Artist Alley

At Conventions, there are multiple venues where artists and vendors interact with attendees to sell goods and services. The Dealers Den is geared for larger vendors, and offers set times and assigned seats, whereas the Artist Alley is geared specifically towards artists and crafters, offers a more flexible schedule and format, and is limited to people who wish to sell items/art of their own creation.

For the attendee, Artist Alley offers a wide variety of artists and crafters to view. We have had vendors selling a huge variety of goods over the years, from the classic sketchbook commissions and badges, to steampunk jewelry and etched glassware. The Alley starts business every day at the same time as our Dealers Den, but where the Den closes in the evening, you will find artists in the Alley working late into the night.

New for 2025

A select number of spaces will be assigned before the convention as part of the dealer room selection process. These slots will be sold for $60 and only for the full weekend (i.e. no single day spots will be sold in this manner). If selected, you will be given space for the full weekend in an assigned spot and this spot will be yours for the full weekend, no need to enter the lottery each day. All other rules in the artist alley apply, including rules about what can be sold at your spot, use of power and the fact that you will have to tear down when you leave each day.

If selected for a spot in this manner, you may allow someone else to take your spot at no additional charge to you or them. However, please inform the artist alley staff of the person you are allowing to take your spot, as we must make sure that they have filled their tax information with us. Please note, this flexibility is meant for if you want to not sell for a specific time during the convention (i.e. you don’t want to sell on Sunday because you had awesome sales on Friday and Saturday, but you don’t want your space to be empty). It’s not meant for you to decide that you don’t want to be in the alley at all and resell your space. If you need to cancel for any reason before the convention, please reach out to us to arrange a refund.

If interested, please fill out the form here between noon CDT, August 18th, 2024 and 11:59PM CDT, September 6th.

You do NOT need to be interested in dealer space to apply. Just select “Artist Alley” on the question “Where you are applying for?” on the first page of the form.

You will be notified September 30th if you are selected to receive space. If selected, payment of the $60 space fee is due by 11:59PM CDT October 31, 2024. Failure to pay by that time will result in your reserved space being given to someone else.

Artists not initially selected for space will be put onto a waiting list and will be notified if selected for space that might open up at a later date. Any space not sold at the start of the Texas Furry Fiesta will go back into the general daily pool. No full weekend spaces will be sold during the convention itself.

Quick FAQ for Artists

• The price for an artist alley seat is $20/day (or $60/weekend if you are selected for a full weekend spot)
• Details about the space layout are below.
• If not selected for a full weekend slot, signup for Artist Alley is available at the Convention only; it cannot be done ahead of time. Full details here.
• To sell in the Artist Alley, you must have a Texas Sales Tax Permit on file with us. You may apply for it here.
• You may submit your Texas Sales Tax Permit and fill out your Artist Alley signup form here. PLEASE NOTE: You still must appear during the lottery signup times to claim your entry unless you have a full weekend spot.
• There is a limit on what can be sold in the Artist Alley. See full list.

All business is conducted within the Dealers Den or Artist Alley at Furry Fiesta. Anyone doing business at random tables (or anywhere else) around the Convention will be directed to stop. Failure to stop may result in the artist being not allowed in the artist alley or dealer room in the current and/or future years and also may result in removal from the convention as a whole.

General Overview

Being an artist in the alley is fairly simple and straightforward. In a nutshell, if not preselected for a full weekend spot, provide us with your Texas sales tax permit, then sign up for a seat on one (or more) days at the Convention. Please note the signup times and deadlines in the schedule below. If there are more seats than applicants, there will still be a lottery to determine seating order, but everyone gets a seat and we will sell off the remaining over the course of the day. If there are more artists than seats, we lottery for the seats (this lottery will also determine seating order). There is more to the process than this, so please DO read the complete set of rules, below.

You can then use your seat over the course of the day, and overnight. You have to completely clean up and vacate by the next morning. Anything left behind will be taken to lost and found.

If you need to get up and get food, drink, sleep, or attend a panel — you can. Your seat is yours, but please note the Alley staff is not responsible for any items left behind while you are on break.

After the dealer room closes, if you are away, other artists may use the empty seat. However, if and when you come back you can get your spot back. As the seat holder, you get first choice.

Complete Artist Alley Rules

Texas Sales Tax Permit & Registering Permit With Furry Fiesta

• Artists selling any item at Furry Fiesta must collect Texas Sales Tax (8.25%).
• No sales may take place by ANYONE without a Tax Permit being provided to Furry Fiesta (either to the Alley lead, or Dealers Den if Alley is unavailable). If you think you may sell an item, file your permit with the Convention.
• When a Texas Sales Tax Permit is filed with the Vendor Relations Staff, the artist will be given an ‘Artist’ ribbon for their badge. This must be affixed at all times while doing business.
• Tax Permits are available online, for free, at: https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/permit/. You can submit your tax permit information to us before the convention by using this Submission Form

Seat Assignment & Lottery

Note: If selected for a full weekend spot, you do not have to participate in the lottery and your seat will be assigned before the convention.

