Artist Alley Applications
Artist Alley Applications for StratosFur 2024 are currently closed.
Artist Alley Rules have been updated and an FAQ added, please review to ensure no confusion at time of registration.
StratosFur Artist Alley
Texas Sales Tax Permit
You must have a Texas Sales Tax Permit in order to conduct business at StratosFur, unless you are a registered charity or a demo-only / non-sales vendor. You will not be able to sell at StratosFur otherwise.
To obtain a Texas Sales Tax Permit, please follow the link below at no charge:
https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/sales/
If you have not received your tax permit before StratosFur 2023, please bring a copy of the signed form you faxed/mailed to the Comptroller’s Office with you to our convention. Vendors must collect sales tax when selling at StratosFur. You must submit these taxes to the appropriate offices (or online), as StratosFur is not responsible for your tax collection.
Details For Artist Alley
Artist Alley is reserved for small artists who have small items or are taking commissions. Large manufactured items such as plushies, ita bags, blankets, etc will not be permitted. Small products such as pins, charms, washi tape, etc. are welcome, we want to ensure that artists that are in Alley are small and upcoming and not heavily established.
Artists will be given a half table, full tables are 8ft x 36″, so each artist will have 4ft x 36″ for their space. Please respect your neighbors; do not utilize their space without their permission, or block their tables from sight. If you would like to sit next to particular artist, both artists must mention this in their application. Not all requests may be guaranteed. Only the assigned Artist(s) or assistants will be allowed to pick up the badges with ID.
Displays with light and sound are permitted, so long as they do not bother your neighbors or attendees. You will be asked to turn them off if complaints are received.
Displays shall be in compliance with all Fire Marshall and safety guidelines.
Artists are only allowed to build up to 2 grid cubes high for their booth, and are not allowed a behind the table large print wall. If your display requires a larger layout, it may be best to apply to Dealer’s Den. You can rest items on top of the grid cubes/it doesn’t have to be 24 inches strictly, just if you are building with grid cubes the max is 2 cubes high/24 inches. Again we want to stress that we want our artist alley for new/small/upcoming artists that have not established themselves within the fandom.
If you require electricity please inform us to better accommodate your table space. Please note utilizing electricity will incur a fee of $25.
Artists have the option to purchase WiFi access, the cost is $15 and is a private network for Artists only. Do not share this password with anyone outside of your assistants. You may add this to your initial request, or you may purchase at the convention should you find that you need it.
Artist alley tables will be pre-ordered and juried just like Dealer’s Den.
Setup is allowed at 9am or after.
Artist Alley will be closed for 1 hour for a designated lunch break for artists.
You can have squeakers, but please squeak responsibly; you don’t want to annoy everyone in your vicinity. If your audio is deemed to be disruptive by den staff, it must be turned down or turned off as directed.
Artists may not adhere anything on the wall using any method, period. All wall displays must be free-standing. Artists are responsible, within reason, for any damage to hotel property and/or equipment loaned to them due to inappropriate use. 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. StratosFur and Houston Marriot Westchase are not liable for any personal injury or damage to equipment or property caused by the inappropriate use of hotel equipment, such as falling while standing on a chair or table. Please use provided equipment responsibly.
Please do not take any photos or videos of the inside the Dealers Den and Artist Alley, including tables, art, or merchandise.
We do not allow AI(artificial intelligence) created art. If we suspect your art is AI rendered we may ask for proof/clarification.
In addition to the following rules, all of StratosFur’s attendee rules must be followed as well.
StratosFur will make every effort to keep the Public up to date on changes to the room layout, spacing and other relevant information via any social medium at their discretion. However StratosFur reserves the right to make any changes to any published room layout, as needed, at any time up-to and including during set-up with or without notice.
StratosFur reserves the right to amend these rules at any given time without prior notice.
F.A.Q.
- What can I sell in the Artist Alley? Does it have to be fully handmade?
No, not everything has to be handmade in the Artist Alley. You can sell enamel pins, charms, washi tape, etc. Small manufactured items. You can sell handmade plushies, commissions, badges, and more. What is not allowed is large mass produced items such as blankets, clothing, ita bags, and manufactured plushies. Our goal here is not to restrict artists, but to welcome those emerging in the fandom that haven’t had a chance to build themselves up. We want to support new and young artists, not have a Dealer’s Den 2.0. We received many complaints the past few years regarding Artist Alley and who we allowed in, so we are testing out this new update to see how it goes this year.
2. Two grid cubes high/24 inches, is this a hard limit? What if I go over?
Not at all, so we reference grid cubes as most artists use that for their displays. We don’t want huge grid walls or displays as again, we want to help out starting artists, so the build is max 24 inches tall/2 grid cubes. You can still display things on top of those grid cubes such as a fursuit head or other displays. We just want to ensure people aren’t building large displays that would be better suited for the Dealer’s Den. We aren’t going to be walking around with measuring tape.
Food Trolley
We have a Food Trolley available to Artists; all proceeds are donated between the designated charities. We try to provide filling snacks and drinks for artists who are unable to leave their booths. The Trolley is available before Alley opens, during the lunch break, and after Alley closes. Artists are able to purchase Trolley tickets ahead of the convention to purchase drinks/snacks, and the Trolley is available for on site purchasing as well. As proceeds are donated to charity, pre-purchased tickets are nonrefundable. During applications we have a spreadsheet with the current list of snacks/drinks, with an option for suggesting more in your application. While we cannot guarantee every request, we will look into adding to our list in the long run.
Prohibited Items
StratosFur reserves the right to ask Vendors to remove from display or sale any items the Staff feels are inappropriate or prohibited by law. If you are uncertain your merchandise is prohibited or not, please send us an email at Artistalley@stratosfur.org.
Prohibited items include (but are not limited to):
- Firearms, no exceptions.
- Alcohol, no exceptions.
- Weapons which are not peace-bonded or prohibited. You may NOT sell weapons to minors without their parent or guardian present and consenting. The weapon must be given to the parent or guardian and not the minor.
- Flammable items other than candles and incense. These items may NOT be lit for demonstration purposes.
- We allow scented items so long as they are not overbearing to your neighbors or attendees.
- Home-made food items manufactured in facilities without FDA or local health inspector oversight. (Exceptions are food items under cottage food laws under the state of Texas)
- Bootleg or knock-off goods. StratosFur is not liable for any sales of counterfeit or copyright goods. StratosFur does not condone sales of copyrighted materials.
- Any other item prohibited in the State of Texas or the City of Houston.
Adult Content
StratosFur is a minor-friendly convention. While adult material is permitted, it must be tastefully censored or otherwise obscured to prevent minors from coming across it. All Adult Material (including, but not limited to: printed, video, computer-generated, drawn, audio and physical) must be censored in all public areas. We will provide minors with badges that are distinctly labeled, however due to the ability to change badges, and the legal ramifications, each Vendor should use their own judgment and do their own age verification if in doubt as required by government regulations.
Summarized list of content that must be heavily censored or removed from public sight; Any and all sexual conduct, genitalia, nipples for Male or female, Kinks, fetish wear, ABDL, etc.
Refund and Transfer Policy
Payment due date will be due upon your Acceptance email
Full Refunds are valid one month after acceptance emails have been sent.
Refund Expiration Date (RED): Refunds will no longer be permitted after, May 14th, 2024 11:59 PM. Requests after the “RED” time shall be handled on a case-by-case basis. For any medical reasons please provide a doctors note. We will permit refunds in the form of pushing your table to the next year if applicable.
Tables may not be transferred to another entity.
Contact Information
For further questions regarding this page, e-mail one of the following:
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