Pink Flamingos in a movie!!!

FITCHBURG, MASS. (Feb. 3, 1:15 p.m. ET) -- Garden ornament aficionados may soon be flocking to movie theaters to see a three-dimensional animated movie starring garden gnomes -- but also including the iconic plastic pink flamingo.

The flamingo designed by Don Featherstone is a member of the cast of the film Gnomeo and Juliet, which is due to hit theaters Feb. 11. The flick is a take-off on the classic Romeo and Juliet romance and pits rival garden-gnome families as the key characters.

Don Featherstone, who designed the flamingo for Union Products Inc. in 1957, attended with his wife Nancy, the film’s world premiere in Hollywood last week and was thrilled by what he saw.

“I’m very happy, they did a nice job,” said Featherstone, who did not want to reveal too much about the plot.

However, it just happens to have a pink flamingo named Featherstone as one its characters. And if you watch the Touchstone Pictures trailer about the movie, you’ll see the flamingo in some of the clips.

Gnomeo and Juliet was directed by Kelly Asbury, who also directed Shrek 2. The voice of the flamingo is Jim Cummings. Elton John’s music is a big part of the show.

“It’s got great music -- the old classics like Crocodile Rock. His music really blends in,” noted Featherstone.

Featherstone said that he got a call abut two years back from the production team, asking to use his name and the feathered bird in the film. They also obtained permission from the company that owns its licensing right, which is currently Cado Products Inc. of Fitchburg, Mass.

The animated flamingo impressed Featherstone, who recently turned 75.

“They did a great job. The flamingo is mine down to the last feather. The only thing they did was with the eyes. They wanted bigger eyes that could turn so that they got better expressions,” he said.

Featherstone said that he sculptured about 750 different products during his days at Union Products. He said that his goose and his swan both outsold the pink flamingo, but the flamingo continues to garner the most publicity.

When his signature started appearing on the pink flamingoes in 1987, he had no idea that it would lead to a film character called “Featherstone.”

“We’re really excited about it,” said Cado President Bruce Zarozny.

He said that Disney Enterprises Inc. gained permission from HMC International LLC originally and that the agreement was carried over when Cado acquired the rights in 2009 and formed its own Union Products division. He said that Union Products, a division of Cado, will be listed in the film’s credits.

The injection and blow molding company is proud that the original Donald Featherstone pink flamingo will be in the movie and has updated its packaging for the release. They’re prepared in case interest rises in the manufactured product.

“It’s just one of things that is neat for the community. As a company, we’re hoping more retail companies jump on board. It is a great item,” Zarozny said.

Article can be found here :Plastic News

Super Bowl XLV Special

We are running a Super Bowl XLV Special! For every order placed between 1/24 - 2/6. Your name will be entered in a drawing for a gift certificate for a FREE future display. Orders can be for anytime. They do not have to be delivered during the promotion dates.

Helping the Milwaukee Ronald McDonald House.

From the Milwaukee Ronald McDonald House website.

In the early 1980s, a small group of dedicated volunteers set out to build the first Ronald McDonald House in Wisconsin. The need back then was heart-wrenching. Families literally had no place to stay while their seriously ill child was being treated at Children’s Hospital or another Milwaukee hospital. The outpouring of support was remarkable. So much so that when we opened in Wauwatosa in 1984, we called it “the House that love built.” Today we serve families in ways we could have never imagined 25 years ago. During our early years, it was typical for guest families to spend a few nights, perhaps a week with us. Our 25 bedrooms proved sufficient for awhile. Then, over time, medical advances, the kind that save the lives of children who would not have been saved two decades ago, began requiring extended treatments. Yet doctors and nurses told us their young patients showed the best signs of healing when they could spend time away from hospital rooms in a more homelike setting surrounded by family. To accommodate these families, we expanded the House, adding an extended stay wing with 13 two-room units. We also renovated the existing House so that every family staying with us could have a private bathroom, a small amenity it may seem, but one that means a great deal to our guest families. These renovations have continued to make our House the best “home-away-from-home” it can be. Since the House opened in 1984, over 31,000 families from 568 Wisconsin communities, 48 states and 26 foreign countries have stayed at our Ronald McDonald House. These families are facing the worst crisis of their lives. Their child is seriously ill, and their lives are turned upside down. We may just be the only bright spot in their entire day and we take that responsibility to heart. We are a home-away-from-home, a place where kids can just be kids, and parents can lean on each other.

In October 2010 we had the honor of working with them. We were contacted by a representative about doing a display for a 6 year old boy that was staying at the Ronald McDonald House. Of course we said we would be glad to. After some phone calls back and forth we were set to do it, until we heard the weather forecast for the week.

The meteorologists were saying we could expect wind gusts up to 70mph. The stands we use for our displays can't handle wind that strong so we decided that we couldn't set the display up outdoors. We asked if it would be possible to put the display up somewhere indoors. After some consultations with other people at the House the rep let us know that they were having some sort of get together and didn't think that an indoor display would work for them. So it looked like we weren't going to be able to do the display.

A couple of days later we heard from the rep again, she wanted to know if we could do the display on a certain day (the little boy had gone out of town and was coming back that day and the Mom really wanted the sign for the little guy). Fortunately we were picking up the display they wanted on that day. So we could put it up right after we picked it up from the customer that had it. The little boy absolutely loved the sign! His Mom was thrilled we were able to do it for them too.

Helping the Milwaukee Ronald McDonald House was a really great experience. It is definitely something that we will do again if they want!!!

This is a test

I read a blog today where the author mentioned that he could post a blog and it would automatically be posted to Facebook and Twitter. Since we (ok really it is just me) have been wanting to find an easy way to update our blog, Facebook fan page and Twitter more often. I thought I would try it for our blog. This blog post is a test to see what happens. If you would be kind enough, I would really appreciate it very much if you would leave a comment so I know that it worked the way it was supposed to. Please leave the comment wherever you first saw this. Thank you all very much. I hope this works.

Local News!!

We made the TMJ4 TV news at 4:40pm yesterday!!! We did a set up at the station for their Sales Manager's birthday and they talked about the display and wished him a happy birthday. Very cool. We are working on getting a copy to put on the site and the blog. In the mean time here is a picture of the display.

Website Stuff

Yesterday and today, we made some improvements to our website. The biggest change has been that we now have a customer testimonial page. These are unsolicited comments from some past customers. Check it out here www.special-delivery4u.com/testimonials/

The other two additions to our site are on the navigation bar on the left side. We added links to our Twitter feed & Facebook fan page. Check them out www.special-delivery4u.com

2010

We are off to a good start in 2010. So far we have had 14 displays this month. Including one stork for a newborn. We love helping to celebrate the birth of a new baby! Looking forward to doing more of those throughout the year.

We redid the website this weekend. We are hoping that it makes it easier for our site visitors to view. If you have any comments on the website please send us an e-mail to service "@" Special-Delivery4U.com Don't forget to remove the quotes and spaces.

We are going to be purchasing all of the inventory from a company in Ohio in February. When we go to pick up the inventory we plan on getting together with some other owners out there for lunch. It should be a fun time!!