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For Vendors

OUR WINTER 2023 APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED.
Please see below for our Vendor Guidelines.


The Royal Bison is an independent, vendor-run craft, art, and design fair located in Edmonton, Alberta Canada. 

We pop up a few times a year to showcase the best art, design, and craft from Alberta and western Canada. 

Vendor Fees


IN-PERSON TABLE FEES:

Table fee is per weekend. It includes booth space, a table (if you want one), and all the chairs you could ever need. 


*Power and wall space options are free of charge. They are available only by request and are subject to availability.


4 foot ($190 + GST)

6 foot ($285 + GST)

8 foot ($380 + GST)



Established in 2007, the Royal Bison is closely aligned with the arts community in Edmonton, deeply independent, and one heckuva good time! It's our last season: this Royal Bison is retiring after this Winter 2023 season is done, and after sixteen sweet years! It's not the last craft fair though, stay tuned for 2024 info! We can't wait to have an amazing final Royal Bison season with our rad vendor community!


The fair pops up only three times a year (once in the spring and twice in the winter). In-person events historically have a roster of 70-ish top-notch makers, designers, illustrators, ceramicists, and more, all showing their best work. 


Between March 2020 and December 2021, the fair moved entirely online due to the pandemic, allowing for even more amazing vendors from across a wider region to participate. Since 2022 the fair has returned to existing as an in-person only event.


Vendor Guidelines

THE ROYAL BISON IS ARTIST-JURIED AND -CURATED WITH AN EYE TOWARDS THE NEW, UNIQUE, AND DESIGNED. IT’S A SNAPSOT OF WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE INDIE ART, DESIGN, AND MAKER SCENE IN EDMONTON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA. 


A few things to note before you apply: 

Getting into the fair is competitive, but not impossible! The simple fact is that we receive far more applications than we’re able to accept. Applications are juried by an ever-changing group of people from Edmonton’s creative community. We always make room for new people and new ideas. We can’t wait to see your applications!


We invite you to have a peek at our Instagram feed, which features the work of vendors from fairs past. Read on and find out what we’re lookin’ for:


THE LOCAL AND THE REGIONAL

Much of our vendor roster is dedicated to local vendors. Applications from the Canadian prairies/western region (i.e., Alberta, Saskatchewan, interior BC) are welcomed and are juried on design merit. If you’re based further afield, we’ll consider your application to our online fair only if you’re an Edmonton expat and continue to have significant ties to the Edmonton art and design community. 


REGARDING CULTURAL APPROPRIATION

If you’re making work inspired by a particular culture or group, we hope you’re doing it because you have legitimate ties to that group. If you’re submitting photos of a headdress, dreamcatcher, medicine wheel, etc., please let us know in your application your rationale for using this sort of imagery. 


DESIGN VS. HANDMADE

As the craft and design movement has evolved, so too has the Royal Bison. We celebrate design in many forms and through many processes. If your items are designed by you but custom manufactured elsewhere or by another person, we welcome your work and ideas at the fair! 


REGARDING PRINT-ON-DEMAND ITEMS

Wondering whether you can bring products to the fair that you've designed yourself but that have been produced by external manufacturers? The answer: It depends on whether it's a print-on-demand (POD) item or a custom-manufactured good (CMG).


POD items are those made by sending your digital design to a production company that places that design on a standard, blank product (e.g., white ceramic mug, coaster, etc.). CMGs are items that you've had a direct and substantial role in designing, and that you've hired an external manufacturer to produce to spec. 


For example, a notebook made by sending your design to a promotional goods provider is considered POD. A notebook that you've designed yourself – where you've determined things like its shape and size, number of interior pages, paper weights and finishes, binding type, etc. – and that you've had externally produced by a commercial print shop would be considered a CMG.


For POD items: We ask that these make up no more than 10% of what you bring to the fair. We do allow a few exceptions, including: flat fabric that you sew yourself, clothing containing your artwork (like screen printed or embroidered apparel, bandanas, tote bags), and stickers – there's no limit on these!

For CMGs: There's no limit on how much of your table can be made up of CMGs!


REGARDING FAN ART

There are so many illustrators out there making original work – we’d like to feature them! If you’re painting Bill Murray or printing Spock, please leave these items out of your application and submit your original pieces only. Our jury criteria for art with a pop-culture angle is as follows:


• Does the artwork stand up without the pun/text?

• Is the artwork something that only viewers of the show/movie/etc. will get, or does the artist offer an original message rolled around the fan art?

• Is there any added context in the artwork? 

• Is the artwork appealing to both people who love the show/movie and hate the show/movie?

• Is the artwork appropriate to what our audience is looking for?  


REGARDING JEWELRY

Jewelry is by far our most competitive category. Our focus is on both modern metalsmithing and unexpected pieces made from surprising materials. Assembled jewelry is considered very carefully for uniqueness. Applicants who offer jewelry in addition to other items may be asked to leave the jewelry portion of their work at home.


FOOD & DRINK APPLICATIONS

We are a community-based event focused on art and design, and not a more general market (plus, we’re located right next to the excellent Strathcona Farmers’ Market). Your food or beverage item will very likely be a better fit and find a more receptive audience at a food-focused market.