07/02/2026
Today marks a monumental shift in the story of Feathered Follies. We have several landmark occasions to celebrate.
Please take the time read this message, as it will impact Feathered Follies as a whole.
As many of you know, I, Mercedes Kemp, have owned Feathered Follies since the COVID collapse in 2020. I have spent six years nursing it back to health, and today the business once again stands strong and stable as a staple of the avian community.
In 2021, we hired a promising young student named Jennifer Notman, and she quickly became a core member of our team. She worked with us while attending university for her Bachelors in Biology, and always had dreams of studying ornithology and working with parrots. This girl would spend her childhood birthdays at the old Feathered Follies so she could be around birds, and would Uber to work when her car was down so she wouldn't miss a day helping parrots.
Jennifer's passion reignited my own, and when the chance came to finish my Bachelors in Biology- I took it!
It is with great pleasure we celebrate the success of TWO women who have both achieved their Bachelors of Science in Biology in 2026. We graduated!
However, the greater news is what occurs today:
Today I spend my last day as the owner of Feathered Follies, and tomorrow, Jennifer steps up to take my place.
As of tomorrow, Jennifer Notman will be the new owner of Feathered Follies, and I could not be more excited for her, or the future of the store. She was raised by Feathered Follies, FOR Feathered Follies, and anyone who knows her knows the store could not be in better hands. She will make it better than it has ever been.
As for myself? I plan to spend more time working directly on the Feathered Follies Foundation- our 501c3 non profit that helps us educate, rescue, and rehome birds in need. Therefore, I will still be around, just not in the same manner as before.
Plus, I am spending this summer searching for graduate schools and applying for programs to earn my Ph.D. This has been my dream since I was a child, and I intend to achieve it.
Congratulations Jennifer. You are the best Feathered Follies could ever have, and I am so proud to be the one to hand the reins over to you.
