Flamingos

Many people have asked me where the name "Neon Flamingo Designs" came from. In the mid 1980s, when I was doing a lot of business travel for my day job, I thought it would be fun to have something to collect, an easy-to-find souvenir from those trips. Having long had a fondness for art deco, flamingos seemed like a good idea.

Since then, my collection has grown by leaps and bounds! When I get some good pictures of my collection, I'll put them here to share.

Many of my friends see flamingos in their travels and send me pictures:

• Nancy Kirwin has taken many pictures for me:
  • These flamingos live in Stoneham, Massachusetts. The baby in the middle was born on my 47th birthday!
  • Here are some from Orlando, Florida.
  • And another one from Orlando.
  • Here is a set from the Roger Williams Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island taken on September 6, 2000.
    • A group of pink birds just standing around.
    • Two birds, each standing on one leg.
    • The same group, with one taking a drink.
• Nancy is much better with a camera than I am -- here is my attempt from Orlando.
• Sue Reed thinks of me whenever she finds any pink birds while she's on vacation
  • These are from the Bahamas.
  • This beauty resides at the Acapulco Princess Hotel in Mexico.
• Regina Bolduc found this group in Berlin, Germany.
• Bland Crowder has found pink birds on two continents:
• This is from the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, France.
• This lawn ornament is from a special exhibit at the McCord Museum in Montreal, Canada.
• Kate Fenton took this picture at Windsor Safari Park in Windsor, England.
• This group of Florida birds was photographed by Jill Diewald.
• Nancy Cucci contributed these leggy lovelies (the Fantasia 2000 Flamingos) from the Disneyland Character Parade in Anaheim, California.
• I met Diana McFadden at the EGA Seminar in Newport Beach and she sent me this picture of her office in San Diego.  I wish my collection was this well organized.
• Sue Andrews took these pictures of the real-life birds, also in San Diego, at the zoo.
• Pat Van Cleve stitched this wonderful picture and displayed it at the exhibit at the ANG seminar in 2001.  It certainly got my vote as my favorite piece!
• Kathy Cronin saw these flamingos at the San Diego Wild Animal Park.
• Nancy Crissman's friends Joanna and Roger Brown took this picture of flamingos in Africa.  Nancy herself took this picture at Sea World in Orlando, Florida.

I am not alone with this obsession! There are a number of Web sites devoted to the fabulous pink bird! While I was looking for these sites, I found two great quotes:

• When flamingos gather, the resulting group is called a pat.
• A flock of flamingos is also called a pat.

When I realized that I shared my name with a group of flamingos, I decided that I was destined to collect them!

• The Funky Flamingo Contest, the results of a challenge to create an original pattern for a sexy flamingo doll.
• Flamingo Communications - Just for Fun, another flamingo collector
• Flamingo Archives, see (and hear) flamingos take a virtual road trip; it can take a while for the sound and images to load
• flamingo fanatic, the home page of a flamingophile
• Flamingos, true facts from Sea World
• planet flamingo, more facts from Planet Pets
• Fabulous Flamingos, created by a true lover of the pink bird
• Southern Pink Flamingo, a drink recipe
• The Pink Flamingo, A National Archive, created to protest the banning of pink plastic lawn flamingos
• Flamingo Mania, The Internet's Original Faux Flamingo Store
• Uptown Flamingo, a retail source for all things flamingo
• San Diego Zoo, nice pictures
• The Pink Flamingo at 40, an article from the Houston Chronicle about flamingo collectors
• Company Store, another retail source
• The Glass Flamingo, a funky 50s retro shop
• Flamingo Fiesta, flamingo gift items
• The Pink Flamingo, a lawn and garden store with a nice selection of flamingo items
• Flamingo - Birds Provence-Beyond, flamingos in France
• Peace Love and Me - Gifts, Tie-Dyes, Jewelry, Candles, Sunglasses, Books, a 60s retro site with some flamingo merchandise
• Flamingos at the Ardastra Gardens, Zoo and Conservation Centre in Nassau, birds featured in an article in the Sunday Star Ledger that my mother sent to me from New Jersey
• Enchanted Learning, a tutorial on the pink bird
• Cool Animal Stuff, enter flamingo in the search box to find a nice collection of flamingo products
• Larines, another retailer with flamingo products

I'm not the only person who likes needlework and flamingos

• Dutch Treat Designs offers flamingos on a table topper.
• Kreinik Manufacturing Company has free directions for a flamingo pin.
• One of my Web site customers, RichSister Company, offers a variety of flamingo items.

And some good, old-fashioned ASCII art

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For more information, contact Neon Flamingo Designs