Tupperware. He worked for Union Products of Leominster, Massachusetts, which manufactured plastic lawn and garden decorations. In 1956, Don Featherstone, a recent art school graduate, became an industrial designer. In searching for their whereabouts, I became curious about who had created them and how they were made, so I decided to look into it. Scanning the list, I was not surprised that there were not one but three plastic pink lawn flamingos, widely considered the prime example of kitsch Americana décor, in my immediate vicinity. The theme of the first hunt was “one-of-a-kind” house and garden decorations. Soon after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown started, one friendly neighbor began posting a series of scavenger hunts on our neighborhood listserv to provide stress relief and an excuse to get some fresh air. Courtesy of Union Products Division of Cado Co., Fitchburg, Massachusetts
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