Because the demand for space may outstrip the availability of space, the Artist Alley uses a lottery system to determine who can have space and in what order they get to choose their seat. To enter the lottery for a seat in the artist alley, you must have completed the artist alley registration form (either in person or online pre-Convention) and have submitted a valid Texas Sales Tax Permit to Texas Furry Fiesta.

Note: Signup for the lottery will take place at the artist alley operations table, just outside the dealers room on the first floor of the convention center. You MUST appear during a signup time to get your name into the lottery, even if you provided us with your information before the convention.

Friday: Signups for the lottery will begin 9:30 AM (90 minutes before the opening of artist alley and the dealers room) on Friday morning. An artist may sign up until 10:30 AM (30 minutes before the opening of artist alley). At that time, a lottery will be conducted to determine who gets a seat (if needed) and in which order they will be seated. The artist must be present at that time to accept their seat, artist not present will be skipped.

Saturday & Sunday: Signups for the lottery will be during the previous day and end when the dealers room closes. To sign up, please visit the Artist Alley operations table. When the dealers room closes, signups will be closed and a lottery will be held. The artist does not need to be present and the results will be posted in the Artist Alley area and on social media. At 9:30AM, artists that won a spot will need to be present in the artist alley for seat assignments. At that time, artists will be allowed to claim their spot based on the order they were selected in the lottery the previous night. Artists not present will be skipped. If an artist does not check in before the dealer room opens they forfeit their seat for the day and any unclaimed seats will be distributed through a last chance lottery held at that time of any artist wanting a space for the day.

Sunday Special Condition: Any artist entering the lottery for space on Sunday who entered the lottery on Friday AND/OR Saturday and did not win a space on either day will be granted a space on Sunday prior to the Lottery drawing. Artists that failed to claim won space on Saturday or won space in the last chance lottery on Saturday do not qualify for this special rule.

Seat Owner Priority

Upon being selected for a seat and paying their fee, each Artist Alley vendor will be given a token; this token will match a seat number for a specific day. This is your proof of payment and your rental of the seat for that day; do not misplace it. This token expires at 6AM the following morning.

• Only artists that have a valid seat token for that day will be allowed to sell in the Artist Alley at times when the dealer room is open (6PM each day)
• The rightful owner of this token has the right to evict anyone sitting in their seat at any time during the day for which it is valid. Anyone sitting in a seat that is not the owner of that seat must immediately vacate upon request by the owner.
• Should anyone fail to follow this rule, contact the Artist Alley Coordinator in Dealer’s Den (or, for after-hours assistance, contact Security) and we will address the situation.

On Sunday, when the Dealers room closes, the Artist Alley will also officially close and all selling must cease. There is no after hours selling on Sunday.

Minors & Non-US Citizens

The State of Texas requires all sales be conducted under a sales tax permit, which cannot be acquired by a minor or without a Social Security or EIN number. In these cases, someone must hold this on your behalf. If the permit holder does not physically attend Furry Fiesta, we must have a signed letter from the permit holder stating their permission.

Use of Artist Alley by Non-priority Artists

Only artists that have a valid seat token for that day will be allowed to sell at times when the dealer room is open (Times TBA). When the dealer room is not open on Friday or Saturday night, any artist may sit and sell in a vacated space, provided they have an “Artist” or “Dealer” ribbon on their badge and provided all other rules of the artist alley are followed, including limits on what is sold. On Sunday night, the artist alley officially closes with the dealers room and no after hour selling will be permitted.

Appropriate Use / Liability

• Anyone (seat owner or otherwise) making use of an Alley Space will be responsible for proper conduct at that seat, including adherence to tax laws.
• Artists are responsible for any damage to hotel property and equipment in the Artist Alley. Hotel property and equipment may not be modified in any way, including but not limited to: holes, chips, paint, glue, or damage due to rough or inappropriate behavior. Fees for damaged equipment will be assessed by the Hotel and the Artist will be responsible for paying these fees. Please use provided equipment responsibly and take caution when using potentially risky materials (such as inks).
• Artists are expected to keep their areas neat and tidy; when you are finished, you are expected to clean up any trash, scraps, or other mess. Anyone found leaving an excessive mess will be addressed.
• ALL items must be removed from an artist’s space at the end of the day. This includes racks and other equipment. Storing of said items under tables overnight is not allowed and any items found will be sent to lost and found.

