Herweck’s is celebrating its 70th anniversary.
By Katya Harmel
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
Herweck’s art supply store, 300 Broadway, will donate 100 percent of the proceeds for the sale of Fiesta medals to a scholarship for visual arts students.
The funds will go toward the Robert and Laura Fainter Endowed Memorial Scholarship.
Scott Rote, owner of Herweck’s for about 35 years, said he chose to donate proceeds to the scholarship because it is named after late friends of his parents.
Fine arts Professor Debra Schafter said Robert Fainter was once a professor in the fine arts department at this college. He and his wife, Laura, were both killed in a car accident in 1979.
The award is given every spring to visual arts majors who demonstrate exemplary achievement. Students do not apply for the scholarship. They are chosen by faculty to receive the scholarship of $250-$350 to help students afford art supplies.
Two Fainter scholarships were awarded for $350 each in spring 2017, and the department plans to do the same this year.
She said the Herweck’s donation is big news to visual arts faculty.
“We are thrilled beyond words,” she said. “It’s very generous of them to do this, and I hope they know how much the Fainter scholarship has meant to students in the past and will continue to be in the future.”
At present, faculty donations have kept the scholarship relevant, Schafter said. She explained the scholarship once awarded four students at a time with $650 each.
The number of donations has decreased, however, due to faculty retirement. She said the Herweck’s contribution could cause the scholarship to be self-sustaining.
Schafter said the scholarship is important because it stands for the quality of student work, and it should be kept alive.
Rote has donated in the past; however, not like this, he said April 10 in an interview.
He explained this is a special year for the store because it is celebrating its 70th anniversary.
The milestone inspired the idea to donate bigger than ever, and Rote said with the popularity of medal collecting, it was fitting to sell them for the benefit of charity.
In observation of Fiesta San Antonio every April, businesses, institutions and agencies sell medals for public relations and as fundraisers.
“Well, it’s our 70th anniversary,” he said. “It’s gotten to be a craze — the whole medal thing.”
Rote said he collaborated with Takedown210 to generate the design of the 2018 medal. Takedown210 is a local company that specializes in designing Fiesta medals for businesses.
Rote said he went back and forth with the company until the final design was achieved. He said he is proud of it.
The medal features the Herweck’s name across the top of a painting palette with the celebratory “70th Anniversary,” placed in the center. It is coated in glitter and hangs from a purple ribbon.
The medal is $10 and will be on sale while supplies last. The store ordered 300 medals and had sold 220 as of April 17.
Herweck’s is open 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Wednesday and Friday, 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday and closed on Sundays.
For more information, contact Herweck’s at 210-227-1349.
