The spirit of flamingos lives on for Bainbridge Islanders at Eagle Harbor Book Co., which has carried themed merchandise since early summer, when a flamboyance of decorative plastic flamingos appeared at the High School Road and Madison Avenue roundabout.

EHB assistant store manager Jim Albert said as soon as he heard about it, he created a poster in support of the flamingos.

“We had the lawn ornament flamingos as well; we had those before they sold out. So we got those right away, and then we’ve just been adding to our collection since then,” he said.

Previously city communications manager Shannon Hays told the Review in July the removal of the flamingos from the roundabout was in part to maintain a neutral position for a public forum adding,” That’s why we have consistent standards in place, especially in areas like roundabouts, to help keep our public spaces safe and, as much as possible, content-neutral for everyone,” she said.

“It’s one of the few examples of where there was a disconnect between what residents want and would like to see and what the city was up to…the fact that it all translated into flamingos…certainly made it an engaging and entertaining controversy to follow,” Albert said.

EHB has roughly 15 different flamingo-themed items with varying quantities currently in stock, ranging from stickers to books and stuffed animals, he said. Since launching the products in June, they have sold roughly 20-30 different flamingo-themed items. Glass flamingo ornaments were particularly popular in the run-up to Christmas, Albert said.

“We’re just delighted that it sparks an interest in people. Anytime we can bring in an item that resonates with the community, that’s always something fun. There’s a bit of intuition in curating a gift shop of any sort,” he said. Since September, when EHB introduced BI flamingo bumper stickers, Albert said they have sold 38 of 40 as of mid-December.

In the summer, many tourists take day trips to Bainbridge and often visit EHB, Albert said, adding, “Their buying habits are very different from the locals, and so you have to kind of curate for both populations and always keep an eye out for what our base customers…are looking for and need,” he said.