# Anthrocon Artist Alley - how likely is it to get a table?



## Danale (May 20, 2010)

Any artists out there who have gone to Anthrocon? Did you use their Artist Alley? Were you able to get a table?

If you got a table, how early did you have to get up to wait in line or sign up? Was there any noticeable difference in how hard/easy it was to get a table on each of the days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)?

If you didn't get a table, how long did you have to wait for one? Were you not able to get a table for the entire convention?

Thanks for any answers, guys! I'm going this year mostly to check it out and hopefully get my Dinotopia book autographed, but I'm also hoping to recoup some of my expenses and get my name out there in the Artist Alley. I've never been to Anthrocon; So far I've only been to MFF and FCN, and each of those have vastly different Artist Alley set-ups. Also, I've heard reports from ACEN (not a furry con, but a con nonetheless) that tables fill out in under 2 hours from when they're opened, and that it's nearly impossible to get a spot after. I'm just trying to get a feel of what may lie ahead at Anthrocon.

Thanks!


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## Skulldog (May 20, 2010)

You have to get up early, to put your name in the lottery system anyway. Most people who tell you it's hard to get a table, didn't want to wake up up 8am to do the leg work, and tried to just get space later in the day when there's a waiting list.

I did AA at AC three years, of those three, I never missed out on a table in the daily drawings. It didn't seem like many people ended up without a table either. I did have friends who missed out, but where able to get space within 3-4 hours of being on the waiting list.

Friday and Sunday are easy days to get space, with Saturday being the hardest, with more people around.


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## Duncan da Husky (May 20, 2010)

Hi! I'm the Artists Alley Manager for Anthrocon, so I can give you some hard numbers. We had 130 seats available last year. On Friday we had 135 artists sign up, on Saturday we had 137, and on Sunday we had 103. I expect that we will have the same number of seats available this year. Note that since we implemented the lottery system at Anthrocon back in 2005, we have had a policy that if someone signs up for the lottery on Friday and Saturday and doesn't get a seat on either day, they automatically get a seat on Sunday. We have never had any case where we had to use this rule 

Of people that were on waiting lists last year, those at the top of the list typically got a phone call within 2-3 hours. Those at the bottom of the list did not get a seat that day.

After seeing how well early sign-ups went at Midwest FurFest last year, we are going to be allowing early sign-ups this year at Anthrocon. We are still working out the specifics of how it's going to work, but the idea is that people will be able to sign up for seats in the Alley for Saturday starting Friday afternoon, and for seats on Sunday starting Saturday afternoon (For Friday, we'll be following the same procedures as prior years).

The one thing that will remain true is that if you want a seat in Artists Alley, you must be there when we start calling names at the close of sign-ups (10 AM on Friday*, 9 AM on Saturday and Sunday). Watch the Anthrocon forums and Artists Alley page (http://www.anthrocon.org/alley) for the sign-up process changes, to be posted by the end of next week.

I hope this makes things a bit clearer. Let me know if you have any other questions, or feel free to drop us a line at alley-2010@anthrocon.org.

Duncan da Husky
Artists Alley/Con Store Manager
Anthrocon 2010

* - If you're an artist hanging art in the Art Show, you can get your seat Friday morning and place your stuff at your table in the Alley, then go hang your art. We'll understand, I promise!


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## Danale (May 21, 2010)

Wow, thank you both for the thorough replies! This definitely eases my mind a bit. I'm glad Anthrocon has so many spots available and a policy to ensure that people get at least one chance. That sounds like a great set-up! Thank you!

My friends and I arrived at MFF on Saturday morning around 7:30am, so we have absolutely no problems with getting up early. ;-) With FCN, I 'lost' the lottery every single one of the days even though I was there at 8am for sign-ups and calls, while my friends and many other people got repeated admission each day. I know the AA is free, but I feel there has to be some small means of enforcing a bit of fairness.

One thing I did like about last year's MFF is they allowed a handful of people to be behind the tables on the floor even if they didn't have a seat. This worked out well with my one friend I often do collaborative art with, as she and I took turns sitting at the official seat and talking to customers, and sitting on the floor near the wall and working on our stage of the art. I realize there are safety hazards in having a bunch of people behind tables/next to walls, but maybe a one-per-every-two-seats policy might work? The room the AA was in for MFF certainly had enough room for everyone to move around, so it didn't seem like an issue. Not sure.

Thanks again!


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## Duncan da Husky (May 21, 2010)

Danale said:


> One thing I did like about last year's MFF is they allowed a handful of people to be behind the tables on the floor even if they didn't have a seat. This worked out well with my one friend I often do collaborative art with, as she and I took turns sitting at the official seat and talking to customers, and sitting on the floor near the wall and working on our stage of the art. I realize there are safety hazards in having a bunch of people behind tables/next to walls, but maybe a one-per-every-two-seats policy might work? The room the AA was in for MFF certainly had enough room for everyone to move around, so it didn't seem like an issue. Not sure.



Because of the Byzantine tax laws of the state of Pennsylvania, the Artists Alley at Anthrocon works quite a bit differently than those of Midwest FurFest or Furry Connection North. All sales are on a consignment basis, which means that there is a central cash register (four registers, actually) that takes all payment (after adding 7% sales tax) and then artists are paid out the day's sales, less sales taxes, at the end of each day. By doing this we keep artists from having to deal with getting a Pennsylvania sales tax license.

A side-effect of this, though, is that ONLY sales which go through the central registers may take place in the Alley, since Anthrocon is responsible for reporting the names of all vendors who sell during the event. If a friend is sitting behind the table, they may be making off-the-record sales - something which is not permitted and could get Anthrocon into trouble with the state. The only way to be absolutely sure is that only people who have a receipt book are allowed behind the tables. Unfortunately, we must rigidly enforce this. Sorry about that!

-Duncan


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## Danale (May 23, 2010)

Duncan da Husky said:


> A side-effect of this, though, is that ONLY sales which go through the central registers may take place in the Alley, since Anthrocon is responsible for reporting the names of all vendors who sell during the event. If a friend is sitting behind the table, they may be making off-the-record sales - something which is not permitted and could get Anthrocon into trouble with the state. The only way to be absolutely sure is that only people who have a receipt book are allowed behind the tables. Unfortunately, we must rigidly enforce this. Sorry about that!
> 
> -Duncan



Ah, this makes perfect sense. Thanks for that information! Do you only allot receipt books to artists who 'win' a table seat, or, for example, if my friend and I are working on collaborations, could we both be given a receipt book while only one sits in the 'official' seat?

It's not the end of the world if not. I'm already pretty excited for the set-up. And thank you again for your information!


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## Duncan da Husky (May 24, 2010)

Danale said:


> Ah, this makes perfect sense. Thanks for that information! Do you only allot receipt books to artists who 'win' a table seat, or, for example, if my friend and I are working on collaborations, could we both be given a receipt book while only one sits in the 'official' seat?



I'm afraid it's one receipt book and one seat per person; if your friend wants a seat in the Alley they'll need to put their name into the lottery as well.

-Duncan


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## Danale (May 24, 2010)

Duncan da Husky said:


> I'm afraid it's one receipt book and one seat per person; if your friend wants a seat in the Alley they'll need to put their name into the lottery as well.
> 
> -Duncan



Thanks muchly for the info!


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