Space Layout

• A single table space for the Artist Alley is 4 foot wide by 28 inches deep.
• Your space will have one chair behind your space. Only one person at a time may sit behind your space. Unless requested and approved by the Artist Alley staff, you may not add additional chairs behind your space. While we understand you may want to socialize while working, we ask that you please do not invite friends behind your space.
• Artists may use vertical table displays as long as they are a reasonable height, stable and they do not interfere with other artists. Displays may only be anchored on the table, not on the floor.
• Artists may not post signs or posters on walls. They may not erect additional stands or tables behind, in front of or beside their table space. Signs may be hung from the front of their table space or may use small stands to display signs or merchandise within their table space.
• The Artist Alley area does NOT have power outlets that will be available for your use. Furry Fiesta will not be running power to tables away from outlets, but a power strip will be provided near the Artist Alley operations table to allow an artist to run quick use items, such as a laminator, as needed. You may use an external battery to power items on your table, if desired.
• Your display and merchandise should not expand into neighboring spaces, in front of your space or alongside your space.. It should not flow into the walkways and it should not interfere with the flow of the room.
• All items for sale must be on your table or otherwise displayed. Additional stock of items may be stored under, behind or besides your table, as long as it does not interfere with other artists or the flow of the room. If, at the discretion of the artist alley staff, you have too much stock, you will be asked to remove some from your space.

Permitted Goods

Artists may only sell items they have made. Please contact us with any questions regarding whether an item may or may not be sold.

• Samples of Allowed: Art, badges, tails, self-mixed candles/incense/soap, costumes/suits, items or media produced by a third party but where the artist is the sole creator of the content (for example jewelry, pins, prints, books or comics), home-made plush or stuffed animals, etc.
• Samples of NOT Allowed: Glow sticks, commercial food items, stuffed animals made by a third party, Scentsy/Avon/similar products, books, comics, or other media for which they are not the sole creator of the content, etc.

Prohibited Items

Items prohibited for sale. This list may be appended at any time. Prohibited items include (but are not limited to):

• AI-generated artwork that includes or incorporates other person’s work as a basis of the artwork.
• Firearms and weapons.
• Flammable/incendiary items other than candles and incense.
• Alcohol
• Home-made food items manufactured in facilities without FDA or local health inspector oversight.
• Any other item prohibited by Texas Furry Fiesta, in the State of Texas or in the City of Dallas.

Adult Material

• Adult Material is permitted, but it must be censored / obscured to prevent access by minors.
• Areas to be fully censored include the male and female genital region, female nipples and bodily fluids. Comedic censoring is allowed, but must provide full coverage.
• All Adult Material (including but not limited to printed, video, computer-generated, drawn, audio and physical) must be censored.
• Each artist is responsible for policing his/her own table to keep minors from being inadvertently exposed.
• Minors will be wearing a distinct Minor badge, but artists must check ID if the individual appears to be less than 18 years of age.
• If adult art is loose or in a binder, individual works must be censored.
• The artist is responsible for providing their own material to make such a censor.

Raffles

Due to Texas State law, we cannot allow raffles of any sort (whether money is involved or not) to occur in the Artist Alley.

Removal of Goods

Furry Fiesta reserves the right to ask artists to remove from display or sale any items the staff feels are inappropriate.

Convention Policies

All Furry Fiesta policies must be followed in addition to the rules listed here.

Good Business Practices

• Providing your customers with appropriate contact methods both during Con and after-Con, in order to follow up on commissioned work. We recommend business cards and/or receipts.
  • Note to Customers:
    • ALWAYS get your artist’s contact information, including badge name, so that you can follow up as needed.
    • Put your contact info inside the cover of your sketchbook, or at least an email address where you can be reached.
• Follow through on commissioned pieces, especially if money has already been accepted. Repeated reports of ‘scamming’ will be addressed.
• Return ‘take home’ work, especially sketchbooks.

Hours of Operation

Subject to change.

Friday

9:30AM – 10:30AM: Lottery for Friday seating signup
10:30AM: Lottery and seating for Friday
11AM – 6PM: Artist Alley open for Friday seated artists, signup for Saturday seating lottery
6PM: Lottery for Saturday seating
6PM – 6AM: Artist alley open for all registered artists and dealers

Saturday

9:30AM: Saturday seating begins
10AM – 6PM: Artist Alley open for Saturday seated artists, signup for Sunday seating lottery
6PM: Lottery for Sunday seating
6PM – 6AM: Artist alley open for all registered artists and dealers

Sunday

9:30AM: Sunday seating begins
10AM – 4PM: Artist Alley open for Sunday seated artists
4PM: Artist Alley closes and all sales must stop

Rule Amendment

Furry Fiesta reserves the right to amend these policies without prior or posted notice.

Questions? Comments? Concerns?

Email us at artistalley@furryfiesta.org