Y'all know that we love Fiesta Medals—but one medal that we hadn't yet tackled was one that lit up. We were looking to find not only the right subject, but needed to innovate to take it to the next level. That was until we turned our eyes to the Giant Cowboy Boots created by Texas artist Bob "Daddy-O" Wade that have been displayed in San Antonio since 1980!
I collaborated with Ray Linares to pay tribute to this iconic landmark in this Giant Boots Fiesta Medal for 2019! (Note that even though this GIF shows the lights blinking, once you click the button the lights are on and stay on without blinking, perfect for the evening events like NIOSA and Oyster Bake—just be sure to click it off.)
If you've ever been to an event where SA Flavor's had a table, then you've met Ray. He is my right hand man and has helped me a ton—so I was so excited to get to work with him on this medal. It all started when he challenged me with an idea of doing a neon sign, something that at the time I didn't think could be done. That's until this Boots Fiesta Medal happened!
The boots inspired by artist Bob "Daddy-O" Wade take front and center—it is actually a high quality vinyl sticker that was applied so that the holes were masked. We then pay tribute to those "stars" with a big one to the left of the boots that radiates in the classic teal, pink and orange Fiesta Colors of the Spurs (Ray is a MASSIVE fan of the Spurs). And because everything is bigger in Texas and with these boots, this medal clocks in at a whopping 5MM of metal giving it a good amount of "heft" in your hand (this more than double of many medals made).
The idea for backlighting the Boots Fiesta Medal to make a star pattern came from seeing local architect and artist Isaac Maxwell's shop on South Alamo over trips to Southtown for First Friday many moons ago. The result is a Fiesta Medal that has never been seen before!
This medal will retail for $18 on the SA Flavor Online Store and $20 at physical retailers. I know that this is a *BIG* investment for a medal—heck, I really try hard to keep the costs at $10 per medal. But this medal, quite frankly, was an expensive labor of love. And if you are looking for a deal, you can end up saving $10 by order our February People and Places 8-pack—it includes this and seven other HOT medals!
Through 2020, one dollar from every sale was donated to San Antonio R.O.C.K.S., a non-profit that is dedicated to help make San Antonio become, and stay, a No-Kill City. Ray has personally fostered for this organization and wanted to make sure that the charitable donation from his medal went to an awesome cause.
